Megahertz A megahertz (MHz) is one million (106) hertz, a measure of frequency. Megahertz in radio When used in the context of radio, MHz refers to the number of oscillations of electromagnetic radiation. Severel parts of the radio spectrum fall into the MHz range: LF (Low Frequency) 0.03 - 0.3 MHz MF (Medium Frequency) 0.3-3 MHz HF (High Frequency) 3-30 MHz VHF (Very High Frequency) 30 - 300 MHz UHF (Ultra High Frequency) 300 - 1000 MHz The HF, VHF, UHF references are something of a misnomer: most radiocommunications today occur at higher frequencies due to congestion in the lower frequency bands. Experts in the field of radiocommunications classify these other categories of spectrum by bands. The names of these bands are idosyncratic, but are used often in radiocommunications. L-Band 1-2 GHz (1000 MHz = 1 gigahertz GHz) S-Band 2-4 GHz C-Band 4-8 GHz X-Band 8-12 GHz Ku-Band 12-18 GHz K-Band 18-27 GHz Ka Band 27-40 GHz V-Band 40-75 GHz W- Band 75-110 GHz A common alternative means of describing a radio frequency is using its wavelength, though since the adoption of the hertz as an SI unit, this is becoming rare. Wavelength varies inversely to frequency, i.e., high frequencies are associated with short wavelengths. Megahertz in computing Most CPUs made between 1974 and 2000 were labelled in terms of megahertz (though modern computers have processor speeds in the gigahertz (109 hertz) range). The number of megahertz refers to the frequency of the CPU's master clock signal. It is often assumed that if two CPUs have different "clock speeds", the one with the higher clock speed will be faster than the other. However, while clock speed is an important factor in overall performance, many other factors influence the performance of computers, and a better comparison is archived by using benchmarks. For example, a RISC processor, which has very simple instructions that can be accomplished quickly, may run at a higher clock rate (at higher MHz) than a CISC processor with complex instructions. But because the CISC processor accomplishes more during each clock, it may be faster for any real-world application. See also Hertz SI prefixes kilohertz << megahertz << gigahertz FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megahertz