What is the Difference Between Propagation and Transmission?

The main differences between propagation and transmission are as follows:

1. Definition and purpose:

• Transmission is the process of sending something out or passing something on, from one person, place, or thing to another. It is widely used in fields such as mechanics, telecommunication, electrical power supply, computer science, and medicine.
• Propagation, on the other hand, is a phenomenon where something spreads or extends, and it is used in fields such as plant science, genetics, wave theory, and radio communication.

1. Participation: Transmission usually takes place between two parties, whereas propagation is a source-only phenomenon.
2. Limited distance: There is a limited distance in transmission, but propagation has no such limitation. The propagating distance depends on the initial conditions, such as the energy in a wave or disturbance from the medium.
3. Physical state: In transmission, the physical state of the transmitted thing usually does not change while it is being transmitted. In propagation, some changes can occur while propagating.
4. Delay: Transmission delay is the time needed to push all the packet bits on the transmission link, mainly depending on the size of the data and channel bandwidth (in bps). Propagation delay is the time it takes for a bit to travel from one end of the wire to the other, proportional to the length of the wire.

In summary, transmission is the process of sending information or energy from one point to another, while propagation is the spreading or extending of a phenomenon. Transmission is typically a two-party process, whereas propagation is a source-only phenomenon. Transmission has a limited distance, whereas propagation does not. The physical state of the transmitted object remains unchanged during transmission, but it can change during propagation. Transmission delay is associated with the time it takes to push all the packet bits on the transmission link, while propagation delay is the time it takes for a bit to travel through a medium.

Comparative Table: Propagation vs Transmission

The difference between propagation and transmission can be understood through the following table:

In summary, propagation refers to the process of transmitting a signal and the time it takes for the signal to travel from one point to another, while transmission refers to the process of sending data in the form of packets and the time it takes to push those packets through a link.