Communications through Water

[killivolt]

I was reading another Thread about Communications through the Ground.

Come to find out, Yes.

So, I thought if I'm in an Urban Area, would it be possible to "Communicate through Water Pipes"

All the water pipes are connected in a Grid like pattern, using main lines sprouting to homes.

So, I'm wondering if I could find a frequency that would travel through the pipes and someone on another block would be able to pick it up?

 

[tcmtech]

Should be able to with a basic low frequency AM transmission like the old vacuum tube based power line audio transmitter units use.

It would be interesting to try!

 

[ronsimpson]

Years ago I lived in a college dorm where girls lived on the top floor. Boys lived in the ground floor. We had hot water heat in all rooms. By banging on the pipes we could communicate.

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[killivolt]

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That's morse hahaha. What does it say

 

[tcmtech]

LOL!

 

[killivolt]

LOL!

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Thanks, TM

 

[JimB]

So, I thought if I'm in an Urban Area, would it be possible to "Communicate through Water Pipes"
All the water pipes are connected in a Grid like pattern, using main lines sprouting to homes.
So, I'm wondering if I could find a frequency that would travel through the pipes and someone on another block would be able to pick it up?

An interesting thought, but it will fail on several counts.
A water pipe could be considered like a waveguide as used for microwaves, but the varying sizes of pipe would create some weird propagation modes, and for a small pipe like 0.5inch diameter, you would need a frequency up around 15 to 20Ghz to be in with a chance of it propagating at all.

The next teeny weeny problem is that radio waves do not travel very far through water, the higher the frequency the greater the attenuation.

Now if you were to magnetically couple to the pipe by putting a coil around it, you may then be in with a chance of communicating up the pipe, assuming that it was a steel or iron pipe of course.

JimB

 

[killivolt]

An interesting thought, but it will fail on several counts.
A water pipe could be considered like a waveguide as used for microwaves, but the varying sizes of pipe would create some weird propagation modes, and for a small pipe like 0.5inch diameter, you would need a frequency up around 15 to 20Ghz to be in with a chance of it propagating at all.

The next teeny weeny problem is that radio waves do not travel very far through water, the higher the frequency the greater the attenuation.

Now if you were to magnetically couple to the pipe by putting a coil around it, you may then be in with a chance of communicating up the pipe, assuming that it was a steel or iron pipe of course.

JimB

Most are in America, I also thought about the sewer and RF?

 

[JimB]

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[killivolt]

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I thankfully have a computer. I have no idea without it

Edit: I guess that's on the bucket list too!