Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Future of Optical Fibre

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the genetics-ain't-just-for-breeding-anymore dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An Australian researcher has come up with a novel way of developing optical fibres. Steven Manos, a researcher at the Optical Fibre Technology Centre in Sydney, Australia has developed a method of using genetic algorithims for discovering optimal designs of optical fibres. An article on his work had this to say "The problem with designing optical fibres is starting with a specific set of criteria and then coming up with a design to fit this. The computer program developed by Manos, which is run on supercomputers, does this by mimicking the process of evolution. The computer program combines two patterns to create a third fibre 'offspring', which Manos described as "similar but a bit different". This process is repeated thousands of times with the 10 designs best suited for the particular application chosen to 'breed' again." Another case of "When in doubt, use brute force"?"

7 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Only on slashdot... by Mateito · · Score: 5, Funny

    .. would breeding be regarded as "brute forcing". :)

    --
    Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  2. An Australian Genetic algorithm? by Timesprout · · Score: 4, Funny

    With all the weirdo animals the Australian continent has produced I guess this program will produce some highly interesting results. I cant wait for the announcement that a pattern resembling a Duck Billed Platypus is ideal for streaming Digital TV.

    --
    Do not try to read the dupe, thats impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth
    What truth?
    There is no dupe
  3. Slow, haunting music plays... incessantly by unithom · · Score: 2, Funny

    I am... Torgo..; I .. polish the. .. fiber while the Master... is away... There is no way... out of.. here, the fiber will.. go dark ... soon, there is no way... out of .. here... etc, etc.

  4. Re:Brute force? Not exactly by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think as this method becomes more popular it will displace the older method of finding the most mathematically perfect solution and designing from that.

    In other word instead of fudging designs while you wait ten years for a mathematician to find the equations for the perfect wing, you just get a computer program to 'evolve' one for you. I'll bet this is what boeing and airbus already do.

    Sadly this will leave most applied physics mathematicians out of a job. Danm computers!! Taking our jobs and our women!!

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
  5. It had to be said. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Manos... the hands of bitrate.

  6. Re:Pretty cool stuff. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    However:

    America > World

  7. Re:this guy is way too confident by evangellydonut · · Score: 2, Funny

    it's just a matter of time before academic papers are generated by GAs, and whoever think of it first will have a endless supply of funding at the expense of other guys :-P