Wireless? But How?

Have you ever looked at your mobile phone, laptop, tablet or gaming console and wondered "how on earth am I able to communicate from here to the other side of the planet?" Not to fear, the answer is here my fellow human. Ever since the beginning of human life on earth, the evolution of technology and the rate of advancements in the sciences have been exponentially increasing, and with our most recent leaps came one of the greatest scientific discoveries in the last millennia by James Clerk Maxwell in the late 19th century. The ability to harness Electromagnetic radiation for communication was only theoretically possible at the time, however today, made available for practical and everyday use bringing the benefits of an almost wire-free world.

Now you're probably asking yourself "well what is this electromagnetic radiation then and how does my phone use it?" Simply, it is a fundamental property of the universe and exists everywhere in different concentrations and sizes (light is also a form of electromagnetic radiation). Wireless technologies such as walkie-talkies to that television waiting for you at home are simultaneously transmitting and receiving EM radiation through an antenna, which we all know as radio signal; this is how wireless technology communicate.

One of the main obstacles wireless technology faces today is actually getting the signal from point a to b. The main factor which determines the strength of the signal is the surroundings and objects as the they have a huge effect on the path of the signal in most cases causing unwanted obstructions; A simple example of this is Wi-Fi, notice that when you are in the same room where the Wi-Fi signal is originating from, the signal strength indicated on whatever device is connected to the Wi-Fi is always at best however when in a different room the signal tends to drop, this is because the walls absorb a portion of the signal being transmitted causing for a weaker coverage in the other rooms. The signal is also reflected of the walls causing for the signal strength to peak in some areas or drop in others. The best way to imagine this is to think of a small pool of water with a square boundary, a marble is dropped into the center (source of signal) of the square every second causing a small outwards traveling ripple (signal), when the ripple meets the boundary it is reversed and travels in the opposite direction back towards the center colliding with other outwards travelling ripples creating an un-uniform pattern along the surface, this is called an interference pattern: Where ever the water is at its highest point or lowest that is where the signal is the strongest, this occurrence is called constructive interference and where ever the water is at its stationary height that is where the signal is the weakest, and this occurrence is called destructive interference. The problem is more apparent for mobile phones and other systems with larger ranges, as coverage is required for larger and more complex terrains such as cities.

The prospect of wireless technology is almost all good forcing our good old wired tech to become extinct joining the ranks of pocket watches and dinosaurs. It has also helped preserve common resources such as copper and aluminum in turn preserving nature to some extent and also benefit us directly by freeing up space however it is uncertain whether all this radiation has any long term effects on the human body and wildlife after being exposed for long periods of times. To prevent any serious health affects a specific absorption rate (SAR) standard has been set which all consumer electronics must legally not exceed (Brink, 2011).

We are in the dawn of a new era and at this current moment in time we have an blurry image of what the future holds, it looks like the possibilities and potential of wireless technology are almost endless however something that is absolutely certain there is no space in the future for the wires.