A skip distance is the distance a

radio wave Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

travels, usually including a hop in the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...

. A skip distance is a distance on the Earth's surface between the two points where radio waves from a transmitter, refracted downwards by different layers of the

, fall. It also represents how far a

has travelled per hop on the Earth's surface, for radio waves such as the

short wave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the High frequency, high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (10 ...

(SW) radio signals that employ continuous reflections for transmission.

Propagation Path

Radio waves from a particular transmitting antenna do not all get refracted by a particular layer of the ionosphere; some are absorbed, some refracted while a portion escapes to the next layer. At this higher layer, there is a possibility of this radio wave being bent downwards to earth again. This bending happens because each layer of the ionosphere has a refractive index that varies from that of the others. Because of the differing heights of refraction, or

apparent reflection Apparent may refer to: *Apparent magnitude, a measure of brightness of a celestial body as seen by an observer on Earth *Apparent places, the actual coordinates of stars as seen from Earth *Heir apparent, a person who is first in line of successio ...

, the radio waves hit the earth surface at different points hence generating the skip distance. Skip distance is greatest during the night when the ionosphere is the highest.

References

External links

Principles of Radio Wave PropagationRadio Waves and Communications Distance

Propagation Path

References

External links

See also