The Language of Wi-fi and the Internet

When we think about the internet, it tends to be a physical entity. In reality, the internet is just a form of communication. Wi-fi, which is necessary for watching funny cat videos, video game playthroughs, also rests on having a system to communicate with other computers in a variety of ways. Today, we are going to see a small snippet of what goes on through our computers.

The Internet is an international network of computers. A network is basically a group of computers that exchange information with each other. Wifi is just a way of having an internet connection which wireless devices can join.

How information can be sent:
Electricity can be used to represent two numbers, - 0, which is below a certain voltage, and 1, which is on. It is used in computers to store data, transistors turn on and off in a binary pattern. While one transistor only has 2 options, multiple transistors can easily hold a lot of data. Radio waves can also be used to represent binary. Like in the radio, you can get different frequencies. Frequency is the number of waves that pass a point in a given amount of time. A higher frequency means that more waves are there, and a lower frequency means less waves are there in a given time. One frequency represents a one, and the other represents a zero.

Radio waves are the basis for wi-fi, but it took a lot longer for this technology to be developed because of interference; radio waves would bounce off the walls and bump into other radio waves distorting the signal. The solution for this was finding a way to piece back the signal.

How information is sent through wired computers:
Data is cut up into small pieces called packets, and translated into binary, in the form of electrical signals.

How information is sent through wifi:
A wireless device, such as a phone, has the binary translated into radio waves through a wifi chip, which reaches the router. The router helps label the data given. This is important, because through wifi, multiple devices can have the same router. So, labelling the data helps track which device the response needs to go to. The router also creates a LAN (local access network), which allows the devices that connect to the router to communicate with each other.

Finally, both use a modem to connect the device to the internet service provider's network, which is a WAN (wide area network).

In conclusion, through the usage of a variety of technologies, computers are able to make memes, photos, and even text conversations, through their own version of chatting.