PBS Innovation: Light Speed
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman
Technology Editor, The Economist and Associate Series Producer
Wednesday, April 28, 2004; Noon ET
PBS Innovation's "Light Speed" explores the impact of fiber optics on long distance communications -- the intricate system of glass and light that carries enormous amounts of information around the world. The program traces the history of communications from telegraph to telephone to the discovery of lasers used in today's high-tech systems.
Tom Standage, technology editor at The Economist and series associate producer Erin Chapman will be online Wednesday, April 28 at Noon ET to discuss the documentary.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the show.
Standage is also the author of three history books, "The Victorian Internet" (1998), "The
Neptune File" (2000) and "The Mechanical Turk" (2002). "The Victorian
Internet" was made into a Channel 4 documentary, "How The Victorians
Wired the World". Standage has previously covered science and technology for
a number of newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Daily
Telegraph, Wired and Prospect.
Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : Hi Everyone,
On behalf of Tom Standage and myself, I'd like to welcome you to this discussion on last night's Innovation episode - Light Speed. We look forward to your questions! --Erin
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Absecon, N.J.:
For Tom Standage:
Is it true that there are miles and miles of cables strung across the ocean floor? Is this cable in use? Is it old technology and therefore obsolete? Do you think there will be a time when the need for physical cable is rendered obsolete and that communication will happen strictly via satellite?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Yes, there are miles and miles of cable on the ocean floor. But in fact things have moved away from satellite and towards using cables to carry phone calls and data. Satellite capacity is limited and expensive; also, there's that annoying round-trip delay as the signals are bounced off the satellite, which makes holding a conversation difficult. At the same time, lots of companies spent piles of money laying far too much fiber-optic cable during the telecoms bubble, so there's lots of cheap capacity on a lot of long-haul routes. As a result, physical cable, not satellite, is the way forward.
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Atlantic City, N.J.:
For Erin Chapman:
What makes this Innovation series different than one I remember years back on PBS?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : An excellent question - the previous incarnation of Innovation was a magazine style show (short segments on many different subjects) and mainly focused on innovations in the medical world. Our current program selects one topic and really delves into the subject for an hour-long exploration. I don't know if you've caught any of our previous episodes, but they've covered everything from building the next world's tallest skyscraper to developing safer airplanes to the latest in stem cell therapy.
We debated about giving the show a different name, but really felt that "Innovation" covered the spirit of the inventors, scientists, engineers who work in these fields.
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Washington, D.C.:
Caught this on PBS last night and I just wanted to say that this was a great show. I am definitely not a science person, but the concepts were explained in a very clear manner.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : It's great to hear responses like this from our viewers. Our website is also a great place to get further information about the topics we cover. Log on to www.pbs.org/innovation for quizzes, interactive graphics, expert q&a's and links to other resources. -- EC
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Boston, Mass.:
Is fiber still the technology of the future?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Yes, so far at least. I suspect wireless will become more important in the "last mile". But even with a mobile phone network, most of the time the calls are carried over a fixed-line network that connects the towers to the main telephone network; it's only the final hop to the handset that's wireless. So we as consumers will see more wireless devices, but there will still be lots of fibre in the background making it all work.
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New York, N.Y.:
What form of telecommunication method do you foresee beyond email?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : In many parts of the world -- but not America -- text messaging on mobile phones has already taken over from e-mail, at least for teenagers. It's starting to take off in the US, as I understand it, but the message volumes are still pretty low, largely because instant-messaging on PCs is so popular. And that, in turn, is a result of the fact that in the US and Canada there are more PCs than mobile phones. Everywhere else, the opposite is true.
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Anonymous:
Hi Mr. Standage. In your opinion what are the advantages of using parallel optical fiber interconnections within board-to-board or frame-to-frame connections in computer systems?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: The main advantage would be speed -- higher throughput. But you'd still be going from the electronic to optical domains at each end. So what will really make optical interconnects fly is if/when optical computing gets going. Once you can use light instead of electrons to do computing, all sorts of wonderful new things will be possible.
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Staten Island, N.Y.:
What is fiber optic fiber? Is it glass and, if so, why doesn't it crack?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Yes, it is glass, though some optical fibres are plastic. I'm not sure whether it's just the thinness of the strands, or some other special property, that stops it from breaking, though. Sorry.
