What is the Internet?
The Internet is what you are using right NOW to read this blog post! The Internet is a series of computers that are linked together. Today, millions of computers are linked together around the world! Internet can be accessed everywhere from your house, to your school, to your local library! Servers are computers that store websites or movies like this website, www.spectacularsci.com! “WWW” stands for World Wide Web which means that the websites can be visible worldwide. The servers send data to your computer so that you can watch movies, listen to podcasts, or even visit websites!
How Does The Internet Work?
The Internet all starts with your computer or device you want to view a webpage on. When you type in the website or want to watch a movie, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will send that request to a place called an Exchange Point. That is where the Internet cables from your house or school connect physically to servers around the world. This is done using fiber-optic cables. These cables can transmit pulses of light. The request to pull up the webpage travels from the Exchange Point to the server of whatever webpage you want to view. Servers take up physical space in a place called a Data Center where all of the servers are stored. After the server receives your request to view the webpage, the server sends back information through cables that travel all around the world, even oceans! Then, your device receives the information that the server sent to you. That’s how the Internet works! It’s amazing to think that all of this happens in a fraction of a second!