The Network · Workshop 02 · Foundation
What's Inside the Cable
Five steps. About 25 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Wire.
The Network · Workshop 02 · Foundation
Five steps. About 25 minutes. Up to 7 stars. The constellation you're building is called First Wire.
Before any clever software runs, copper wires have to actually carry the signal. Most people never look. You're going to.
An Ethernet cable looks like one wire. Inside, it's eight thinner wires twisted together in four pairs. The twist isn't decoration — it cancels out interference from other wires nearby. Without the twist, the network would be unreliable.
The plastic plug at the end is called an RJ45 connector. The eight wires inside line up in a specific order so the device on the other end knows which wire carries what.
By the end of this workshop you'll know what's inside that cable behind your TV — and why it's built the way it is.
That's the warm-up. When you've actually read it — not skimmed — tap below.
Pick all that are true.
Click a part, then its job.
Look at one cable behind a TV, router, or computer. Describe what you see — color, plug shape, what it connects, anything written on it.
Stuck? Look behind the router (the box with antennas or blinking lights). The cable from the wall to the router is usually the main Ethernet cable. The cable to the modem might be a different one.
One sentence in your own words.