This is specifically in reference to Starlink satellites. I have no idea how they could possibly work. How can thousands of videos, pictures, text, and music, be sent optically through space? I feel like it’s an impossible amount of data to transmit, other than the use of magic.
In: Physics
They communicate with ground via regular radio waves. I am assuming you already know how this works.
To communicate with other satellites, they use lasers.
There are many ways to transmit data via laser, I’m not sure the specific one they will use.
But for simplicity, think of how a CD would work. Based on the burnt markings of a CD, a laser hits the CD, and reflects back into the sensor. Based on the differences of the reflected laser light, you can assign each case to be 1 or 0.
You can do the same with satellites. Only you directly send pulses of laser at another satellite, and the other satellite interprets that as 1s and 0s based on the gaps between pulses.
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