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CompTIA Network+ 1.5 CompTIA A+ Core 1 3.1 Cisco CCST Networking 3.2 CompTIA A+ Core 1 2.2 CompTIA Tech+ 2.3
TechKnowSurge Catalog Interactives Copper, Light or Radio?
InteractiveNetworkFree

Copper, Light or Radio?

Does each connection carry its bits as electricity over copper, as light, or as radio waves? Sort them.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

To connect two devices you need something to carry the signal between them: the network media. The lesson gives three options. Electricity over copper. A cable, usually copper, carries electrical signals; changes in the voltage stand for the 1s and 0s. The lesson pictures it as voltage on for a 1 and off for a 0. Real Ethernet uses set voltage levels and a coding scheme rather than plain on and off, but the idea holds: it is electricity on a conductor. Light. A flashlight can send Morse code, and a computer can flash light for its 1s and 0s. A TV remote does it in the open air with infrared. Networks send light down fiber optic cable instead: a strand of glass that is thin, fast and fragile, and breaks if bent too far. Radio waves. A radio wave is shaped to stand for the 1s and 0s and sent through the air: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, satellite. Whichever medium is used, the computer itself works in 1s and 0s, so something has to turn those into the signal the medium carries and back again. That is the network interface card, or NIC. It was once a card slotted into the motherboard; today it is usually built in, like the Ethernet port on a desktop, though many laptops still use a separate card for Wi-Fi. On Windows, Network Connections lists each one: the demo laptop shows Bluetooth, two Ethernet adapters and Wi-Fi.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

CompTIA Network+
1.5 Compare and contrast transmission media and transceivers.
CompTIA A+ Core 1
3.1 Explain basic cable types and their connectors, features, and purposes.
2.2 Compare and contrast common networking hardware.
Cisco CCST Networking
3.2 Differentiate between Wi-Fi, cellular, and wired network technologies
CompTIA Tech+
2.3 Explain the purpose of common internal computing components.

Key terms

Network Media
The physical or wireless means through which data is transmitted between devices, including copper cable, fiber optic, and radio signals.
Copper Cable
A conductor-based network medium that transmits data by varying electrical voltage to represent binary ones and zeros.
Fiber Optic
A network transmission medium that carries data as pulses of light through a glass or plastic strand rather than as electrical signals over copper, enabling very high speeds and immunity to electromagnetic interference. Fiber optic cables are used for high-bandwidth runs such as backbone links, long-distance WAN connections, and data center interconnects.
Wireless
A network medium that transmits data using radio waves manipulated to represent binary ones and zeros.
Network Interface Card
NIC
A hardware component that connects a computer to a network.
Wireless NIC
A network interface card that transmits and receives data using radio waves, enabling devices to connect to a network without physical cables.
Binary
The base-2 number system that uses only the digits 0 and 1; the native language of digital computers, which store and process data as electrical on/off states.
Network Connections
A Windows utility that displays and manages the network interfaces available on a system, including their status and configuration details.

Topics

Network Media Copper Cable Fiber Optic Wireless Network Interface Card Interactive Categorize

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