This document discusses the physical layer and media in networking. It covers:
- The physical layer is responsible for carrying information between nodes by converting data to signals and transmitting them across a medium.
- Data must be transformed into electromagnetic signals to be transmitted. Both analog and digital signals can be used for transmission.
- Periodic analog signals like sine waves are commonly used. They are defined by amplitude, frequency, and phase. Composite signals can be decomposed into sums of sine waves.
- The bandwidth of a signal is the range of its component frequencies. Frequency spectrum refers to the specific frequencies present in a signal.