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New York, N.Y.:
How is our natural environment being effected by miles of cable on the ocean floor?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Well, I think we humans are probably putting a lot of much worse things than cables into the sea. There aren't that many of them in the grand scheme of things; and they need to be well insulated and well looked after. So it's not like dumping waste into the sea; it's all done very carefully. There was even a case where an old submarine cable that was no longer in use was pressed into use in a scientific experiment (for seismology, or something, I believe). The cables have no effect on wildlife; they don't emit radiation, or anything.
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Atlanta, Ga.:
I remember reading a few years back that Tyco was spending billions to create an extensive undersea fiber optics network. Is Tyco still involved in this endeavor? Which company is leading the way in this area?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Yeah, Tyco was spending a lot laying cables. I'm not sure what's happened to that bit of the company. But they weren't alone. Another big venture was FLAG (Fibre-Optic Link Around the Globe), which was the subject of a Wired cover article by Neal Stephenson a while back. He also drew some internet/telegraph analogies. Anyway, like many of these ventures, FLAG went bust, and was recently bought out by an Indian conglomerate. By and large, as I understand it, there is plenty of trans-atlantic capacity but still not enough in Asia/Pacific. So the ships are probably still laying cables out there somewhere.
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Fairfax, Va.:
What is the next step for fiber optics? Or do you see a future where fiber optics would be replaced by another mass communication portal -- even lasers perhaps?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Using lasers to send light through the air is called "Free Space Optics". The firm that pioneered the idea, Terabeam, recently gave up and sold out to another company. It's a niche technology, used over short distances, eg to link two nearby offices. You need line of sight; and the signal is attenuated by the atmosphere. That's why fibre is so cool. It can go round corners and over long distances. And you can lay lots of fibres for more capacity.
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New Orleans, La.:
This is a question for Erin. I missed the first half of the program last night, but was wondering if it will be on again in the New Orleans area.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : Most stations do re-air the Innovation programs. The best way to find out if your PBS station (I think it's WYES) is showing the episode again is to check your local listings or visit PBS online - www.pbs.org.
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Tallahassee, Fla.:
Tom,
Thought you were great on the show last night. You mentioned Chappe's telegraph system and I was curious to know how long that method was in operation. Are there still towers you can visit?
Thanks.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Thanks for your comments. I think there is a Chappe tower still operating somewhere in France, though I haven't visited it. The nearest I came was a visit to Vieux Telegraphe, a wine maker in the Chateauneuf region of the Southern Rhone. I love wine from that part of the world; it's where the Romans made a lot of wine. Anyway, the vineyard takes its name from the old telegraph tower on the property; and the label on the bottle shows a ruined telegraph tower. But when I asked where it was, the proprietor told me "Ca n'existe plus". It's not there any more. I still like the wine, though. There's also a British optical telegraph tower somewhere south of London, but I haven't visited that either.
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Washington, D.C.:
Hi, What makes optical fibers immune to EMI?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Well, the thing about a fibre is you can send multiple colours of light along it, each carrying different data streams, and they won't interfere with each other. Radio waves passing through the fibre won't affect the passage of the light inside either. So you don't have to worry about electromagnetic interference (EMI). It is light, rather than the fibre, that is immune.
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New York, N.Y.:
Who invented fiber optics?
Donald
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: In the 1920s, various people experimented with optical fibres made from various materials in order to send pictures (ie, television) from one place to another. The first person to do so seems to have been Heinrich Lamm, a German medical student, who wanted to use optical fibres to look inside the body.
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Brooklyn, N.Y.:
Will this be a regular series on PBS? I love it!
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : Thanks for your support! We have one more episode left this season - "Brain Fingerprinting" premieres next Tuesday, May 4th at 9pm (check your local listings). This program goes onto Oklahoma's death row to investigate how a new forensic technology might be able to help exonerate a convicted murderer.
We're not sure yet if there's going to be a second season of Innovation, but please let your PBS station know how much you like the series and we'll do our best to have another great line-up next year! -- EC
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Detroit, Mich.:
From what I understand Fibers have been around for two centuries when Rene de Reaumur maked spun glass fibers in the early 18th century. What period has brought about the biggest growth or development in fiber optics? What do you see in the future?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Undoubtedly it was the bubble of the late 1990s that saw the greatest development in the use of fibre optics. A lot of the fibre that was laid then is still unused; some people say there's enough for at least the rest of this decade. (The fibres are laid but the equipment at the ends is not installed until the capacity is needed.) Those in the industry are optimistic that eventually more capacity will be needed -- once high-speed broadband to every home becomes widespread -- at which point construction will pick up again. They would say that, though. The thing to watch in the US is the "fibre to the home" initiative of the Baby Bells (Verizon, SBC, BellSouth). Their plan, supposedly, is to build a fast new fibre link into every home. But most observers are taking a "we'll believe it when we see it" approach. Myself included. This is happening in some places, though, such as Japan.
