Brits Approach (True) Speed of Light Over Fiber Cable

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Researchers at the University of Southampton have managed to create a method to speed up the data flow through fiber optical cables. The research team managed to achieve speeds approaching 99.7% of the speed of light. Do not look for this technology from your local ISP anytime in the near future. :D

Typical fiber cables are made from silica glass, which causes refractions that delay the signal. Researchers have long sought to use air instead of glass, but the problem is getting the signal to follow the cable through bends and curves.
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I can see it now. Should this ever make it's way across the pond (you know, like 20 years from now...and still advertised as THE NEWEST TECH AROUND...), I'm sure you'll be looking at something outrageous like $400/mo. ISPs here in the US are a complete joke with the exception of the new Google service that only 2 cities actually have access to and to a lesser extent Verizon FIOS (which is also not exactly wide-spread).
 
bpizzle1 said:
I can see it now. Should this ever make it's way across the pond (you know, like 20 years from now...and still advertised as THE NEWEST TECH AROUND...), I'm sure you'll be looking at something outrageous like $400/mo. ISPs here in the US are a complete joke with the exception of the new Google service that only 2 cities actually have access to and to a lesser extent Verizon FIOS (which is also not exactly wide-spread).
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Comcast just bumped me up to 50/10.
 
If you were to use it for internet connections (if they can make it work for long distances), the main benefit would be from upgrading the backbone, rather than last mile connection. Increased speed of transmission would mainly be useful for decreasing latency over long distances.

For example, upgrading a 10000km fiber optic line across the pacific would decrease latency from one side to the other by... 11 ms. Well, 22ms round-trip. With 2/3 the speed of light, theoretical minimum round-trip from one side of the planet to the other and back again is 200ms (traveling the circumference). Going at the speed of light brings the minimum down to 133ms. And ends up being more in practice obviously, from every server between, and connections that aren't a straight direct line.
 
People, it was a trick question. By definition it is going the speed of light.... it IS light, light doesn't know how to go ... slower. :rolleyes::D

Now, if you meant 99.7% of the speed of light IN A VACUUM, then so what, it was already 99.6% and the speed improvement will be lost in the switching gear in the networks anyway.
 
Hell, it wasn't that long ago I paid for two phone lines running to my Volkswagen sized shotgun modem kicking it out at 112Kbits/sec. Ah, the joy of living in the boonies. :D
 
bpizzle1 said:
I can see it now. Should this ever make it's way across the pond (you know, like 20 years from now...and still advertised as THE NEWEST TECH AROUND...), I'm sure you'll be looking at something outrageous like $400/mo. ISPs here in the US are a complete joke with the exception of the new Google service that only 2 cities actually have access to and to a lesser extent Verizon FIOS (which is also not exactly wide-spread).
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It's not for local connections. It is for the long haul cables. The speed of light sounds fast, and is, until you start talking data. Light (in a vacuum) can orbit the Earth 7.4 times are second. sounds impressive, until you see that means it would take it 133ms to orbit Earth. What that means is that if you are talking to someone across the globe you have a minimum ping time of 133ms, assuming everything is perfect. Of course it isn't, the cables are slower than the speed of slight in a vacuum, they do not go in straight lines, and the routers add time.

So for undersea cables, cross continental cables, etc this stuff could be useful. It could cut ping times by a noticeable factor. For short local stuff, no it wouldn't matter.

It isn't about higher speeds, it is about lower latency.
 
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