computer networks

Wireless networks work using radio waves instead of wires to transmit data between computers. That's the simple version. If you're curious to know what's going on in more detail
then it's all explained in this article.

Ones and Zeros.

I'm sure you know that computers transmit data digitally
using binary: ones and zeros. This is a way of communicating that translates very well to radio waves
since the computer can transmit ones and zeros as different kinds of beep. These beeps are so fast that they're outside a human's hearing range -- radio waves that you can't hear are
in fact
all around you all the time. That doesn't stop a computer from using them
though.

Morse Code.

The way it works is a lot like Morse code. You probably already know that Morse code is a way of representing the alphabet so that it can be transmitted over radio using a dot (short beep) and a dash (long dash). It was used manually for years
and became a great way of getting information from one place to another with the invention of the telegraph. More importantly for this example
though
it is a binary system
just like a computer's ones and zeros.

You might think of wireless networking
then
as being like Morse code for computers. You plug a combined radio receiver and transmitter in
and the computer is able to send out its equivalent of dots and dashes (bits
in computer-speak) to get your data from one place to another.

All About Frequencies.

You might wonder
though
how the computer could possibly transmit enough bits to send and receive data at the speed it does. After all
there must be a limit on how much can be sent in a second before it just becomes useless nonsense
right? Well
yes
but the key to wireless networking is that it gets around this problem.

First of all
wireless transmissions are sent at very high frequencies
meaning that more data can be sent per second. Most wireless connections use a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz (2.4 billion cycles per second) -- a similar frequency to mobile phones and microwave ovens. As you might know
though
a frequency this high means that the wavelength must be very short
which is why wireless networking only works over a limited area.

In addition
wireless networks make use of a technique known as 'frequency hopping'. They use dozens of frequencies in the range they are given
and constantly switch between them. This makes wireless networks more immune to interference from other radio signals than they would be if they only transmitted on one frequency.

Access Points.

The final step is when it comes to all the computers on a network sharing Internet access. This is done using a special piece of wireless equipment called an access point. Access points are more expensive than wireless cards for one computer
as they contain radios that are capable of talking to around 100 computers at the same time
and sharing out access to the Internet between them. Dedicated access points are only really essential for larger networks
though -- if you only have a few computers
it is possible to use one of them as the access point
or you could just get a wireless router.

They Understand Each Other.

That's all well and good
then
but how does wireless equipment made by entirely different companies manage to work together when this is all so complicated? Well
the answer is that there are standards that all wireless devices follow. These standards are technically called the 802.11 standards
and are set by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). It is thanks to people sticking to their standards that wireless networking is so easy and cheap to use today.

You Don't Need to Worry.

If all this talk of frequencies has you a little worried
you don't need to be -- wireless networking hardware and software handles all of this automatically
without you needing to do a thing. Don't think that you're going to have to tell one wireless device what frequency another is using
because it's just not going to happen
alright? Wireless networking
for all its complicated workings
is really far more simple to use than you'd ever expect.