I can't believe this article does not mention what I think is the most puzzling part of the repair: the delicate process by which the individual fibers are FUSED TOGETHER in a way that maintains near perfect total internal refraction.
This was a good read. I'm obsessed with undersea cables. I consider them one of the wonders of the modern world. Wikipedia says 99% of all internet traffic gets delivered via these ocean-spanning wires, just sitting along the sea floor. Almost unbelievable.
If you havent seen it, you owe it to yoiurself to read Mother Earth, Motherboard: https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/
A Neal Stephenson long read about undersea cables. So good!
Thanks, I loved this article, time to re-read it again!
For anyone who wants to know more about the early history of undersea cables, I also enjoyed ‘A Thread Across the Ocean’ by John Steele Gordon.
About to read but your link is paywalled, here’s a copy: https://efdn.notion.site/Mother-Earth-Mother-Board-WIRED-a8f...
thank you!
I can't believe this article does not mention what I think is the most puzzling part of the repair: the delicate process by which the individual fibers are FUSED TOGETHER in a way that maintains near perfect total internal refraction.
Also always interesting: https://www.submarinecablemap.com
This was a good read. I'm obsessed with undersea cables. I consider them one of the wonders of the modern world. Wikipedia says 99% of all internet traffic gets delivered via these ocean-spanning wires, just sitting along the sea floor. Almost unbelievable.
(2021)