The history of mobile radio communication development in one breath

In the last century, a scientist named Nikola Tesla predicted that 100 years from now, everyone will have a wireless communication device in their hands, and they will be able to communicate no matter how far away they are. And it turns out that his prediction has come true, and now we all call it: mobile phones.

Yes, wireless communication is the original intention of mobile phone development. However, its tortuous development history is likely to subvert your cognition. In 1864, a British physicist Maxwell proposed the Maxwell equations. For the first time, "electricity" and "magnetism" were unified. He believed that when the electric field changes, the magnetic field will be excited, and the changing magnetic field will excite the electric field, and the two together constitute the electromagnetic field. He predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves, which can only be transverse waves, and deduced that the propagation speed of electromagnetic waves is equal to the speed of light. At the same time, he concluded that light is a form of electromagnetic waves, revealing the connection between light phenomena and electromagnetic phenomena.

In 1886, German physicist Hertz proved through experiments that light is indeed an electromagnetic wave. At that time, no one knew that a great invention called radio communication was about to be born. Scientists began to think, since light can be transmitted from one place to another, and light is an electromagnetic wave, then can information also be transmitted to another place through electromagnetic waves? In this way, wouldn't wireless communication be realized?

Between 1890 and 1900, scientists continued to research wireless communications and invented many wireless communication devices, but for various reasons, long-distance transmission was never possible. Among them, a scientist named Lodge found inspiration from Hertz's experimental circuit and made an electromagnetic wave receiver that could receive electromagnetic wave signals 800 meters away. However, 800 meters could not solve any communication problems at all. If wireless communication was to be realized, a longer distance was required.

The scientist who can really transmit electromagnetic waves over long distances is the man who is regarded as a "god" by the public. He is Tesla. In 1893, Tesla demonstrated radio communication for the first time in Missouri, USA. He described and demonstrated the basic principles of radio communication. The instrument he made contains all the basic elements of the radio system before the invention of the electron tube. He applied for a patent using the manuscript. Unfortunately, the manuscript was too simple at the time, and Tesla did not have the funds to mass-produce the wireless communication device. He missed the patent for radio communication and the Nobel Prize. You know, generally speaking, the first inventor is not well-known, but the person who makes the invention popular often becomes immortal.

The person who achieved the large-scale promotion of radio communication was Marconi. He solved the key problem of wireless communication, which was ultra-long-distance transmission plus mass production. By 1897, Marconi had achieved radio communication across the English Channel. He also established the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company. At this time, he was only 23 years old. The technology of radio communication also won him the Nobel Prize.

At that time, few people could use wireless telegraphs. The high cost and bulky body made them only used as information transmission tools in wars. Until the end of World War II, with the rapid development of the economy and society, the transmission of information seemed to become more and more important, and information transmission equipment became lighter and lighter. Until the appearance of the world's first mobile phone.

The emergence of mobile phones has confirmed Tesla's conjecture that everyone will have a wireless communication device, and 5G, Bluetooth, navigation, and broadcasting are all closely related to Tesla. After Tesla's death, the US court re-granted him the radio patent. This is also Tesla's last patent. In the 21st century, wireless networks have become a basic resource that we cannot do without, just like air. We know that whether it is 1G, 3G or 5G, they are all transmitted through radio electromagnetic waves, and the direction of wireless network development is fast! But the speed of 4G is fast enough, what is the use of the emergence of 5G? But if we go back to 5 years ago, when the 4G era just emerged, and ask the same question, what is the use of 4G? Who can predict the outbreak of short videos, the rise of the live broadcast industry, and the popularization of mobile payments? In contrast, the current 5G network and 5nm chips have made a better preparation for the development of 5G, and the network speed is ten times that of 4G.

People's predictions about the future cannot escape the thinking and limitations of current technology. If you ask people 100 years ago what the future will be like, they may tell you that cars will run in the sky. 100 years have passed, and cars have not flown into the sky, but mobile phones and computer information technology have experienced explosive growth. Now we are at the forefront of the 5G communication era. What new things will be developed in the future still depends on the new generation of young people to describe.