How Wifi Works

The way information gets to a user seems magical: how does a computer readily have access to information without some sort of cable feeding it all the information it needs to know? Also, how does it do it so quickly? Wi-Fi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity, allows people to readily access the Internet without having to be connected to a cable, making the process of communication and getting information much easier for everyone across the globe.

First, when a user requests information from the computer, the computer’s Wi-Fi chip converts all the requested information into a lot of binary digits, or bits. These bits are the 0s and 1s that all computers work with on the lowest level of their operation. Once this is done, the binary information is translated into radio waves that is then sent to a router. Most of these radio waves are either at a frequency of 2.4 gigahertz or 5 gigahertz (2.4 or 5 billion waves per second). The router then converts the frequency of the radio waves back into the binary information that the user requested, and sends that information to the Internet to retrieve the information the user asked for through an Internet cable. Once this process is complete and the information is retrieved, the same thing happens in reverse to send the information back to the computer. This process happens so quickly that most routers can handle 54 million bits of information per second! Wi-Fi, contrary to popular belief, is not magic, rather amazing technology that allows millions of pieces of information to register on a user's screen in a single second, giving comfortable and accessible information to all those who desire it.

Supermaneuverability

In modern air combat, science and engineering, coupled with new technologies have strongly influenced the capabilities of fighter aircraft. These aircraft are faster, deadlier, more advanced, and more maneuverable than ever before. However, one intriguing concept has revolutionized dogfighting and modern air combat. The concept of supermaneuverability. 

Supermaneuverability is defined by the United States Defence Technical Information Center (DTIC) as “the capability of a fighter aircraft to execute tactical maneuvers with controlled side slipping and at angles of attack beyond maximum lift.” These aircraft can “maintain a high degree of maneuverability below corner velocity, and at least limited attitude control without altitude loss below stall speed. Such an aircraft is capable of maneuvers that are impossible with a purely aerodynamic design.” Explained simply, supermaneuverable aircraft can conduct maneuvers at extremely high angles of attack (the angle at which the chord of an aircraft's wing meets the relative wind), even when at stall speeds, where normal aircraft would experience a loss of lift and would depart flight. 

In order to be supermaneuverable, an aircraft must be designed differently. One of these unique characteristics that supermaneuverable aircraft feature is thrust vectoring. According to NASA, “Some modern fighter aircraft can change the angle of the thrust by using a movable nozzle. The ability to change the angle of the thrust is called thrust vectoring, or vectored 

thrust.” As shown by this free-body diagram from NASA, aircraft with thrust vectoring capabilities can change the angle of their thrust, thus changing the direction of the net force. Supermaneuverable aircraft can use thrust vectoring technology to maintain attitude control and also increase their maneuverability by being able to direct their thrust according to the direction of their maneuvers. Because of these unique capabilities, many of the world’s most powerful dogfighting aircraft, that is aircraft that excel in within-visual range combat against other aircraft, are supermaneuverable. This includes the United States Air Force’s Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 among others. All in all, supermaneuverability allows dogfighting aircraft to be more maneuverable, controllable, and deadlier than ever before. 

The Butterfly Effect

Imagine a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon Rainforest. It might seem like an incredibly trivial action with zero significance, however, according to the butterfly effect, the inconsequential flap of its wings can set off a chain reaction that could change the world forever. 

This phenomenon was first discovered by Edward Lorenz in the 1960s and explains that small actions can have large consequences because systems are extremely dependent on initial conditions. Lorenz was a professor of meteorology at MIT and wanted to use new computer technology to be able to more accurately predict weather cycles. To simulate a physical system such as the weather, one must solve differential equations, which predict how a system changes over time. Lorenz found that when he rounded one variable from .506127 to .506 the results changed dramatically. This created the idea of “sensitive dependence on initial conditions.” The understanding of the tiniest of changes leading to wildly different outcomes. This discovery led to a new branch of mathematics known as chaos theory that studies the behavior of systems that are “unpredictable” due to their extreme sensitivity to initial conditions.

Chaos Theory and the Butterfly effect have many real world applications including the flow of liquid, weather, population cycles, stock market rates and so much more because of how many variables exist in the world we live in and how unpredictable it is. The butterfly effect highlights just how interconnected the world is and the inherent unpredictability of it.