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What Materials Can Block the Wifi Signal?

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Purpose

The purpose of the project is to discover which material can block the wifi signal, aluminum, glass, and steel.

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Hypothesis

If steel, aluminum, and glass are tested, then the aluminum will block the wifi signal.

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Materials

  • 2 small steel bowls
  • 2 large aluminum trays
  • 2 large glass containers, or bowls
  • 1 plugged in wifi router
  • 1 cell phone with a wifi signal measuring app

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Procedure

  • Gather all materials.
  • Download the wifi signal measuring app in your phone.
  • Identify 3 locations in the house and take reading of the wifi signal in the 3 locations.
  • Place the first blocking material near the router and also the cell phone, which is placed in the location identified in procedure 3, and then take the reading of the signal strength and record the data for 3 locations.
  • Place the second blocking item near the router and the cell phone, identified in procedure 3 and repeat the 2 last steps in procedure 4, take the reading and record the data for 3 locations.
  • Place the third blocking material near the router and also near the cell phone, identified in procedure 3 and repeat the last 2 steps in procedure 4, take the reading and record the data for 3 locations.
  • Evaluate the findings in above procedures and conclude
  • Repeat the process 2 more times.

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Data Table

Blocking Materials

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Average

Aluminium

620 mbps

567 mbps

440 mbps

542.3 mbps

Steel

639 mbps

482 mbps

477 mbps

532.6 mbps

Glass

660 mbps

550 mbps

438 mbps

549.3 mbps

Wifi Speed Strength Measured.

Mbps=megabytes per second

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Bar Graph

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Average Bar Graph

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Conclusion

The hypothesis was not supported. Even though aluminium blocked the WIFI signal, steel blocked the WIFI signal the most.

On an average WIFI signal strength was 532.6 mbps when blocked by steel as compared to an average signal strength of 542.3 mbps when blocked by aluminium. Of all the materials tested, glass blocked the WIFI signal the least with an average signal strength of 549.3 mbps.

Based on the above findings, it can be concluded that the WIFI signal was blocked most by steel followed by aluminium and then glass.

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Real World Connections

This project helped in discovering which materials block WIFI. WIFI technologies and towers can be designed to avoid these materials.

This will help humanity by expanding the use of WIFI and Internet to a large area covering many people.

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