Twisted Radio Beams Could Untangle the Airwaves

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday February 13, 2009 @10:02AM from the only-the-flying-spaghetti-monster-would-know-for-sure dept.

Urchin writes "The radio frequency spectrum available for wireless communication is becoming increasingly crowded thanks to new wireless technology. A solution to the shrinking space might be to put a spin on radio beams during their transmission, to produce a twisted beam, according to Swedish physicists. In theory, huge amounts of data could be sent in the pitch of the twist, which is distinct from the amplitude and frequency of radio waves — the features used at the moment to send information."

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Re:damn by Anonymous Coward · 2009-02-13 10:10 · Score: 5, Interesting

Am I missing something?
These guys are proposing polarizing wireless transmissions. Polarization gets affected by ALL kinds of boundary irregularities, such as nearby cars light poles, traffic signal loops and, in buildings, conducting objects like nails, hinges, pipes, etc.
This seems so noisy as to be useless.