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The standard line is that fiber optic networks transfer data at the speed of light. But in reality, light travels about 31 percent slower through fiber optical cables than it does through a vacuum. But that's changing. Researchers at University of Southampton in England have found a way to build cables that work at 99.7 percent of the speed of light in a vacuum.
This method can't be used for internet connections -- the connections lose too much data -- but it may improve the design of the world's supercomputers.
Typical fiber cables are made from silica glass, which causes refractions that delay the signal. Researchers have long sought to use air instead of glass, but the problem is getting the signal to follow the cable through bends and curves.
The researchers' solution -- described in Nature Photonics -- is a hollow cable with special walls to prevent refraction. They call it an "ultra-thin photonic-bandgap rim."
The cables' data loss is about 3.5 dB/km, which is pretty low, but not low enough for longer network connections. That's why the application of these new cables will be limited to "short hop" applications, such as supercomputer interconnects. But the researchers are trying to improve the cable so that it could be used for longer-distance communication.
This is the latest of several recent breakthroughs in fiber optics research. For examples, scientists at AT&T Labs-Research announced a new record in speed/distance through standard fiber optic cables. And a DARPA-backed team at IBM has found a way to cut the energy use of short-distance fiber optics for supercomputing while doubling the speed.
