May 02 , 2019

The hidden network that makes the internet possible

Explore how fiber optics uses light to transmit data over long distances, and with integrated photonics, expands our virtual world beyond the internet.

In 2012, a team of researchers set a world record, transmitting 1 petabit of data— that’s 10,000 hours of high-def video— over a fifty-kilometer cable, in a second. This wasn’t just any cable. It was a souped-up version of fiber optics, the hidden network that links our planet and makes the internet possible. What is fiber optics and how does it work? Sajan Saini explores the vital technology.

by Sajan Saini, directed by Artrake Studio