kestrel131
47p21 comments posted · 0 followers · following 0
13 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Revenge Is A Dish Best... · 0 replies · +5 points
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Nice Horsey... · 3 replies · +5 points
Why we should be eating horses instead of riding them http://theoatmeal.com/story/eat_horses
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - User Input: Not Yet Ca... · 1 reply · +1 points
I'll drink it black or with 1 sugar and chocolate soy milk...and I'll admit to drinking the above mentioned dessert abominations...as dessert
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: Let's Try Thi... · 3 replies · +3 points
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - User Input: Scribbly L... · 0 replies · +1 points
Scenes from a Multiverse (http://amultiverse.com/) each day has a new destination in the multiverse, and then there is a showcase showdown to pick the destination on Friday.
and
Alien Loves Predator...yes the Alien and Predator are the Odd couple roommates living in NYC...its done with clever action figure photography: http://alienlovespredator.com/. Sadly this one is on a hiatus, but the old strips are worth reading through
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: It's Not What... · 0 replies · +2 points
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: It's Not What... · 1 reply · +2 points
To maximize efficiency of the pumping light source, the active fiber (with Erbium in it) has a Bragg grating at either end, so the 1550 nm light can pass through, but the 980 nm light is reflected and is confined to the area where the Erbium is present.
A similar technique is used to create fiber lasers.
One of the coolest things is when the erbium is being introduced to the preform. The preform is spinning on a special lathe with chucks that allow the gasses to flow in and out of either end of the preform, while it is spinning and being heated by a Hydrogen-Oxygen torch. The torch helps the chemical reactions to form the soot described in the original article...but it also excites the erbium, so the entire 5 fool long tube is glowing at a brilliant green, It looks like kryptonite glowing. and once it is cool, the glass is transparent. Praseodymium on the other hand, keeps a pretty neat purple color.
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: Not My Vacati... · 0 replies · +1 points
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: It's Not What... · 3 replies · +4 points
14 years ago @ Atomic Toasters - Startup: It's Not What... · 4 replies · +4 points
The Erbium doped fiber would be pumped with a 980 nm wavelength light source (usually an LED or laser Diode), and then emit light at 1.55 microns wavelength, the same wavelength that the long-haul signals are transmitted at. This means that as the optical signal is traveling across the ocean floor, the signal is optically amplified, prior to the Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) the optical signal would have to be converted to an electrical signal, amplified and then re launched as an optical signal. That required a lot of electricity to power the amp deep in the ocean. Now they need just enough power to light up a few LEDs every 1000 kilometers or so.