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Bethesda, Md.:
Erin, how did the idea for a show on fiber optics originate? Also, will you be doing a program on alternative or different ways of how we do long distance communication or the future of?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : The film's producer, Jon Palfreman, has a history of doing quality science programs for PBS. When he came to us with the idea of doing a film on the future of communications, we felt it was a necessary story to tell. After all, communications touch everyone's lives and the idea of the Innovation series is to discuss how technologies affect everyday people as well as the scientists and engineers that develop them. -- EC
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Vienna, Va.:
Regarding fiber optics. Would there be anyway to combine both internet, telephone and wireless all in one line? Is that possible and would that be a good idea?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Not sure how you'd include the wireless bit; the whole point is not to have a wire running into the phone. But the idea of combining TV, phone and internet over a single connection is known as the "triple play". At the moment only cable operators can do it. It's a great idea in theory, but in practice cable operators have been slow to exploit the possibility.
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New York, N.Y.:
What causes dead fiber optics wires? How often do companies replace them?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Some people say fibres don't decay at all, and other people say it takes years. What does happen is that new kinds of fibre with better properties come along, which allow more data to be squeezed down them. That means much of the "dark fibre" now in the ground may never be used, not because it wouldn't work, but because something better will have come along by the time more capacity is needed.
The other possible cause of a failure in a fibre optic connection is a "backhoe incident". That is industry jargon for a digger slicing through a cable by mistake.
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Tulsa, Okla.:
Hi Erin, I caught the Light Speed program on PBS last night and would love to share it with my physics class. It would be a great teaching tool. Is there a way to get a copy of the program on VHS? Thank you.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : Any of our Innovation episodes can be purchased either online at www.shopthirteen.org or by calling 1-800-336-1917. I believe they are $19.95 plus shipping.
Ever since the series launched, we've heard from many educators who are eager to use the shows as a tool in their classrooms. We're excited that teachers and students are getting so much use out of the programs!
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Anonymous:
Will the show re-air?
Since I didn't see the show, what is fiber optics and how did it come about? Are there any concerns or health concerns of these cables. Are they shared by various companies and why are they best used underground?
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Please scroll up for Erin's answer to your first question; apparently most PBS stations will re-air the show. As for safety, there are no health concerns about fibre optic cables; they are tubes full of light. There is no radiation coming out of them. (As an aside, there is no credible evidence that mobile phones, base-stations, power lines, or TV tubes cause any health problems either. But whenever a study fails to find evidence of harm, people who believe otherwise always call for more research, so the issue never goes away.)
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Anonymous:
Re: Free optic space.
Tom, what about sound waves, pulses or even using water in terms of future ways of sending information or types of communication? Thanks -- from don't much about physics.
Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: We use sound waves already, when we shout! As you'll have noticed, sound doesn't travel very far or very fast. It won't go round corners. It's easily intercepted. So it's not terribly promising as a data-transmission medium. Here's a really weird form of communications that might work in the future, though: neutrinos. These are tiny subatomic particles, billions of which are passing through the earth (and us) all the time. They are extremely difficult to generate and detect. But if you could do it, you could send messages straight through the middle of the earth. And you could send a message through the sun to a planet on the other side...
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Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : TS: Thanks for your questions, everyone, and for your interest in the program. Bye!
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Tom Standage and Erin Chapman : We'd like to thank you all for joining us today. Fast-typing Tom answered a lot of great questions! Please visit the Washington Post online again, Wednesday, May 5th for our next Innovation discussion with guest Dr. Larry Farwell.
Dr. Farwell is featured in our final Innovation program, "Brain Fingerprinting," which airs next Tuesday, May 4th at 9pm (check your local listings) and is the inventor of a controversial new forensic technology that may be making its way into America's courtrooms and police investigations. We hope you'll join us on PBS! -- Erin
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