Sunday 12 June 2016

Matthew Liang's Independent Learning Log 2


Learning Log 2

Week:2

Date:12/6/16

Source:http://www.straitstimes.com/tech/imagine-internet-access-at-the-speed-of-light

What I did: I was looking for articles about technology when I came across this interesting article about Li-Fi, which is an alternative to get internet access in the future and is 100 times faster than Wi-fi.

Words I was not very sure of:
Fidelity: the degree to which an electronic device (as a record player, radio, or television) accurately reproduces its effect (as sound or picture)

Retrofit: to provide (something) with new parts that were not available when it was originally built

What I learnt:

- Li-Fi is better than the Wi-Fi to a certain extent.For example, it is faster than Wi-Fi and could be used on planes as it does not interfere with the radio waves pilot use to communicate.

-There are limitations to the Li-Fi, for example, the device has to be in line of sight of the light source and you cannot be away from it, unlike Wi-Fi, which would allow the user to use it even if they are far from the internet router.

Summary:

Li-Fi could be used in the near future as a way to get internet access.It works by sending data through the flickering of light in an LED bulb billions of times per second. Each flicker corresponds to binary data (the 0s and 1s, or binary numbers, the computers read),and a receiver attached to the computer converts this flickering back into data. Its advantages is, it is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi and could be used on planes. However, there are limitations. First, internet access is limited to areas where light shines so the device has to be in line of sight of the light source. Secondly, the cost of the Li-Fi because each LED bulb requires one module to convert data into flickering light, so it would be expensive to add all of the equipment into the whole building. Lastly, sensors are needed to allow the devices to read light signals.But the sensors are as big as a smartphone so it is not convenient.

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