Intel's New Light Peak Cable Transfers 10 GB/S, Puts USB To Shame
Despite the fact that optical cables transmit data far faster than copper wire, wire is still the primary medium for communication on computer chips, and between computers and devices through USB cables. But Intel hopes to change all that soon with their new Light Peak connection system. Debuted yesterday at the Intel Developer Forum, Light Peak uses four inexpensive fiber-optic wires, each of which can carry ten gigabytes of data per second. The system included the development of both the wires, which needed to drop in price to make the system affordable, and the chips, which encode and decode information in light form on both ends. Light, by virtue of having no mass, can travel far faster than matter like electrons, making optical communication much quicker than the electrical communication that relies on the transfer of electrons. Intel wants to start shipping the devices by...