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High-Speed Data Transfer Over ... Mud

Posted by timothy on from the for-the-filthiest-dirtiest-data dept.

An anonymous reader writes "You might have laid Ethernet through some pretty aggressive environments, but how about through a 4-inch diameter steel pipe immersed in electrically conductive mud at pressures up to 1000 atmospheres, temperatures up to 150 deg C, and with vibrational accelerations of hundreds of g? The Department of Energy has announced the invention of a system to allow data transmission up to 1 Mbit/s along drillpipe. That might not sound too fast, but the current technology uses some pretty neat electromechanical engineering to get ... 10 bits per second (on a good day). This will revolutionize the oil industry's ability to see where its wells are going and steer them into pockets of oil."

9 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. M.U.D. by newr00tic · · Score: 5, Funny

    I read this as M.U.D. at first (Multi User Dungeon).

    "While you drill for oil, you see a vibrant pixie nearby".
    "Something is scribbled in the mud here.."

    The message in the mud reads:
    "high-speed network via M.U.D. is under construction; announce it on /."

    Possible exits: Down, Up, Home

    --
    A horse can't be sick, you know, even if he wants to.
  2. More than mud? by Devil's+BSD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Maybe eventually they can put that dust collecting above the ceiling tiles at our school to good use. I mean, the layer is about five inches thick.
    Or, they could just use wifi...

    --
    I'm the Devil the Windows users warned you about.
    1. Re:More than mud? by JabberWokky · · Score: 5, Funny
      Oh, that? That's just asbestos.

      --
      Evan

      --
      "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
  3. Mud + 802.11b by Devil's+BSD · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, if you used that mud as a 802.11b antenna or something, you would be WARMUDSLINGING!

    --
    I'm the Devil the Windows users warned you about.
  4. That's Nothing! by Jouster · · Score: 5, Funny

    I've had to put Cat5 through sales and marketing cubes!

    Much easier communication than the old "pulsed-bullshit" telemetry, though.

    Jouster

  5. Re:1 MB/s? by bunyip · · Score: 5, Funny

    I agree, no drill bit is ever going to need more that 640 Kbits / second.

  6. Oh, great, I can see it now.... by Jouster · · Score: 4, Funny

    "I run my drill on Linux! There's a public-domain webserver where you can view the realtime stats!"

    Ugh, /.'ed drillpipe.

    Jouster

  7. Good God! by phillymjs · · Score: 5, Funny

    In one fell swoop, every citizen in the entire country of Elbonia would suddenly have broadband access... if only they had computers.

    ~Philly

  8. Re:Why more bandwidth needed? by Moonshadow · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cum watch this mud get DRILLED by large, sweaty guys till it begs for mercy! Now live on our webcams 24/7!

    *click here*