The wonders of WiFi

A team of Austrian scientists developed a new technique to make WiFi signals more transmittable through walls without reflection, per new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature.

📶 We were today years old when we found out… WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity. It works off the same (very simplified) principle as other wireless devices:

1. When accessing the Internet, your computer or mobile device converts the information you’ve requested into radio waves, transmitting it via 1’s and 0’s, the basis for all computer code, using an antenna. (A more in-depth look at how that’s done.)
2. Your wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router then sends that information through a physical, hardwired cable connected to the Internet.
3. Finally, the process is reversed. Your wireless router receives the relevant information from the Internet via cable, translates it into a radio signal, then beams it back to your device, which translates the radio signal into a webpage.

All of this happens incredibly quickly. Most routers operate at 54 Mbps (megabits per second), meaning when they translate and transmit data, 54 million 1’s and 0’s are taken in or sent out each second.

📝 One thing to note: WiFi radio waves can already penetrate through most walls fairly well, but there is some reflection. The Austrian scientists’ new technique would eliminate virtually all reflection, allowing for a stronger WiFi connection than before.