The Internet is increasingly present in people’s daily lives and one of the main ways of connecting mobile devices is Wi-Fi (or wireless). This is a wireless network where you can access the internet via radio waves, as well as cell phones and televisions, without the need for connection to wires.

Radio waves are electromagnetic waves, formed by the combination of the electric and magnetic fields which propagate perpendicularly in space carrying energy. To use these waves, it is necessary that a station converts and transmits the data in electrical signal, while another receiving station translates this information.

In the case of Wi-Fi, both devices have the function of sending and receiving data. The adapter receives the information and translates it into radio signals, which are transmitted with the help of an antenna. The router has the function of distributing network signals, choosing the best way to send a data set, and also receives the signal and decodes it. It is the router that sends the information to the internet through a wired connection. In the reverse process, the router receives the information from the internet, translates it into radio signals, and then sends it to the adapter.

So, did you know that the much-used Wi-Fi works like this? Follow our blog to discover other curiosities of physics in our daily life.