Wi-Fi Radio Signals and Waves Explained in Simple Terms

To develop an understanding of the installation and smooth operation of wireless LANs (WLANs), it is essential to be fully well-versed with good knowledge of the mechanism of how radio waves propagate through an environment. 

Every Wi-Fi deployment requires the comprehension of the fundamentals of how radio waves move and react within the technical ambiance.

A radio wave is a kind of electromagnetic wave or radiation which is designed to carry information through the air and support long-distance communication. 

Sometimes radio waves are even named radio frequency (RF) signals. These signals function at a very high frequency. This allows the waves to travel through the air like waves flowing in an ocean. 

Radio waves have been used for such communications for a long time. 

Radio Waves serve as the means to carry music to FM radios, and video to televisions and other digital devices. In addition, radio waves are a significant medium for carrying data over wireless networks and proper Wi-Fi modulation. 

Radio waves fetch digital information over the air from one point to another. Along the path, the radio waves may come across numerous obstacles that can hinder their range and performance. It depends on the features of the radio wave. 

The scientific unit for frequency is Hertz (Hz), which is the number of cycles occurring each second. The frequency impacts the efficient transmission of radio waves. Theoretically, higher-frequency signals transfer over a shorter range as compared to lower-frequency signals.

The entire working of a radio wave determines how far the signal travels from the starting point. By default, every single cycle of the signal covers 360 degrees. The higher the frequency, the greater the amount of data is propagated per second.

The two Wi-Fi frequencies— 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are split into multiple channels to block high traffic and interference in the path. The first step in this process of transmission is performed by the user. 

When the user accesses the Internet on their device, it translates the information requested into the language understood by a computer i.e. the binary code. How a computer function is based on a binary code which is a series of 1s and 0s.

The router then converts back the frequencies into binary code and translates the code into the internet language that was requested by the user and the router receives that data through a hardwired Internet cable. 

The process repeats itself until the proper search context is provided on the digital search results page. This is the entire process of Wi-Fi modulation which is made to operate effectively via radio signals.