How Does Wifi Work?
This Is What You Need to Understand
Wireless internet has become as essential as food, air, or shelter. Imagine if the world lost internet access for just one day—it would be disastrous. Huge companies that the world relies on, such as Google or Amazon, would no longer be a click away.
Is it possible for the internet to just stop working? How does Wi-Fi work anyway? It’s a good idea to get to know more about the utility billions of people around the world rely on.
To find out more about the miracle of Wi-Fi, check out the guide below.
What Is Wi-Fi?
Surprisingly, most people don’t even know what Wi-Fi stands for. It obviously looks like an abbreviation, so some people think it means Wireless Fidelity. However, this is not accurate.
In fact, Wi-Fi first emerged in 1971, long before the average citizen had access to it. Researchers at the University of Hawaii created ALOHAnet to transmit information. Later, two larger companies, the NCR Corporation and the AT&T Corporation, fiddled around and created WaveLAN for wireless networking. It wasn’t until 1997 until the IEEE 802.11 protocol surfaced.
What Wi-Fi really stands for is IEEE 802.11. This is the protocol computers need to employ to talk to one another. Obviously, this is too difficult to say or remember, so a branding company invented and trademarked “Wi-Fi.”
Wi-Fi Uses Waves
The term “surfing the internet” makes a lot more sense than it seems. That’s because wireless internet needs radio waves to transmit information between devices. Radio waves are used for many different purposes, but Wi-Fi waves are not the same as car radio or radio receiver waves.
Wi-Fi radio waves are much faster than regular radio waves. They travel in Gigahertz, rather than the slower Megahertz or Kilohertz.
How It Works
The reason we can send information through Wi-Fi radio waves is because they are fast—they are high-frequency waves. Information is coded into them. If the waves were too slow, like Kilohertz or Megahertz, the waves could only hold sound. That’s how AM and FM radio waves work.
Wi-Fi needs antennas and receivers to send and receive information. These are like the voice and ears of this radio communication system. If humans had built-in Wi-Fi receivers, we would be drowning in the endless sea of Wi-Fi information streaming from the homes, buildings, and even the satellites around us. Wi-Fi signals can travel hundreds of miles.
There are slightly different frequencies of Wi-Fi depending on where you’re located. The cost and convenience of Wi-Fi are great nowadays, but security and interference are some disadvantages.
How Does Wi-Fi Work? Review the Guide
The next time someone asks, “How does Wi-Fi work?” you’ll be ready with the answer. It took engineering genius to create, but now we have access to all that knowledge at our fingertips. Figuring out how Wi-Fi works is just a Google search away.
