Eli5: What component in eletonics like cellphones and computers actually “receives” and “emits” wifi signals? What is wi-fi in terms of physics?

Question

Eli5: What component in eletonics like cellphones and computers actually “receives” and “emits” wifi signals? What is wi-fi in terms of physics?

In: Physics

Answer 1

WiFi signals are just a specific wavelength of radio waves, which is a specific range of electromagnetic waves, the same as light. You can think of devices communicating through WiFi as a bit like using a flickering lightbulb to transmit messages in Morse code, except that the code it uses is more complex, and the light is in a color that is invisible to the human eye but for which most things like walls are transparent like glass.