stackyFACTS
Culture & entertainment

FM signals completely override weaker competing stations

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

Thanks to the 'capture effect,' FM radio acts like a brutal acoustic monopoly. If two stations are broadcasting on the exact same frequency, your receiver won't blend them together into a garbled mess like AM radio does. Instead, the receiver latches onto whichever signal is slightly stronger and completely annihilates the weaker one.

FM signals completely override weaker competing stations
STACKY / Culture & entertainment
One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

Culture & entertainment →
STACKY FOR IPHONE

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.

Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.

Download on the App Store
ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →
Kerbal Space Program fakes gravity to keep orbits smooth
Culture & entertainment

Kerbal Space Program fakes gravity to keep orbits smooth

Actual multi-body gravity calculations would fry your processor in seconds. To simulate orbital mechanics, the game seamlessly transitions ships between…

Discover more
Why soap-opera slaps ignore physics
Culture & entertainment

Why soap-opera slaps ignore physics

A well-placed open-hand strike in a daily drama carries the kinetic energy of a freight train. The recipient will violently spin a full one-hundred-and-eighty…

Discover more
Just Cause parachutes defy basic aerodynamic limits
Culture & entertainment

Just Cause parachutes defy basic aerodynamic limits

Gravity is entirely optional when your gear functions as a perpetual motion machine. By repeatedly grappling the ground and instantly deploying your chute,…

Discover more
Emergency alert tones combine two dissonant frequencies
Culture & entertainment

Emergency alert tones combine two dissonant frequencies

That heart-stopping, horrifying screech that interrupts your broadcast isn't accidental. The alert system intentionally combines two clashing sine waves…

Discover more
Acoustic feedback loops occur when microphones hear speakers
Culture & entertainment

Acoustic feedback loops occur when microphones hear speakers

That earsplitting shriek that ruins live setups is just pure, unadulterated acoustic panic. A microphone picks up a sound, the speaker makes it louder, the…

Discover more
Tuning forks vibrate at exactly one isolated pure frequency
Culture & entertainment

Tuning forks vibrate at exactly one isolated pure frequency

Practically every instrument produces a messy cocktail of secondary overtones that gives it a unique character. The tuning fork is specifically designed with…

Discover more
StackyMore discoveries in the app
Download on the App Store