2. A tough network.

The internet started life back in 1969 as a defence research project in America. They wanted a computer network that would be able to keep on working even if part of the network was damaged by something serious, such as a war breaking out.

The basic idea was to have many possible paths to get across the internet from one network to another.

Having more than one way to get from one network to another makes the internet tougher to break.

'Routers' are machines but they are a bit like traffic police - they choose the best way to move their traffic at that instant. If a problem is detected then the 'router' can automatically send its traffic along another route.

The movie below allows you to break a link in the network. Click on it to see what happens.

Notice that the routers detect the problem link and automatically re-route all data to another route.

The Internet now encircles all people on the planet (potentialy at least, given the right tech), from the remotest Arctic group to the hottest desert, where people want the latest prices on their goods declared before travelling for miles down to market day.

Or taxis in downtown London having to compete with the latest trend of an online taxi firm such as Uber. Where people can use an App to call the nearest offer of a lift.

So I would suggest that the power of the Internet is trade and personal relationships - Facebook and E-bay come to mind, but of course there is a huge world of commerce out there that is making use of the internet.