I can't quite grasp the concept of how text messages from my phone can be relayed to my friend, who's about 25 miles away, so quickly. Like what's inside a radio wave? I'm trying to imagine electrons moving, but it just doesn't make sense to me how these can travel so fast. I'm obviously missing some key concepts here, so someone please enlighten me. Preferably in consumable terms if possible.
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Radio waves are a narrow band of electromagnetic waves that make up the EM spectrum, which runs from gamma rays at the highest energy levels down to ULF radio waves at the lowest energy. Visible light EM waves are what let you see this answer on your screen. X-rays are also in the EM spectrum.
They all have one thing in common; they are all made up of photons. Photons are the mediator particles that carry the force of the EM force, which is one of the fundamental forces of nature. So here's what happens when you text: HELP.
Each key punch is converted into a signal and repeated on the cell phone as the characters H E L P. Your cell phone generates a carrier wave, EM photons, on top of which rides your text and your friend's phone number as a signal. The carrier wave frequency depends on the technology used, e.g., 3G or 4G.
That carrier wave and signal are picked up by a nearby cell tower receiver, and the signal is transmitted over land land and through satellite and over the air, depending on lots of things, to a similar tower near your friend. That phone number signal you sent alerts your friend who reads the text, the H E L P signal riding on the carrier wave.
What you are missing is that the electrons are only moving within the two phones, and in the tower and connecting circuits. Over the air, it's the photons that are moving as EM waves at, duh, the speed of light in air.
When a transmitter, e.g., your phone, transmits, the electrons in its circuits slough off the photons that make up the EM waves that are transmitted. So the electrons are the source of the photons but they are not transmitted.