Internet2 utilizes varied light wavelengths to achieve 100 gigabits per second transfer rates
The ultra high-speed Internet2 has gotten even faster. If you don’t know what Internet2 is, don’t fret…few people do. It’s nothing to do with Web 2.0, or virtual worlds. This Internet2 goes back to the World Wide Web’s roots: science. I know, no one cares until it has a lowercase “i” in front of it, but still, give this a look.
The Internet2 network is run by a company called Level 3 Communications Inc. It parallels the Internet and is designed to allow Universities and other worthy institutions to share massive amounts of data in real time.
Internet2 is usually limited to 10 gigabits of data per second. This is still thousands of times faster than your average high-speed Internet connection. However a technique has been discovered that utilizes different wavelengths (read: colors) of light over a single cable. This allows Internet2 operators to raise the ultra high-speed network’s capacity to 100 gigabits per second. That’s fast, for those that need clarification.
To give you a yardstick to figure this increase by, a High-Definition version of “Jurassic Park” could be transferred in a few seconds, as opposed to the several hours it takes for those of us not vying for Nobel Laureate status.
While this analogy probably makes the scientific community gag, it is not without it’s uses: this technology allows the scientific, research, and educational communities to access huge amounts of scientific data—everything from particle colliders to radio telescopes aimed at the far reaches of space. If that fails, college students could just download the entire breadth of musical history over spring break. Sue that, music industry!
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