imagine a machine that emits powerful light beams to send data via the drinking water lines. This way you eliminate phone, internet, cable infrastructure. All needed is install rounded pipes for the light to bend.

besides, when you wash your hands or bath the water should have this crazy cool effect
-- noyola, May 19 2009

while water does get reflected inside of a water-column, as long as it is surrounded by air(rather imperfectly, as you can see the column glow) - what makes you think the insides of watertubes are reflective enough for this to work?
-- loonquawl, May 19 2009


[loonquawl] point taken. But how about new water infrastructure? Expensive, I know... but imagine every new housing zone having the new fresh water/data friendly tubes. This will solve the problem, right?
-- noyola, May 19 2009


even 300nm - light is totally absorbed after just 60m, 700nm light is already gone after 5m. Water is too absorbant.
-- loonquawl, May 19 2009


even in the interior of the pipe is coated with mirror quality reflective material?
-- noyola, May 19 2009


//even in the interior of the pipe is coated with mirror quality reflective material?//

If you could maintain that, you'd have an even better invention. And if you could get power down the water main and do away with overhead electrical lines...
-- ldischler, May 19 2009


// even in the interior of the pipe is coated with mirror quality reflective material? // the mirrored tube would only act as a waveguide, it would not alter the absorption of light in water. If it was not mirrored inside, the light would not even get those 5-60m.

Trying to get light from A to B you have to overcome two problems: 1.)The light tries to go everywhere - this is taken care of by a waveguide, eg. the total reflection of the glass/coating, glass/air, water/air etc. transition. the better this reflectivity ('total' reflection implying very near 100%) the more light will survive every reflection. 2.) The light gets absorbed by the medium: glass, water, air, they all absorb some of the light (different amounts for differnt wavelenths).

In optical fibers, after a kilometre there is still about 1/3 to 1/2 of the light left (after losses in being reflected and absorbed). In water, even pure H2O, totally bubble-free, 9/10 of the light will get lost over a kilometre. Figures get much worse as salts, minerals and bubbles are introduced.
-- loonquawl, May 19 2009


[ loonquawl] Got it- no wonder why it's not already done.
-- noyola, May 19 2009



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