AM/FM radio can feel like pure magic. Turn on the radio and listen to music, talk shows, or other audio entertainment broadcast from a source hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away. But radio isn’t magic. It’s a simple, yet fascinating process. Here’s a look at how radio waves are created and broadcast.

AM stands for Amplitude Modulation and FM stands for Frequency Modulation. Both AM and FM radio programs are broadcast over the airwaves using radio waves, which are part of a family of electromagnetic waves that include gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet rays, visible light, infrared, and microwaves.

Electromagnetic waves are everywhere, at different frequencies. Radio waves have properties similar to light waves (such as reflection, polarization, diffraction and refraction), but radio waves exist at a frequency that your eyes are not sensitive to.

Electromagnetic waves are generated by alternating current (AC). This is the electricity needed to run most of the technology in your home and life, from washing machines to televisions to mobile devices.