FORGOTTEN SCIENCE
Welcome! 
So you found our posters!
Congratulations! You found our poster. If you hadn’t guessed by now, the science in the
picture is the cables with satellite dishes.
Satellite can be used for a few different things, but we’re just going to focus on internet.
More specifically, wireless internet.
That’s right: Wi-fi!
Wi-fi is a type of internet connection where you don’t need to be plugged in to an internet access point. The internet access point, AKA your wi-fi router, is what’s channeling your connection to the internet. That’s through wires, called fiber optic, or satellite, like Starlink. Pretty cool, huh? I bet you’re wondering how it works when YOU use it.
Wi-fi works by sending signals back and forth over high-frequency radio waves. You connect to wi-fi through your laptop, for instance. Your laptop will send signals to the wi-fi router, and the router will send signals back, allowing you to access the internet.
So, how did we get here?
Several different laboratories and companies began developing wi-fi technology in the early 1980s for use in manufacturing and office buildings. You had to have a bunch of wires everywhere to connect to the internet back then, which was pretty annoying, as you can imagine.
The tech was mostly used for commercial purposes. That is, until more and more people got wired internet access to their homes for personal use. By the early 2000s, a new market had emerged for at-home wi-fi networks. Soon, countless households, cafes, and public spaces had wireless internet.
Nowadays, wi-fi has become so ever-present that we don’t even think about it. Well, unless you have a bad connection.
The point is that we all use wi-fi, all the time. You may even be accessing this website with wi-fi! There’s this really interesting tech at your fingertips, and you may not have even realized how science-y it actually is.
Satellite can be used for a few different things, but we’re just going to focus on internet.
More specifically, wireless internet.
That’s right: Wi-fi!
Wi-fi is a type of internet connection where you don’t need to be plugged in to an internet access point. The internet access point, AKA your wi-fi router, is what’s channeling your connection to the internet. That’s through wires, called fiber optic, or satellite, like Starlink. Pretty cool, huh? I bet you’re wondering how it works when YOU use it.
Wi-fi works by sending signals back and forth over high-frequency radio waves. You connect to wi-fi through your laptop, for instance. Your laptop will send signals to the wi-fi router, and the router will send signals back, allowing you to access the internet.
So, how did we get here?
Several different laboratories and companies began developing wi-fi technology in the early 1980s for use in manufacturing and office buildings. You had to have a bunch of wires everywhere to connect to the internet back then, which was pretty annoying, as you can imagine.
The tech was mostly used for commercial purposes. That is, until more and more people got wired internet access to their homes for personal use. By the early 2000s, a new market had emerged for at-home wi-fi networks. Soon, countless households, cafes, and public spaces had wireless internet.
Nowadays, wi-fi has become so ever-present that we don’t even think about it. Well, unless you have a bad connection.
The point is that we all use wi-fi, all the time. You may even be accessing this website with wi-fi! There’s this really interesting tech at your fingertips, and you may not have even realized how science-y it actually is.
Layout made by Itinerae.
Sources:
Lohnes, K. (2017) How Does Wi-Fi Work? | Britannica. 25 October 2017. How Does Wi-Fi Work? https://www.britannica.com/story/how-does-wi-fi-work
Pahlavan, K. & Krishnamurthy, P. (2021) Evolution and Impact of Wi-Fi Technology and Applications: A Historical Perspective. International Journal of Wireless Information Networks. 28 (1), 3–19. doi:10.1007/s10776-020-00501-8
All gifs sourced from GIPHY
Scrolling text and Star warp effect by RV