Home > Science Fact Finder > Communication - What Is The Internet?
Communication - What Is The Internet?
What is the Internet?
The Internet is the world's largest computer network. It links millions of computer terminals by wires or telephone lines in a web of networks and shared software (computer programs and languages). The original features of the Internet included electronic mail (e-mail), bulletin boards, and newsgroups. In the 1990s the World Wide Web (or "Web") became the most important component of the Internet. The Web is a vast interface (the point where all parts of a system intersect) which provides access to the multitudes of Internet sites. Researchers estimate that 20 to 30 million people accessed the Internet in mid-1995 for purposes ranging from checking weather conditions to making airline reservations to shopping.
The precursor to the Internet, called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), was created by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1969. The purpose of ARPANET was to provide a secure,...
[The entire page is 266 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
- Language And Symbols
-
Radio
- Who invented radio?
- What was the first radio broadcasting station?
- How are the call letters beginning with "K" or "W" assigned to radio stations?
- Why do AM stations have a wider broadcast range at night?
- Why do FM radio stations have a limited broadcast range?
- How do submerged submarines communicate?
- Can radio transmissions between space shuttles and ground control be picked up by shortwave radio?
- Television
- Telecommunications
