Menu
WiFi, also known as Wireless Fidelity, is everywhere. Many cities now even have it in their streets! But what is it, and how does it work?
To fully understand how WiFi works it would be good to understand the Electromagnetic Spectrum of which radio waves are a part of.
WiFi uses radio waves to transmit information. In short, radio waves are part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. They are electromagnetic waves that are low-medium energy and our devices can pick up these vibrating waves and turn the vibrations into information.
Your router recieves information from the internet via your broadband connection and from there it generates radio waves with the information your device is asking for. The waves sent out have a specific address attached to them (MAC address which is assigned to devices) however the waves go everywhere and all devices can potentially pick them up, just like a radio recieving radio broadcasts.
Once these radio waves are sent out and your device detects them, it translates them in to what you see. Your device can then send back radio waves with requests such as view a web page.
Below shows the bands of radio waves. WiFi ranges from Ultra High Frequency to Super High Frequency due to more information being able to be attached as there are more waves due to the higher frequency.
| Band | Frequency range | Wavelength range |
|---|---|---|
| Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) | <3 kHz | >100 km |
| Very Low Frequency (VLF) | 3 to 30 kHz | 10 to 100 km |
| Low Frequency (LF) | 30 to 300 kHz | 1 m to 10 km |
| Medium Frequency (MF) | 300 kHz to 3 MHz | 100 m to 1 km |
| High Frequency (HF) | 3 to 30 MHz | 10 to 100 m |
| Very High Frequency (VHF) | 30 to 300 MHz | 1 to 10 m |
| Ultra High Frequency (UHF) | 300 MHz to 3 GHz | 10 cm to 1 m |
| Super High Frequency (SHF) | 3 to 30 GHz | 1 to 1 cm |
| Extremely High Frequency (EHF) | 30 to 300 GHz | 1 mm to 1 cm |
More Enigmas
GPS
Wifi
Photographs
Everyday Enigmas