From Ocean Sponges to Fiber-Optic Cable
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Scientists say they have identified an ocean sponge living in the darkness of the deep sea that grows thin glass fibers capable of transmitting light better than industrial fiber-optic cables used for telecommunication.
The natural glass fibers also are much more flexible than manufactured fiber-optic cable, which can crack if bent too far, a team from Bell Laboratories reported in this week’s issue of Nature.
The glassy sponge, nicknamed the “Venus flower basket,” grows the flexible fibers at cold temperatures, in a process that scientists hope to duplicate.
