Extremely low frequency

Extremely low frequency (ELF) is the ITU designation for electromagnetic radiation (radio waves) with frequencies from 3 to 30 Hz, and corresponding wavelengths of 100,000 to 10,000 kilometers, respectively. In atmospheric science, an alternative definition is usually given, from 3 Hz to 3 kHz. In the related magnetosphere science, the lower-frequency electromagnetic oscillations (pulsations which occur below ~3 kHz) are considered to lie in the ULF range, which is thus also defined differently from the ITU radio bands. ELF radio waves are generated by lightning and by natural disturbances in Earth's magnetic field, so they are a subject of research by atmospheric scientists. Because of the difficulty of building antennas that can radiate such long waves, ELF waves have been used in only very few human-made communication systems. ELF waves can penetrate seawater, which makes them useful in communication with submarines, and a few nations have built military ELF transmitters to transmit signals to their submerged submarines. Those transmitters consist of huge grounded wire antennas (ground dipoles) that are 15–60 km (9–37 mi) long, and are driven by megawatts of power. The United States, Russia, India, and China are the only countries that are known to have constructed these ELF communication facilities. The U.S. facilities were used between 1985 and 2004, but are now decommissioned.