What the radio signal tells about the cosmic-ray air shower

The physics of radio emission from cosmic-ray induced air showers is shortly summarized. It will be shown that the radio signal at different distances from the shower axis provides complementary information on the longitudinal shower evolution, in particular the early part, and on the distribution of the electrons in the shower core. This complements the information obtained from surface, fluorescence, and muon detectors and is very useful in getting a comprehensive picture of an air shower.