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Physical Media. Now that we’ve been over how to encode data as signals, what are the physical media that carry these signals?. Guided media. Twisted-pair : Standard phone cable Two insulated wires wrapped around each other One carries the signal; the other is a ground reference
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Physical Media Now that we’ve been over how to encode data as signals, what are the physical media that carry these signals?
Guided media • Twisted-pair: Standard phone cable • Two insulated wires wrapped around each other • One carries the signal; the other is a ground reference • Twisting reduces the effects of noise and crosstalk • Used for phone lines, T1, etc.
Coaxial cable • Carries higher frequencies than twisted pair • Consists of an inner wire that carries the signal and an outer sheath that serves as the ground reference. • Used in cable TV, ethernet
Fiber optic • Glass or plastic core surrounded by a cladding. • Difference in density between core and cladding allows light to bounce its way down the cable. • Different fibers can support different transmission modes: • Multimode: Multiple beams of light traveling different paths. • Single-mode: Uses a single beam projected as close to horizontally as possible. • Very high bandwidth and very low attenuation.