How Fiber Optic Cables Power the Internet

How the Internet Works in 4 Minutes | Animation Video

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Summary

This animated video by BLASTERTECHNOLOGY demystifies how the internet truly operates, especially dispelling the common myth of its dependency on satellites. The internet's backbone is primarily a network of fiber optic cables beneath the seas, connecting continents. The video explains how data travels through these cables and is directed via routers and cell towers to our devices. It also highlights the role of IP addresses and DNS in directing internet traffic accurately, ensuring our seamless browsing experience.

Highlights

Internet fibers cross oceans, withstanding harsh conditions, to connect the world. 🌎
IP addresses act like digital addresses, guiding internet traffic to the right recipients. 📍
DNS technology transforms domain names into easy-to-remember digital addresses. 📖
Data flows as light pulses in cables, then converts to signals for device accessibility. 💡
Mobile data reaches devices via cell towers, carrying internet waves. 📡

Key Takeaways

The internet primarily relies on fiber optic cables, not satellites, for data transmission. 🌐
Data travels through thick cables under oceans, which connect continents and power the internet. 🌊
Every internet device is uniquely identified by an IP address, enabling communication. 📱
DNS technology links domain names to their respective IP addresses, simplifying internet navigation. 🔗
Data travels as light through cables and converts to signals for our devices, delivering the internet. 💡

Overview

Have you ever wondered how the internet, something so omnipresent yet invisible, really works? This video reveals that instead of zooming across the sky via satellites, our internet predominantly travels through fiber optic cables. These cables stretch beneath oceans, dodging marine life, to bring data to our screens. 📺

To comprehend this digital highway, imagine each tech device with its own digital address, known as an IP. Much like a home address for gadgets, it directs internet data precisely where it needs to go. Of course, the familiar websites require a naming system easy for us humans to remember—here enters DNS, the internet's phone book, linking catchy names to numerical addresses. 📚

As data requests fly across the globe, they've journeyed through vibrant light bursts in cables before transforming into the electric signals that arrive at your router. Whether through wired connections or mobile towers, this transformation ensures your internet experience is smooth and instantaneous, regardless of the method of access. 🌐

Chapters

00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview of the Internet The introduction and overview of the internet chapter begins by addressing common misconceptions about how the internet works, particularly the belief that it operates primarily via satellite. The speaker prepares the audience to explore the true nature of the internet, emphasizing its pervasive yet elusive presence in our devices, such as phones, TVs, and computers.
00:30 - 01:00: Data Transmission via Cables and Satellites This chapter explains how data is transmitted via cables and satellites. Data for internet access and emails is sent through a global network of cables. However, your required data is often stored on remote servers owned by companies like Google or Facebook. Although satellite transmission is an option, it is not favorable due to its limited bandwidth and high latency that causes delays.
01:00 - 01:30: Fiber Optic Cables Distribution The chapter discusses the global distribution of Internet data primarily through fiber optic cables that traverse under seas and oceans. It highlights the robust construction of these cables to protect the fragile optical fibers inside. These cables are connected to landing stations at ocean shores, facilitating the spread of the internet across continents, forming an extensive network.
01:30 - 02:00: Accessing Data from Devices The chapter 'Accessing Data from Devices' explores how devices like phones or laptops access data from the internet. It uses the example of accessing a YouTube video, where the data is stored in a data center on a server's SSD. It illustrates the process of internet connection via cable or Wi-Fi through a router, to access this stored data.
02:00 - 02:30: IP Addresses and DNS Technology The chapter explains how data reaches a device through the internet using IP addresses. It further elaborates that every device connected to the internet, such as phones or laptops, is assigned a unique IP address by an internet service provider. Additionally, servers where data is stored also have IP addresses, allowing data to be sent and received to specific locations.
02:30 - 03:00: Data Transfer Mechanism The chapter discusses the Data Transfer Mechanism, highlighting the role of IP addresses and domain names. IP addresses, represented by numbers, are essential for locating devices on a network. However, these numerical addresses are difficult for humans to remember, which is where domain names come into play. The DNS (Domain Name System) technology operates like a phone book, associating each domain name with its corresponding IP address. This association makes it easier for humans to access websites using memorable domain names rather than numerical IP addresses. The chapter concludes by explaining that data requests initiated by users are transmitted to the appropriate server through this mechanism.
03:00 - 03:30: Conclusion The conclusion chapter discusses the process of data transfer through different mediums. It explains how data is initially transmitted as light pulses through fiber optic cables to reach your router. From there, data is sent as electrical signals through internet cables or Wi-Fi. Additionally, it covers data transfer through mobile internet, where signals travel through optical cables to a cell tower and are then transmitted as electromagnetic waves.

How the Internet Works in 4 Minutes | Animation Video Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 Hi all! In today's video we will talk about the internet and find out how it works. If you thought that the internet works by satellite, find out that you were wrong. So how does the internet work and where does it come from? Before starting this video don't forget to activate the subtitles and smash the like button! The Internet is everywhere, but still nowhere. He is on the phone, TV or computer, but where exactly does he come from? Every time you receive a notification,
00:30 - 01:00 access a site or send an email, the data is sent via cables that are found all over the globe and so reach the recipient. The data you want to access on the internet is very far away from you and is stored at companies such as Google, Facebook or other hosting companies. From here, your data may be transmitted to you via a satellite, but this is useless because the bandwidth of a satellite is very limited and leads to long delays.
01:00 - 01:30 So what's the solution? Well, find out that data on the Internet circulates mostly through fiber optic cables that cross the Earth under seas and oceans, among sharks and other strange creatures. The cables are very very thick to protect the optical fiber inside which is very fragile and sensitive. These cables are connected to landing stations located on the shores of the oceans and from there the internet goes to an entire continent forming a huge network.
01:30 - 02:00 If we found out where the internet comes from, now let's see how it works. To better understand, let's take a concrete case. Let's say you want to access certain data from the internet from a phone or laptop that is connected to the internet via cable or wifi via a router. The data you want to access, for example a video on YouTube, is stored in a data center on an SSD of a server.
02:00 - 02:30 But how does this data get to you? Any device connected to the internet is identified by a unique group of numbers, called the IP Address and the IP address of your phone or laptop, for example, is given by your internet service provider. Also, the server where the data you want to access is stored also has an IP address. So through the IP, the information has a sender and a recipient. Moreover, if you want to access google.com for example,
02:30 - 03:00 it also has an IP address, hidden under a domain name, to be easier to use, because for us humans it is much easier for us to remember google.com than to remember numbers like 105.39.4.284. This is where DNS technology comes in, which works like a phone book. Specifically, DNS associates a name for each website IP address in the world. From here, this data request that you made, is transmitted to the respective server
03:00 - 03:30 and the data transfer to you starts. The data flows through the fiber optic cable system in the form of light pulses and thus reaches your router. From here, the data is transmitted by the router in the form of electrical signals via internet cable or Wi-Fi. But what if you use the internet through mobile data? Well, the signal is transmitted through the same optical cables to a cell tower, and from here the internet is transmitted to you in the form of electromagnetic waves.
03:30 - 04:00 In the end, I think it's quite important to know what the internet is and where it comes from, given that we use it daily, and without it our daily lives would have been much harder in all respects. Thanks for watching! Don't forget to subscribe and share this video! See you in the next video!