sky wave
- noun
- Specialized
:
onda de cielo
- Ham radio operators often rely on sky wave propagation to connect with others around the world even at night.
Examples
-
And I modified our comms to use sky wave radio.
-
The radio signal traveled long distances thanks to the sky wave phenomenon, allowing communication beyond the horizon.
-
Using sky wave technology, we were able to broadcast our message across several countries without interruption.
Synonyms
A radio wave sent into the sky that bounces off the ionosphere back to Earth
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partially inferable because 'sky' + 'wave' readily suggests some kind of wave in or through the sky, so a B1 learner could guess it refers to a non-literal atmospheric/space wave. However, the precise technical sense — a radio wave reflected by the ionosphere (enabling beyond-horizon transmission) — requires domain knowledge and is not fully predictable from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Sky wave comes from the clear image of a wave that goes up to the sky and then bounces back down to Earth, like a ball hitting a ceiling and returning. That's why the term describes radio waves that 'travel far' by bouncing off the upper atmosphere and reaching places beyond the horizon.
