Interplanetary Data Transport... By Laser

from the at-least-it's-not-WiMax dept

Thu, Sep 16th 2004 8:52am — Mike Masnick

There are plenty of people who have been working on better ways to transmit data across planets as we reach further out into space. When the Mars Rover had problems it took some time to fix it, in part due to the slow data rate transfer from here to Mars (and back). However, NASA scientists are now working on a method to use a laser to beam data at a rate between one million and 30 million bits per second -- quite a bit faster than today's radio transmissions.

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4 Comments

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bob, 16 Sep 2004 @ 10:27am

Here's an application for quantum entaglement
This would be a good application for quantum entangled pairs. Especially since intantaneous data transfer is the goal.
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dorpus, 16 Sep 2004 @ 12:17pm

Compromise?
Is it possible to emit radio waves in polarized/synchronized form, spread over a suitable cone covering most of Earth? Why restrict ourselves to optical light, or to a narrow beam?

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someone247356, 16 Sep 2004 @ 12:54pm

I hate to burst anyone's bubble
Um, I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but radio waves travel at the same speed as light waves.

All electromagnetic radiation travels at the same speed through a vacuum. So using a laser, instead of radio isn't going to speed anything up.

You may be able to transmit *MORE* data with a laser than with radio, but then there's always that pesky line of sight problem...

Just my $0.02 (Canadian, before taxes)
someone247356
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- dorpus, 16 Sep 2004 @ 1:13pm
  
  Re: I hate to burst anyone's bubble
  That would be true in a strict vacuum, but don't different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation travel at different speeds through a given medium? Interplanetary space is full of dust and gas molecules.
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