How has the Internet been made possible? What are the
technologies that have enabled the Internet to grow at such a rapid
rate?
Basically there are two core
technologies, the convergence of which have made the Internet possible – computer technology and communications technology. At the heart of the computer there is a device which has two stable states designated as zero and one. The combination of zeros and ones form bits (binary digits) of information, and are used for data, processing and memory storage. The crux of the computer capability is in the large number of bits containing zeros and ones it has. The second capability is the rate at which a zero can be changed into one. The technology for fabricating and connecting transistors has seen a breakthrough due to the use of silicon as semiconductor material. With the introduction of semiconductor technology, the storage capacity of computers has increased dramatically. Integrated Circuits (IC) have millions of circuits on a small chip. The computer uses software for it to function. The instructions, operations, input data and parameters are required in a form that the computer can understand. The programs that the computer can understand are written in a code called machine language. To translate human (or programming) languages into machine language, we need a translator. The Internet uses cable
networks, satellite communication systems, cellular networks and optical fibre networks. Cable networks transmit data, usually over short distances. Transmission of data through optical fibre cables has brought about a sea-change in communications. Optical fibre cables are free of electro-magnetic interference and signal noise. Multimedia provides a mix of multiple media such as text, graphics, audio and video. Virtual Reality is a representation of reality in a virtual environment. It uses multimedia to provide a real life like presentation of events on the computer screen. The virtual environment can be seen, felt and interacted with.