What does CW mean in ELECTRONICS

Definition

In physics, a continuous wave (CW) is an electromagnetic wave produced by the modulation of an alternating current at a specific frequency. Such waves propagate through space without being bound to any particular medium or reflection from the environment. They can be generated either naturally or artificially. Examples of natural sources include the emission from stars, planetary atmospheres, lightning and other electrical discharges. Artificial sources include electronic oscillators and naval navigation radars. CW signals are typically found in the form of sound waves, light waves or radio waves with very low bandwidths due to their simplicity.

Functionality

Continuous Wave transmissions are used in many communication systems because they can carry information over vast distances without interference. This makes them highly efficient since they don't require large amounts of energy to maintain signals over long distances like other forms of transmission do. Moreover, their inherently simple nature makes them immune to noise and distortion which can reduce the quality of data transmitted over other methods such as Frequency Modulation (FM) or Digital Multiplexing (DM). Furthermore, CW transmissions have historically been used for Morse code transmissions due to their simple nature and ability to travel long distances relatively efficiently at reduced power levels compared to other modes of data transfer.

Applications

CW transmissions are commonly used in many different fields and for many different purposes; some examples include television broadcasting, cell phone towers, Wi-Fi networks, radar systems and satellites communication networks among others. Notably, they are employed heavily throughout the aviation industry for navigation purposes where pilots use them to navigate during flights due to their dependability and consistency over long ranges compared to FM broadcasts which can be affected by atmospheric conditions or interference from objects in close proximity such as mountains or buildings. Additionally CW signals are also employed in medical imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). For this application specifically they penetrate further into tissues than radiofrequency modulated acoustic waves do since bones absorb RF energy more easily.