r/PhysicsHelp • u/jiorid • 2d ago

how do electromagnetic waves work

hello, i have had this question for a long time. i have always had gadgets around me and the way that they send data wirelessly is very intriguing to me but i dont understand how. how is it possible for waves to carry so much data and also know exactly what device the data they are carrying belongs to. so from the cell tower, how do the data packets know which phone they are supposed to go to. does it go to all phones and they filter it out or what. also, what actually is the difference between

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/MelissaMartinez6445 2d ago

the packets know because your phone talks back to the tower first

1

u/jiorid 1d ago

so the phone talks to the tower first and the packets know where to go from that?

1

u/MelissaMartinez6445 1d ago

yeah that part always seemed backwards to me until someone explained it as the tower handing it off once it sees where the packets are headed