[61035] in North American Network Operators' Group
Sea sponge builds a better glass fiber
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Eric Kuhnke)
Thu Aug 21 12:15:03 2003
X-Qmail-Scanner-Mail-From: eric@fnordsystems.com via server4.saturnbandwidth.net
Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 09:11:43 -0700
To: nanog@merit.edu
From: Eric Kuhnke <eric@fnordsystems.com>
Errors-To: owner-nanog-outgoing@merit.edu
http://www.msnbc.com/news/954985.asp?0dm=C12MT
Associated Press
Scientists say they have identified an ocean sponge living in the darkness of the deep sea that grows thin glass fibers capable of transmitting light at least as well as industrial fiber optic cables used for telecommunication. The natural glass fibers also are much more flexible than manufactured fiber optic cable that can crack if bent too far.
"YOU CAN ACTUALLY tie a knot in these natural biological fibers and they will not break -- it's really quite amazing," said Joanna Aizenberg, who led the research at Bell Laboratories.
