Feature
Negawatts: Optics, Photonics and Energy Savings
Five scientists survey the potential energy savings that could flow from selected optical technologies, ranging from optical data interconnects to photonic gas sensors.
When thinking about optics, photonics and energy, one usually thinks of photovoltaics. But other optics and photonics technologies can also have a huge energy impact—not in generating energy, but in saving it. One need look no further than the global long-distance fiber communication system; by one calculation, powering today’s Internet using electrical links, rather than long-haul optical fiber, would burn more energy than is currently consumed for all purposes worldwide.
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