What if you could see Wi-Fi?
That's the question asked by Nickolay Lamm, a researcher and artist. His latest photo set, up on MyDeals.com, illustrates a world where Wi-Fi is visible as translucent rainbow waves.
In Lamm's illustrations of familiar Washington, D.C., landmarks, surrounding Wi-Fi channels are represented as different colors, and full Wi-Fi fields appear as multicolor, interlocking bubbles. Signal interference by trees or other objects is shown as breaks in the Wi-Fi "haze" that otherwise covers entire landscapes.
Lamm admits that representing WiFi visibly is in some ways confusing: After all, Wi-Fi and visible light are both (very different) forms of electromagnetic radiation:
Although color represents its own unique, visible segment of the electromagnetic spectrum, we use red, orange, yellow and other colors to show the invisible wifi channels that make up the overall wifi signal.
Lamm's goal with the pictures wasn't clinical accuracy; rather, he wished to inspire. "I feel that by showing what wi-fi would look like if we could see it, we'd appreciate the technology that we use everyday," Lamm told Motherboard writer Meghan Neal in an email. "A lot of us use technology without appreciating the complexity behind making it work."
Lamm's other illustrations are just as fascinating and informative. His hypothetical photo sets include "What Would Sea Level Rise Look Like On The West Coast?" and "What Would Barbie Look Like As An Average Woman?"
Take a look at his depictions of what visible Wi-Fi in Washington, D.C., would look like below, and read more about his process on MyDeals.
The World Of Visible WiFi
[h/t Gizmodo]