Communications Revolution. New Technology for Communications
Over the past century, the development of communications technology has had a dramatic impact on our way of life. It is now possible to phone people almost anywhere in the world, the one mobile phone can work in every continent, and researchers in Antarctica have ready access to EMAIL services! Hist...
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| Format: | Conference Object |
| Language: | English |
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2001
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/17195/ https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/17195/1/2156a.pdf |
| Summary: | Over the past century, the development of communications technology has had a dramatic impact on our way of life. It is now possible to phone people almost anywhere in the world, the one mobile phone can work in every continent, and researchers in Antarctica have ready access to EMAIL services! Historians of the future looking back on the late 20th/early 21st century will probably use the word "globalization" to describe this time. In this chapter, I will present an overview of the concepts and technology used in modern communications systems. These systems rely on fundamental principles such as light scattering, optical excitation of electrons and superposition of waves, and it is necessary to draw on physical principles ranging from ray optics through to quantum optics. The story begins with a brief chronological description of the breakthroughs that have enabled the development of modern communications systems. |
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