Frequencies on a wire

Thread Starter

Cerkit

Joined Jan 4, 2009
287
How is it possible to have many signals of various frequencies passing through a wire, isn't the signal propagating by means of the electrons resonating at ONE particular frequency? If they are already preoccupied with one particular frequency how does more than one frequency propagate simultaneously?
 

beenthere

Joined Apr 20, 2004
15,819
Perhaps you are confusing the tail and the dog. While an electron will respond to EMF applied to the wire and move accordingly, the daily example of a range of frequencies carried by wires attached to speakers, intercoms, telephone equipment (think voice and DSL), plus the enormous range of separate channels simultaneously distributed through coaxial cable makes it clear that the affected electrons are merely the messengers, and not the controllers.
 

Thread Starter

Cerkit

Joined Jan 4, 2009
287
Ok I think I see what you are saying, I guess what was confusing me is that I viewed the so called 'messengers' as being preoccupied when one particular signal was being sent at a particular frequency but I am assuming that the way to view it is that several 'messages' can pass through at different frequencies and the electrons are able to multitask.Yes?
 
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