What Material Affects a WiFi Signal the Most?

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this study was to determine what material attenuates a WiFi signal the most. Methods/Materials Connect NETGEAR wireless router, check settings. Connect Android tablet to internet. Download WiFi Analyzer Application. Use tape measure to place tablet 10 feet from router. Path between Android tablet and router is to be clear and void of signal interference. Perform control read using WiFi Analyzer. Place aluminum foil 1/2 inch in front of router, using the tape measure. Take three readings and mathematically average the results, subtract the average result from the controlled average, to obtain the attenuation. Remove material and place next material in front of router. Repeat steps to obtain results for these materials: human body, steel, glass, cardboard, plastic and water. Enter information into data table, graph and logbook. Results The material that caused the most attenuation to the WiFi signal strength was the aluminum foil, at the attenuation of 14.7 decibel-milliwatts (dBm). Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was that a plastic container would affect the strength of the WiFi signal the most. The data results indicate that this hypothesis is considered false. The attenuation of the aluminum foil was the highest decibel-milliwatt interference of the materials tested in this experiment.

Competition history

• CSEF 2017 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1423

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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