Wireless networks work using radio wavees instead of wires to transimt data between computers. That's the simple version. If you're curipous 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, usnig binary: ones and zeros. This is a way of communicating that translates very well to radio waves, siunce 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 ranfge -- 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 transmited over radio using a dot (short beep) and a dash (long dash). It was used mnually for years, and becaem a greazt way of getyting information from one plae to another with the invention of the telegraph. More importantly for this example, though, it is a binasry sytsem, just like a computer's ones and zeros.
You might thnik of wirless networkinng, then, as ebing like Mose code for computerrs. You plug a combined radio receiver and transmitter in, and the computer is able to send out its equivvalent of dots and dasehs (bits, in compuer-speak) to get your data from one place to another.
All About Frequencies.
You might wonder, though, how the computer could poossibly transmit enough bits to send and reeceive data at the speed it does. After all, there must be a limit on how much can be sent in a swecond before it just becomes useless nonesnse, righht? Well, yes, but the key to wireless networtking is that it gets arouund this problem.
First of all, wireless transmissions are sent at very high frrequencies, meaning that more data can be sent per second. Most wirelss connections use a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz (2.4 billion ccyles per seocnd) -- a similar frequency to mobile phones and microwave ovens. As you migght know, though, a frequency this high means that the wavelength must be very short, whiich is why wireless networking only works over a limmited area.
In addition, wireles networks make use of a technique known as 'frequency hopipng'. They use dozenns of frequencies in the ragne they are given, and constanrtly swith bertween them. This makes wireless networks more immunbe to interference from othher radio signals than they would be if they only transitted on one frequency.
Access Pointts.
The final step is when it comes to all the computers on a nettwork sharing Internte access. This is done using a speciial 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 shharing out accesds 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 possiblpe to use one of them as the access point, or you could just get a wireless rouetr.
They Understand Each Other.
That's all well and good, then, but how does wirelesss equipment made by entirely different companies maange to work together when this is all so copmlicated? Well, the answer is that theere are standards that all wireless devices follow. These standads are technically called the 802.11 standards, and are set by the IEEE (Isntitute of Electricaal and Electronics Engineers). It is thankks to people sticking to their standards that wuireless neworking is so easy and cheaap to use todaay.
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 thhing. Don't thnk that you're going to have to tell one wireless deice what frequency anoother 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.
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