On 7 Oct 2000 01:20:43 -0400, whatshakin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
:This makes it sound like there is actually something tangible being put on
:the wire. Bits are merely ones and zeros which are signaled by different
:voltages etc in the line encoding.
:
:Bits do not occupy line space.
Sure they do. Ever see the terms "wavelength" or "short wave" on a radio?
Inversely proportional to the frequency, wave length is the physical length
of a signal, based on the distance in free space for one cycle at a given
frequency. As the speed of light is slower in media such as twisted pair
copper and fiber, the length of a bit at a given frequency is shorter than
it would be in free space.
The ones and zeros obviously travel along the wire from the sending to
the receiving end. If you could freeze time and take a snapshot, you
would see a length of wire with a positive voltage, followed by one of
negative charge, the lengths corresponding to bits.
:Measurements of how fast data can be moved over a wire are the time it takes
:for a signal at one end to be heard at the other. The amount of data
:(signals) which can be moved across a wire is ascertained by the line
:encoding method, and how many signals the encoding system can be made to
:produce in a second. Minus the delay factors between point A and B of
:course.
And those delay factors are the speed-of-light propagation delay of the
medium, the delay proportional to the length. Distance (length on the wire)
equals velocity (speed of light in the medium) divided by time (length of
a bit in fractions of a second).
:BTW, my calculations for the speed of light resulted in 299,793,100 m/s
Which method did you use? Laser and a spinning mirror? :-)
--
Jay Hennigan - Network Administration - [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NetLojix Communications, Inc. NASDAQ: NETX - http://www.netlojix.com/
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