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The hidden network that makes the internet possible

Picture of The hidden network that makes the internet possible

5 mins video//

Today, the internet has realized a version of this alternate reality, as it marches towards ever-more immersive user interfaces. What’s the unique contribution of fiber optics and integrated photonics to this new cloud computing era?

This historical review by Jeff Hecht details the roots of 18th century light-messaging, the invention of fiber, and Charles Kao’s radical insight to purpose it for global communications. The Snell’s Law description for total internal reflection of light in glass fibers is governed by a refractive index difference between an inner doped fiber core and an outer cladding, and this online primer explains how different core diameters correspond to distinct types of signal propagation.

Undersea fiber networks then carry the data across and between continents, provided light signals get a power boost every hundred or more kilometers by optical amplifiers. The unmatched ability of optical fiber to carry great amounts of data around the globe with little power loss has led to a modern cloud computing economy

As the drive for increased wireless access leads to 5G and eventually 6G innovation, signals will shift from microwave to higher data rate millimeter and terahertz waves. 


This article appeared in TED-ed.

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