Slowed light; Stopped light; Stored light - Breakthroughs in Science Forum

Moderator Joined: Jun 21, 2005 Posts: 274

The following is my paraphrasing of information in an article found at:
http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/10/9/1

For the past few years scientists have been able to slow light down to a crawl; just a few meters per second; and have recently been able to bring it to a complete halt so that it can be stored for future use.

It will be useful for future optical technologies since it allows for the manipulation of the delay of light to any amount of time whatsoever.

A possible future technology would be all-optical routers allowing the increase of the bandwidth of the internet.
Others would be optical data storage, quantum information/computing, telecommunications and radar applications.

Expert Joined: Nov 17, 2004 Posts: 158 Location: Egypt

Moderator Joined: Jun 21, 2005 Posts: 274

When you were in Japan Hemetis did the nternet go any faster?
Could you tell any difference from that technology?

Expert Joined: Nov 17, 2004 Posts: 158 Location: Egypt

My humble fibre optic link was a mere 100 MB/s band, until 2002.
Some papers say that major manufacturers are creating 2GHz nodes as well as cramming more subscribers per single fibre line. The secret is in using the newly invented blue LED and violet LED combined with LASER technology and monochromatic narrow-band filters for band separation. The high resolution frequencies allowed a much better signal to noise ratio for carriers, which increased the bandwidth dramatically.
Audiovisual communications now is available in real time at much higher resolutions but for an extremely hefty price too.
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Hemetis

Moderator Joined: Jun 21, 2005 Posts: 274

I was not aware that LED technology was being used in fibre optics. Can you explain how?
I have the latest white LED flashlight. Although I have read they are so different they really ought not even be called flashlights! The particular one I have, 12 LEDs, has been adopted by the US military with some modifications.

Hemetis, how is Egypt?

Expert Joined: Nov 17, 2004 Posts: 158 Location: Egypt

In 1870, John Tyndall, used a water-jet that flowed from one container to another and a mirror controlled beam of sun-light to demonstrated that light used internal reflection to follow a specific path. As water poured out through the spout of the first container, the light, as seen by the audience, followed a zigzag path inside the curved path of the water. This simple experiment marked the first research into the guided transmission of light.

William Wheeling, in 1880, patented a method of light transfer called “piping light”, and he used a bright electric arc but Edison’s highly successful incandescent light bulb killed his project.
Jumping time to summarise, the best light source for fibre optics today is the LASER LED, and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technology allowed multiple wavelengths to be combined into one optical signal and increased the total data rate on one fibre to one terabit per second (10^12 bits per second).
Because of fibre optic technology’s immense potential bandwidth, (=> 50 THz), there are extraordinary possibilities for future fibre optic applications. Already, the push to bring broadband services, including data, audio, and especially video, into the home is well underway.

As for Egypt, it is absolutely unfair to make any comparisons with Japan, but my feeling is very similar to the feeling of a fallen angel who fell from paradise to hell; of course with all the pleasures a devil can take and all the disciplines lifted off the angel. In Egypt my social status is equivalent to a British Lord in England. That is why I can tolerate living in Hell. Twisted Evil

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Hemetis

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