Slashdot Mirror
Using Visible Light for Data Transfer
James Evans writes "Wired has an article about a New Zealand company which has developed a technology to transmit data at speeds up to 400Mbps up to 4km. They are working to have it more resistant to changes in weather, as well as increasing the distance. It has a number of advantages, including lack of federal regulation of the spectrum, as it is of course, visible light."
In related terrestrial networking news, waytoomuchcoffee writes "Science Blog reports that the backbone for the World's Fastest Network is up and running. It's a fiber optic 40 gigabit per second connection between Chicago and LA. Teragrid is a project by the National Science Foundation designed to link up supercomputer centers."
So, I guess we can finally have mirrors that are mirrors? Excellent!!!
"We are accountable for not only what we do, but also that which we don't do." -- Moliere
they better be careful at 400mbps, they may break the switch on their flashlight.
http://hksoul.myftp.org/
high speed morse code
Packet loss due to snow storm?
You know, you could read the article. It's just an LED.
Reality is defined by the maddest person in the room
Probably until the sun burns out or something.
The LED-color should be chosen according to the content transferred... users sharing pr0n via P2P could build their own red-light-destrict! --- I wonder if powerful LEDs will attract insects and such - the connection speed could be reduced drastically by bugs.
Except with morse code, I believe, you have to find the right frequency. Not much of a problem, but likely harder to find than a little light strobing across the street. Then there's the rather obvious quote from the article
On the other hand, bad weather, or anything that might block the light's path, can cause slowdowns or power failures.
"File transfer failed: Code 75(flock of seagulls)"
*honk*
This is my sig. It's prescription, I swear. I need it for reading things... on the other side of things
...using nothing more than a prism.
They wouldn't even know you where there!
People have been using visible light for data transfer for a while ;-)
Consider this, when you flash your lights to an oncoming vehical, you are conveying information
Consider this, when you flash your tits to an oncoming vehicle, you are also conveying information.
Yet there are sometimes laws against it.
Opinions stated are mine and do not reflect those of the Illuminati
Pigeons could be a problem though ;)
Not if you use sufficiently powerful lasers >:)
Great, I won't have to buy more crappy pringles in order to steal credit card numbers.. I already own a mirror..
Imagine that you might be able to upgrade a set of traffic lights to actually make something faster!
Extended Warranty? How can I lose!
Actually, this becomes a feature: feed the homeless, reduce the pigeon population and communicate data. What more could you ask?
I see a patent here someplace.
With their wide-open spaces and long, cold winters, it makes me wonder when Canadians will perform their first teledildonic extramarital love affair.
Sean
Don't you know, when you flash them, they will follow you home and kill you in a gangland rite-of-passage. It's on Snopes!
Yes, but you then lose the opportunity to use RFC1149 encapsulated datagrams as a backup service for during the migration season.
You're doing it wrong.
I don't imagine using this thing for sending a very important document/work. It looks more like a cheapest way to do fast networking. It's LIGHT. A flying duck cross over the lightbeam and BANG! :) This appart from other problems like insecurity (I mean, I think it's easier to do a light-receiver than a radio-receiver... more people would be able to 'investigate'), etc.
:D
Neighborhood network? perhaps. Just imagine a lanparty on my neighborhood, and every tv/vhs/dvd/thing-with-a-infrared-remote-control getting weird
drmad.
drmad
It's a fiber optic 40 gigabit per second connection between Chicago and LA.
Get your bits
On Route Sixty-Six
- Hail to our fearless misleader! Fool speed ahead!
Consider this, when you flash your tits to an oncoming vehicle, you are also conveying information.
I'm sorry, I missed the message. Please repeat.
Since the laser's light is coherent, you can use this interference to reconstruct subtle changes in the distance from the laser to the reflective surface. In other words, you can eavesdrop on someone by looking at how the windows in the room vibrate! Supposedly this was once used to find out what people were saying in an embassy.
At short distances you can use a grapefruit instead of a window, but talking into a grapefruit is just weird. :)
"They estimate that it can do up to 11km. With a single repeater 16km sounds plausable."
;)
yeah, but when will it transmit miles?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Oh... you mean here?