Milestone for wi-fi with 'T-rays'

[simonwheeler]

From the BBC website

Researchers in Japan have smashed the record for wireless data transmission in the terahertz band, an uncharted part of the electro-magnetic spectrum.
The data rate is 20 times higher than the best commonly used wi-fi standard.
As consumers become ever more hungry for high data rates, standard lower-frequency bands have become crowded

[mike]

When I'm cooked on one side,will you turn me over please Simon ?

[Grahame]

Worth mentioning that this is still way above what we are now seeing in the 5G bands, which are all much lower than 100GHz at the moment - although frequencies up to 300GHz are allowed within the 5G specification.

[SparkTalker]

T-Rays were being experimented with by the government/military in the UK. The frequencies/wavelengths are below the infrared part of the spectrum. The idea is that the longer wavelengths will be able to penetrate clothing and other materials allowing security forces to 'see' through clothing and thus allow them to look for weapons and explosives etc.

It is also possible to do spectroscopy, so not only is it possible to 'see' and item, it is also possible to determine the composition of the objects in question too.

https://othjournal.com/2020/02/28/terah ... ironments/

The last I heard of research in the UK was that they had managed to build very sensitive detection equipment (think camera like tech), but the researchers were struggling to produce a high enough energy T-Ray 'light' source. I seem to recall they said they needed a T-Ray source (transmitter) of around 50W to be effective enough for use in airport security scenarios. However, I also remember reading that there was a growing body of resistance against the deployment of T-Ray monitoring equipment due to its ability to 'see' through clothing!

Mark...