Electromagnetic waves consist of periodic oscillations of electrical and magnetic fields generated by charged particles, and can therefore travel through a vacuum. These types of waves vary in wavelength, and include radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays. Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum longer than infrared light.
Radio waves have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 Hz, and corresponding wavelengths ranging from 1 millimeter (0.039 in) to 100 kilometers (62 mi). Like all other electromagnetic waves, they travel at the speed of light. Naturally occurring radio waves are made by lightning, or by astronomical objects. Artificially generated radio waves are used in a vast array of applications such as fixed and mobile radio communication, broadcasting, radar, communications satellites, computer networks.