This is a cool idea -- using "light bulb" to communicate?
Why would I consider this as cool? What stood out between inventors and ordinary people are how they see things from different angle, and be able to exploit it. You, me and everyone else switched light bulbs on and off everyday ... raise your hand if you ever think of using that to communicate! Anyone? ;-)
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While the technology sounds far out, the concept was minted long ago. Alexander Graham Bell conceived of a similar idea in 1880. The Photophone consisted of a mirror that vibrated when someone spoke. The vibrations were then captured by a subsequent receiver and turned into electrical impulses.
"It worked for 200 meters," said Nakagawa, adding that Bell predicted it would be one of his biggest achievements.
So why haven't optical technology companies tried this? Most have spent their time trying to wring more performance out of fiber. "Maybe the blind spot was invisible light. It is kind of an irony," Nakagawa said. "Very few people did research on the free space."
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