You don't have a connection to the website; you
have a connection to the entire Internet.
The Internet is a "packet switched" network rather
than "circuit switched". To understand this, consider
these two cases:
- Call a friend. In the middle of the call, disconnect
the phone line. Notice how you've essentially
hung up on your friend.
-
Dial up to the Internet and visit this web-page.
Disconnect the phone line while viewing this web-page.
Notice how you can still see this web-page, and that
nothing has changed. Now dial back up to the Internet.
Once you've connected, click on any of the links on
this page. Notice how everything works as before;
you have stayed "connected" to this site even
though you've disconnected yourself from the net
in between.
What this all means is that the Internet creates the illusion
that you are connected to the website. While you've disconnected
from the net, the animation above continued to run.
The reality behind the illusion is that you are not connected
to a website. Your system briefly contacts the website and
downloads content, then immediately disconnects. It is as if
every time you click on a link, the browser creates a new "phone call"
to the website, grabs the data, and hangs up.
