What if you could actually see Wi-Fi? It is something we all have wondered about. We can see the Wi-Fi routers in our homes and our offices, and we also know that somewhere around us are dozens of networks (just click on the Wi-Fi networks icon on your iPad or laptop) — but it is still hard to see how Wi-Fi, a technology so core to our modern connected experience, really works.
A few days ago, I came across an article by Nickolay Lamm (writing for MyDeals), who, working with M. Browning Vogel, Ph.D, took the data about Wi-Fi coverage areas on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and superimposed it on actual images. The result is five gorgeous visualizations that show us how Wi-Fi networks propagate and work in the real world. Take a look: (All photos appear courtesy of Lamm/Mydeals)

This image shows an idealized Wi-Fi data transmitted over a band that is divided into different sub-channels, which are shown in red, yellow, green and other colors.

The Wi-Fi pulses are shown here as multicolored spheres radiating out from the source, near the right of the image.

Wi-Fi waves travel through space as rapid, data-encoded pulses. A freeze frame of these pulses would show that they are about six inches apart (as shown by the lightly colored bands traveling through space in this image).



{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2013\/08\/04\/if-you-could-actually-see-wi-fi-this-is-what-it-would-look-like\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_04f082061fb8bd3c64f7ae8cd8443522","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}