Wi-Fi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wi-Fi - Research Paper Example It is the name given to a type of network connection that does no need any cords or physical connections to connect. Technically, it represents a type of Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) that adheres to the 802.11network standard of the IEEE. The term Wi-Fi is often mistakenly thought of as an acronym for Wireless Fidelity. What is its History? The AT&T Company’s wireless uses spread spectrum radio technology and multi carrier OFDM radio technology. This spread spectrum technology used in Wi-Fi was first introduced in the year 1985 by the US Federal communications Commission. Vic Hayes chaired IEEE for ten consecutive years. He was involved in designing standards 802.11a and 802.11b upon which Wi-Fi works. He is thus named as the â€Å"father of Wi-Fi†. The actual predecessor to Wi – Fi was invented in 1990 by the NCR Corporation/AT&T in the Netherlands. WaveLan was the name given to the first wireless products that were bought into the market. They incorporate d the speeds of 1Mbit/s to 2Mbit/s. Finally, the CSIRO, an Australian research body filed the original patents behind the Wi-Fi technology in the year 1986. How it works? Wi-Fi uses radio waves to transmit the information across a Wireless Local Area Network. It transmits information to and from the internet. Any data transfer from a website is done when the website sends information to the modem. This information is then passed on to a wireless router. This device routes data (converts information to radio waves and beams it) to your computer. This information is then interpreted by the computer with the help of wireless networking specific hardware/software. Exactly the same process occurs but only in the opposite direction when the computer wants to send information over the internet. Very often, a wireless connection operates faster than a wired broadband internet connection. Who invented? An Australian research body CSIRO was the first formal inventors of Wi-Fi in the year 1996 . How safe is it? Majority of the scientists who have assessed the safety of Wi-Fi networks advocate the fact that there is no particular evidence to the Wi – Fi connections being hazardous to health. The technology however is not very old. Thus any health hazards that may be slow would only be evident after a certain number of years. Till then it cannot certainly be judged whether a Wi Fi is safe or not. The radio waves that are used by a wireless device or network are relatively low in frequency. The 2.4GHz of radio waves used in the case of Wi-Fi are the non-ionizing type of radiation. This radiation, also used in microwaves and mobile phone communications etc., is not known to have destructive effects on human cells. There is however, one school of thought among scientists that advocates that such a frequency of radiation is harmful to chromosomes. Also, this school of thought thinks that the radiation does not merely heat up the human atoms but does much more than that. There however is no scientific evidence to prove the above facts. Another school of thought emphasizes that exposure to microwaves and cell phones using low level radiation may scientifically be harmless as yet but the exposures to these waves in the above mentioned devices are relatively for a very short period of time as compared to the exposure to a Wi-Fi router that may be located in your office or home. The spectrum that these low radiation emitting devices cover is very large and is constant. The Wi-Fi routers in the vicinity of a human being are turned on twenty four hours a day and seven days a week throughout the year. Though no scientific evidence may yet be present but Wi-Fi devices are suspected to me more of a risk than any other devices using the same low level frequency of radio waves. The WHO (World