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IBM Optical Chip Zips Huge Files Using Little Power

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the zip-without-the-zap dept.

An anonymous reader wrote to mention that IBM has unveiled a new prototype chip that can transmit data at up to 8 TB/sec, or about 5,000 high-def video streams. While this might not be entirely amazing, the fact that they did it using the same amount of juice required to light a 100-watt lightbulb, is. "The resulting total bi-directional data transfer rate is 300 Gb/s, nearly doubling the performance of a version IBM introduced last year. Compared to current commercial optical modules the transceiver provides 10-fold greater bandwidth in 1/10 the volume while consuming comparable power, IBM said."

20 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. So that would make it use about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    100 watts? Anybody want to check my math?

    1. Re:So that would make it use about... by Chapter80 · · Score: 4, Funny
      Proper conversion:

      Start with a 100 Watt bulb

      Divide by 7, which is the number of watts necessary to properly illuminate a square foot of floor space.
      This gives roughly 14.28 square feet able to be illuminated.

      Divide this into 2.1 million sq ft, the amount of square feet in the Library of Congress (USLOC).
      This tells us that 147,000 watts are necessary to illuminate the US Library of Congress.

      Divide by 1.09951163 × 10^13 bytes, the amount of storage per unit of USLOC.
      This tells us that 1.33 x 10^-8 bytes are illuminated per watt

      Multiply by 7GB (7,516,192,768 bytes), which is the number of gigabytes of printed material that can be properly illuminated by a 1-watt bulb.

      Answer: 100.4

      So you were close.

    2. Re:So that would make it use about... by Chapter80 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Answer: 100.4

      So you were close.

      Oops, I used Excel, so don't trust my calculations. Never mind.
    3. Re:So that would make it use about... by maxwell+demon · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, they are speaking about amounts of juice, so the proper unit would be liter/second (or gallons/second for you Americans). So how much juice would you need? Well, they didn't say what type of juice they would need, so I just assumed apple juice. I've found this table [German], which tells me that 0.2 liters of apple juice with sugar has 175 kJ. That is, we have an energy of 875 kJ/l. Now a 100 W lightbulb needs 0.1 kJ/s, therefore to power a 100 W lightbulb, we need about 10 liters per day.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    4. Re:So that would make it use about... by ScrewMaster · · Score: 3, Funny

      Well, they didn't say what type of juice they would need, so I just assumed apple juice.

      You're a Mac user, aren't you.

      --
      The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
    5. Re:So that would make it use about... by SickHumour · · Score: 2, Funny

      Odd. I usually measure juice in litres, not light bulbs.

  2. Juice! by kevmatic · · Score: 5, Funny

    The same amount of juice to power a 100-watt light bulb!?

    That's like... 100 Watts!

    Unless you go compact florescent. Then its like 15watt.

    1. Re:Juice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      My calculations reveal a power usage of 100 watts!

    2. Re:Juice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe it was written by one of these people:. (Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to post the link).

      "He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree"

      "The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon."

      "John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met."

    3. Re:Juice! by JustOK · · Score: 5, Funny

      The parent post is as off topic as an off-topic parent post.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    4. Re:Juice! by JustOK · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, a metaphor is like a metaphor.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
  3. How much power? by l00sr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Let's see... how much power does it take to power a 100-Watt light bulb... hm... Well, according to Wikipedia, a 100-Watt incandescent lightbulb outputs about 1700 lumens. A quick googling reveals that the average incandescent bulb achieves a lighting efficiency of roughly 15.75 lumens per Watt. A simple calculation then yields that the power used by a 100-Watt light bulb is roughly 107.93 Watts. Q.E.D.

    1. Re:How much power? by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 2, Funny

      I can probably get detectable amounts of light out of a 100 watt bulb with the bulb consuming maybe 4-7 watts. If you insist we can take this matter to the lab and find out.

    2. Re:How much power? by thrillseeker · · Score: 4, Funny

      If you insist we can take this matter to the lab and find out.

      Ah, the never tiring slashdotter pick up line ...

    3. Re:How much power? by dreamchaser · · Score: 2, Funny

      That wasn't a pickup line. It was calling someone out.

      "Want to see my rare collection of Star Trek memorabillia" would be a more typical pickup line.

  4. Scuttlemonkey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    What the hell are you doing to the language of Shakespeare? Did you translate the submission from German?

    While this might not be entirely amazing, the fact that they did it using the same amount of juice required to light a 100-watt lightbulb, is.
  5. ARRRR! by eggman9713 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Let's just hope the pirate bay doesn't get a hold of this puppy.

  6. Re:What's with the summary? by macslas'hole · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ballmer used "squirt"
    Please, Mr. Ballmer, don't squirt me!...

    YUCK!

    The mental image of Sweaty MonkeyBoy and the work squirt should never be in the vicinity of each other. It is an abomination.
    --
    Life's a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
  7. This Story Raises The Burning Question by SkyDude · · Score: 4, Funny

    How many /.ers does it take to change a lightbulb?



    No one knows. Those who try keep getting electrocuted when their tinfoil hats make contact with the socket.

    --
    == First cross river, then insult alligator.
    1. Re:This Story Raises The Burning Question by maxwell+demon · · Score: 3, Funny
      But they will be able to tell you amazing things about changing light bulbs.
      You'll learn that
      • in Soviet Russia, light bulbs change YOU
      • In Korea, only old people change light bulbs
      • Netcraft confirms: light bulbs are dying
      • A reasonable business plan might look like
        1. Change light bulb
        2. ???
        3. Profit!

      Also, they'll want to know if the light bulb runs Linux, and ask you to imagine a Beowulf cluster of them.
      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.