150 years ago, the first transatlantic cable transmission was sent from the Queen of England

距今一百五十年前，第一次有線傳輸成功是英國女王

to the US President, taking 17 hours. 85 years ago, telephones became common household fixtures

傳訊息給美國總統，歷時十七小時。八十五年前，電話成為家家必備

and 30 years ago the first cell phone was invented, which weighed as much as an iron,

三十年前，第一支手機問世，重量相當於一塊鐵

took 10 hours to charge for a 35 minute conversation, and cost almost $4000.

講三十五分鐘的電話就要花十小時充電，當時手機造價還高達四千美金

20 years ago, the first text message was sent - a simple ‘Merry Christmas”

二十年前，第一封簡訊內容「聖誕快樂」發送成功

- and today more people have mobile phones than toilets, with around 23 billion text messages being sent per day.

如今人們還手機擁有率高於家裡廁所數量，每日就將近有兩百三十億發送出去

But how the hell do text messages even work?

究竟訊息是怎麼傳出去，又怎麼接收到的？

When you tune a radio to a station, you pick up the information that is being sent out

當你轉到一電台頻道，你收到的訊息其實是

via electromagnetic waves at a particular frequency - in this case they are radio waves.

來自接收特定頻率的電磁波，在這我們稱它為「無線電波」

These waves mostly just pass through our bodies without interacting at all,

這些多數穿透我們身體的波並不影響我們

but they are on the same spectrum as the visible light we see, just different in size.

和平日映入眼簾的可見光屬於相同光譜，只是大小不同

Photons with wavelengths between 400-700 nanometers have the perfect level of energy to excite the rods and cones in your eyes,

光子波長介於四百到七百奈米最能激起眼球中的感光細胞

which then transmit signals to your brain that you interpret as different colours.

之後將信息傳送於大腦，識別出不同顏色

But radio waves, which have wavelengths ranging from 100 microns to 100 kilometers,

然而，無線電波波長可介於一百微米到一百公里

are much lower energy and can’t excite your eyes - so they are invisible to us.

能量較低，無法激起感光細胞作用，所以為不可見光

Similar to a radio, your cell phone receives signals at specific frequencies, but it can

同廣播的原理，手機接收屬於特定頻率的信號，但它

also transmit its own radio waves back to a network at the same time.

同時也能發送無線電波回一網路

The network is a system of towers, antennas and transmitters which divide a geographical area into ‘cells’

此網路為基地台系統、天線、發送器所組成，將一地里區域分成好幾個網格(註：cell為行動通訊系統的一個服務區)

- hence the term ‘cell phone’. These cells determine which areas are served by which towers,

所以我們才稱「手機」(cell phone)。這些區塊決定該由哪個基地台負責

though they generally overlap so that your phone always has a tower to communicate with.

大多數基地台服務區都有重疊範圍，所以你的手機才有辦法維持收訊

Feel like your phone battery is losing power faster than normal? Phones transmit at higher levels indoors due to building materials,

覺得你的手機電池比以前更早沒電嗎？原因在於，建築物本身建材影響，使手機在室內需要更高電平

in rural areas due to greater distance to the network antennas

在偏遠地區因距離天線遙遠而耗電

and when moving at high speeds, like in a car, due to the frequent handover between network antennas.

在車子快速行駛時，耗電原因則是不斷轉換基地台服務區所致

When someone sends you a text, their phone transmits radio signals, which convey the

有人傳簡訊給你時，對方的手機發送電波訊號

identity of both their phone and yours, along with the content of the message.

涵蓋傳送者、接收者的手機資訊與簡訊內容

These signals are then picked up by the tower closest to them, which converts the radio waves into

這些訊號由最接近的基地台接收，並將無線電波轉換成

a digital electrical impulse and passes it along to a hub of the network called a mobile switching center.

電子訊號，再傳送到名為「行動交換中心」的網路樞紐

If you’re out of range, or your phone is off, the message is stored

當你不在基地台服務範圍內或手機關機，訊息就會先暫存在

by the mobile switching center for a short time until you can be located by the network.

行動交換中心，直到手機又可以讓網路偵測到收訊

The network then figures out which tower you are closest to and passes the signal there.

網路會找尋最接近你目前最近的基地台，再把訊號傳到那裡

Once at the tower nearest you, it’s converted back to a radio signal that can be picked

一旦你在基地台服務區，訊號就會再轉換成無線電波

up by the antenna in your phone. This all happens in SECONDS!

讓手機的天線接收。這些是在幾秒內完成的事！

Interestingly, traditional SMS text traffic actually peaked in 2011! Now, most people

有趣的是，傳統簡訊服務在2011年達到高峰！現在，多數人

send messages via internet services. In fact, last year ‘WhatsApp’ overtook

都透過網路服務傳訊息。數據顯示，去年Whatsapp領先

traditional SMS as the #1 handler of text messaging, managing 30 billion messages sent every day all around the world.

傳統簡訊，成為第一大訊息傳送處理系統，負責每日全球三百億封訊息

And if you’re sending those messages across the world, it’s actually sent via

如果你真的把訊息傳到世界各地，這些訊息其實是透過

a giant cable that runs across the ocean floor.

海底電纜所傳送。

In fact, 99% of all international data is sentvia undersea cables.

調查顯示，百分之九十九的跨國數據都是透過海底電纜所傳送

So what does the future of messaging look like? We’re currently in the 4th generation of mobile communication networks, with 5G on the horizon.

所以，未來傳送訊息可能會是什麼型態呢？現今，我們正處在第四代行動通訊網，與5G並進

And it’s actually been projected

而5G全盛的願景早已發布

that the technology for phones embedded in our bodies can be available as soon as 2023.

2023年科技趨勢，手機將能「嵌入」人體

While only a few decades ago it may have taken months to send a love letter,

在幾十年前，情書要經過好幾個月才能送達情人手中

in just a few years you may be able to simply think of your loved one and send them a message to let them know you care.

而在距今幾年後，你只要腦中想著情人，就可以送出你的關心

We tackle humanity's new forms of communication in The Science of Emojis over on AsapTHOUGHT,

我們在之前的youtube影片中談過，如何面對表情符號盛行的新型態對話模式

how they’re often misinterpreted, and how to use them properly.

符號如何受到錯誤解讀及該如何適時使用於對話中才好

Check it out with the link in the description!

你可以在影片底下資訊欄找到「表情符號科學」的影片連結

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

請訂閱觀看更多每週科學影片