Scientists Double Optical Fiber Transmission Capacity

ms writes: "Yesterday golem.de reported that the Optical Communication and High-Frequency Engineering Group at the University of Paderborn (Germany) claims to have made a technology practical which doubles the transmission capacity of optical fibers to 80 GBit/s. In their so-called "polarization division multiplex data transmission system" they don't only send one but two mutually orthogonal light waves through the fiber. They say the only big problem was the dispersal of the light waves which limits the data rate. Additional they had to fight against the phenomena that the polarization direction of the light waves changes while it goes through the fiber. Now, after two years of research, they invented an "automatic optical compensator of polarization mode dispersion" which fights both the limitations. With this gadget they were able to send data at a rate of twice 40 GBit/s (that's 85,899,345,920 Bps) over a test-line of 212 km. And "only the available equipment limited distance and data rate". As we all know, optical fibers build the (cronically overloaded) backbone of our beloved Net. (BTW: That's Net., not .Net!)" Here's the babelfish translation, too.

I love bablefish!

[nizo]

From the babelfish translation:

Additionally it possesses a controlling mean, which is to after-pursue even largest polarization modifications, as they occur on very long transmission circuits contrary to competitive systems also, noly-break.

Once I figure out what a noly-break is, I should be able to build my very own high speed home network!

Fruit 'n Fiber

[Renraku]

Maybe some day cutting a fiber line would yield deadly results. Imagine accidently digging through a fiber line only to be cut in half by the power of the beam. That would rule! As if being electrocuted to death wasn't enough, soon we can be killed by data...I can see where the 'freak accident causes supergenius to be born' movies are going to come from..

Re:Dark fiber

[Anonymous Coward]

If you bought 1000 beers and returned the cans for $.05 each you would have $50.00

Therfore save money, drink more.

Re:Langauge

[Anonymous Coward]

With what do you deal with yourselves? I have always babelfishuebersetzungen found, in order to be completely readable and understandable!

Re:SI prefixes != ^2

[Anonymous Coward]

I tried to order another 512 mebibytes of ram for my computer but the sales rep called me racist names and hung up on me.

What did I do wrong?

Re:How lame...

[mangu]

Dude, that's going to be rough.

I know it ain't easy. You try to be a troll, and some asshole moderator gives you (+1, Funny)...

Re:Fruit 'n Fiber

[Anonymous Coward]

and how much would it piss you off to be sliced in half by a warezed copy of windows xp going across the fiber?

Re:Cool

[RetroGeek]

We did a test on a private WAN and about 50% of the traffic was heartbeats.

Cronically overloaded?

[Chagrin]

• As we all know, optical fibers build the (cronically overloaded) backbone of our beloved Net.

If it's overloaded by cron, couldn't we just kill the cron daemon?