Topics in Wireless Communication
Abstract: Long ago it was possible to communicate quickly over large distances with smoke signals and drums. In 1830 Joseph Henry displayed what was essentially the first telegraph by sending an electric signal almost two kilometers to ring a bell at the other end of a metal wire. Soon after, Samuel Morse perfected the telegraph, and soon after that the telephone was born. These modes of communication revolutionized communication by allowing people to connect with each other as never before. Still, those systems require wires running between the transmitter and receiver. With today’s technology, messages can be sent almost anywhere in the world wirelessly. Although there are many different kinds of wireless communication, they operate some very fundamental ideas that any physics major has seen. In my comps talk, I hope to put these ideas together to form a clear picture of how information is sent and received in radio communication. I will discuss basic AM and FM transmission and reception, but also how a mobile network is designed.