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Slow Down Light To Make Data Delivery Faster
from the seems-contradictory dept
While it may not seem to make sense at first, some researchers have figured out a way to slow down the speed of light to make data delivery work faster. The problem with sending data over fiber optic channels, apparently, is that it goes too fast, creating a bottleneck at the end, when the light needs to become an electrical signal again. However, by slowing down the light and using a chip that can handle light pulses, the process is supposedly much smoother, and removes the need to run the data through the conversion process. As you might imagine, at this point, this is a long way off from commercialization.
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The progress of slowness
How are we doing on inflatable airships, which seem to go through waves of media coverage every few years? If the costs ever come down enough, it does offer a way to carry heavy goods by air, or for air tourism without scaring animals below.
I once had an air mail package from Japan that took a month to arrive, so I wondered if it got on a very slow plane.
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Physics?
So Einstein was wrong? The speed of light is not constant?
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