Saturday, August 22, 2015

Giga Hertz

1,000,000,000 vibrations per second. This is one Giga Hertz (GHz).

GHz is just a tiny sliver of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM) that surrounds us. Yet, it has become so indispensible in our lives that most of us barely give it a second thought.


Just consider this:

* Bluetooth Devices used in personal area networks (wireless earphones, speakers, etc.,) use the frequency range 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz. The protocol divides the band into 79 channels (each 1 MHz wide) and changes channels up to 1600 times per second!

* Micowave Ovens cooks your food and heats your coffee using high power magnetrons to transmit EM radiation in the 2.4 GHz band.

* Telecom Towers - Use the range 1 GHz to 300 GHz. Interfering with the high power transmission of these towers can be fatal, as proven by this case of Darwin Awards, titled "Christmans Roast".

I am yet to figure out how we managed to get such precise control over anything that transmits signals at amazingly high frequencies...


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LINKS

* Connectivity failure while using Bluetooth and USB-3 devices simultaneously - http://www.bluetoothandusb3.com/

* EM interference at 2.4 GHz - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_interference_at_2.4_GHz

* Instructables - http://www.instructables.com/id/Car-motorcycle-or-bicycle-wifi-alarm-rang-500m-10-/

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