Maximum usable frequency Maximum usable frequency In radio transmission maximum usable frequency (MUF) is the highest radio frequency that can be used for transmission between two points via reflection from the ionosphere (skywave or "skip" propagation) at a specified time, independent of transmitter power. This index is especially useful in regard to shortwave transmissions. In shortwave radio communication, a major mode of long distance propagation is for the radio waves to reflect off the ionized layers of the atmosphere and return diagonally back to Earth. In this way radio waves can travel beyond the horizon, around the curve of the Earth. However the
Radio propagation propagation. The interference between the direct beam line-of-sight and the ground reflected beam often leads to an effective inverse-fourth-power (1/distance) law for ground-plane limited radiation. Lower frequency (between 30 and 3,000 kHz) vertically polarized radio waves can travel as surface waves following the contour of the Earth; this is called "groundwave" propagation. In this mode the radio wave propagates by interacting with the conductive surface of the Earth. The wave "clings" to the surface and thus follows the curvature of the Earth, so groundwaves can travel over mountains and beyond the horizon. Ground waves propagate in vertical polarization so vertical