If I wrapped copper wire around a metal bar and attached the wire to a power source and a oscillator would I be able to generate radio waves?
If the bar is made of steel and the power source is DC. And the bar stay inside the coil without moving,you shall get a magnet. If the bar is a magnet and you move it very quickly in and out from the coil. You creat electricity in a very low frequency. To creat the same AC power type that we use in USA. Your hand need to move the magent bar 60 times within a second. The lowest AM band radio frequency is 640 khz. That means we need some electronic device to switch the coil 640,000 time per second.
Your answer is YES and YES! OF COURSE! BRILLIANT!!!!
Very tiny ones. Any AC signal applied to a coil causes electromagnetic radiation, which is what radio waves are.
Depends on lots of things. An oscillator working within the radio frequency range is by definition a source of radio waves. A very simple continuous wave (CW) transmitter is just an oscillator. But the output would depend on what kind of oscillator, what the frequency is, and how you have it connected. Are you using your coil and metal bar as part of a tank circuit, or as an antenna? If the oscillator is a complete device, then the coil is not needed in the tank circuit, and it would be connected as an antenna, it sounds like. A coil of wire can serve as an antenna, but it is not a very efficient one. The metal bar would absorb a lot of the wave energy and create a large standing wave reflection component. You don't mention what kind of metal your metal bar is. It would make a difference. So you are generating more questions than answers. Sounds like you need to talk this over with your science teacher or someone knowledgeable in electronics. Also, if you want to experiment with these circuits, remember that it is against the law to radiate electromagnetic waves without the appropriate license. Radio licenses are issued in the USA by the Federal Communications Commission. That agency also monitors the radio spectrum and enforces the law against people who produce radio waves without authorization. Again, if you are not sure what this means, talk it over with someone who does. Good luck!
