In today’s world, Wi-Fi is everywhere, making life more convenient for almost everyone.
It lets you transform your smartphone into a remote, print documents from any device, and seamlessly connect your phone with your computer.
Whether it’s streaming movies to your TV or sharing files with a nearby computer, Wi-Fi has become an integral part of our daily routines.
Beyond the convenience, Wi-Fi has played a crucial role in keeping us connected at home and work, influencing our productivity and even impacting aspects like health monitoring and security.
This article helps you discover the creation of WiFi and how it works.
What is Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is a cool tech that lets computers, phones, and other gadgets chat wirelessly.
Think of it like tuning into a radio station, but instead, your device catches a signal from the airwaves, connecting it to the internet.
This high-frequency radio signal follows standards set by tech wizards at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Wi-Fi Alliance. They trademarked the name Wi-Fi and made it famous.
It’s also known as WLAN, standing for wireless local area network, but Wi-Fi is what everyone says. So, it’s like a fancy radio wave dance that keeps us all connected, up to 20 meters away.
What Does Wi-Fi Stand For?
WIFI stands for Wireless Fidelity. It’s a wireless technology that allows devices to connect to the internet without cables.
Who Created Wi-Fi?
Let’s dive into the intriguing tale of “Who invented WiFi.”
Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian-American actress with a passion for invention, plays a central role. During World War II, she collaborated with George Antheil to devise a communication system called “frequency hopping” to aid the war effort. This ingenious idea, where transmitters and receivers change radio frequencies, formed the basis for WiFi as we know it.
Despite its brilliance, the US Military initially rejected the concept, keeping it hidden. Lamarr and Antheil later received awards for their groundbreaking discovery.
While some credit Nikola Tesla in 1903 for introducing frequency hopping, others like German radio pioneer Jonathan Zenneck and Polish inventor Leonard Danilewicz also explored the idea during subsequent years.
American entrepreneur Ray Zinn furthered the concept by devising a technique for radio devices to operate without synchronization.
Vic Hayes, often hailed as the “father of WiFi,” significantly contributed to the modern WiFi we use today. As the committee chairman that established IEEE 802.11 standards in 1997, he played a pivotal role.
Over the years, these standards evolved from IEEE 802.11 to WiFi 6E in 2020, shaping the feasibility of WiFi. Hayes’ decision to combine frequency hopping and direct sequence modulation techniques, despite their initial incompatibility, paved the way for WiFi’s advancement.
In 1999, he extended the standard, incorporating orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with a five times higher data rate. The IEEE contributions continue to influence the future of WiFi.
How Wi-Fi Works?
The router plays a crucial role in a wireless network, acting as the main link to the internet through an ethernet cable. It sends out a radio signal that carries data to and from the internet. Your device’s adapter catches this signal, reads it, and also sends data back to the router and the internet, involving upstream and downstream activity.
Wi-Fi, also known as a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), enables multiple users to connect their devices to the internet through a single router simultaneously, using radio waves for transmission.
It is related to tuning into a radio station, where a device picks up a signal over the airwaves, and a computer’s wireless adapter transforms data into a radio signal, transmitting it via an antenna for other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to receive and exchange information with the transmitter.
What Radio Frequencies are used for Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi sends data between devices using radio waves. It uses frequencies of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz, depending on how much data needs to be transmitted.
What were the Technologies Prior to WiFi?
Before WiFi caught on, early forms of wireless networking existed using radio signals and cellular towers. But these were limited in speed and range.
Past innovations laid the groundwork, Let’s look at the technologies existing before Wi-Fi:
- Ethernet:
- Uses cables, switches, and routers.
- Connects devices and transmits data packets.
- Dial Up Modems:
- Connected to the internet via telephone lines.
- Converted digital data to analog signals.
- Slow data transfer rates with limited mobility.
- Infrared (IR):
- Used infrared light waves for data transmission.
- Limitations: Short range and line of sight communication.
- Bluetooth:
- Wireless technology for short-range connections.
- Enables personal area networking (PAN).
- Token Ring:
- Networking technology from the 1980s and 1990s.
- Used ring topology and tokens for network access control.
- Devices transmitted data when in possession of the token.
What is the Difference Between Wi-Fi And the Internet?
WiFi and the Internet might sound similar, but they’re not the same.
WiFi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is a wireless tech that lets devices connect wirelessly in a specific area using radio waves. It needs a router and an ISP modem to work and is a way to get onto the Internet.
Now, the Internet is like a massive global network connecting computers worldwide. It’s made up of servers, routers, and other tech, using both wired and wireless connections.
So, in a nutshell, WiFi is how devices connect locally, while the Internet is the big worldwide network they can talk to.
Conclusion
In the grand scheme of modern life, Wi-Fi has become an essential thread woven into the fabric of our daily existence.
Its ubiquity empowers us to turn our smartphones into remotes, print documents seamlessly, and connect devices effortlessly.
From streaming movies to sharing files, Wi-Fi has ingrained itself in our routines, not just for convenience but as a vital force shaping our productivity, health monitoring, and security.
Reflecting on technologies preceding Wi-Fi, such as Ethernet, Dial Up Modems, Infrared, Bluetooth, and Token Ring, highlights the evolutionary leap Wi-Fi brought in terms of speed and mobility.
Understanding the distinction between Wi-Fi and the Internet emphasizes that while Wi-Fi facilitates local device connections using radio waves, the Internet forms the expansive global network connecting computers worldwide.
In essence, Wi-Fi is our local connector, and the Internet is the vast global conversation network.