Scientists beam 26 terabytes in one second

Scientists beam 26 terabytes in one second

In a dramatic breakthrough, scientists have learned how to use optical fiber to transmit data over a single laser at speeds that dwarf even today's fastest Internet connections.

Using techniques called "fast Fourier transform" and "orthogonal frequency division multiplexing," scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany were able to stitch 300 individual data streams into colors beamed by a single laser, which were then picked apart at the other end.

The result of their experiment was a blazing fast transfer rate of 26 terabytes per second.