4 ms·

It may surprise some of you (well, it surprised me when I looked it up) that transatlantic cables are only about 25mm in diameter. I personally thought they wou

by osrec 5y ago

It may surprise some of you (well, it surprised me when I looked it up) that transatlantic cables are only about 25mm in diameter. I personally thought they would have a bigger cross section, but 25mm is all it takes to get a country's worth of data across the pond. This also means that cutting through them is not particularly difficult. I think at one point a lot of the UK was without internet because a shark chewed through one (or a ship managed to cut through it).

bogomipz 5y ago
They are still armored cables wrapped in galvanized steel wires though. Also the spans in shallower waters generally have two layers of steel wire. See: https://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/the-undersea-cables-that-connect-the-world/ https://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/the-undersea-cables-that-c... No cable is going to be a match for a ship's anchor dropping on it or a fishing trawler dragging it but saying cutting through them is "not difficult" is not correct. You couldn't cut through them with a pair of wire cutters. They are also powered spans with 10 kV DC at both ends. So it could also potentially kill you. Anchors and trawling nets are by far the most common reasons for cable faults. Sharks chewing through them however is not common. Although it's certainly a more entertaining image. See: https://www.computerworld.com/article/2872728/dont-blame-sharks-for-asian-internet-problems.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2872728/dont-blame-sha...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Scoundreller 5y ago
  Or this guy that picked up a submarine cable in his crabfishing net and cut it, not once, but twice with a circular saw: https://www.canliiconnects.org/en/commentaries/35843 https://www.canliiconnects.org/en/commentaries/35843
herpderperator 5y ago
The actual fiber data cables are just like any other, super thin like a human hair. 5 to 10 microns in diameter for the core of a single-mode fiber strand which is used for long distances. They can carry hundreds of gigabits per second. It's not so much the fibers that allow this: the cables don't need to be replaced to increase capacity; the physics behind the cables doesn't really change, they just carry pulses of light. It's the equipment modulating the signal on both sides that is upgraded to allow for increasingly higher bandwidth. Any of the thickness past those few microns is just shielding.

by osrec 5y ago

bogomipz 5y ago

They are still armored cables wrapped in galvanized steel wires though. Also the spans in shallower waters generally have two layers of steel wire. See: https://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/the-undersea-cables-that-connect-the-world/ https://twistedsifter.com/2012/07/the-undersea-cables-that-c... No cable is going to be a match for a ship's anchor dropping on it or a fishing trawler dragging it but saying cutting through them is "not difficult" is not correct. You couldn't cut through them with a pair of wire cutters. They are also powered spans with 10 kV DC at both ends. So it could also potentially kill you. Anchors and trawling nets are by far the most common reasons for cable faults. Sharks chewing through them however is not common. Although it's certainly a more entertaining image. See: https://www.computerworld.com/article/2872728/dont-blame-sharks-for-asian-internet-problems.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/2872728/dont-blame-sha...

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Scoundreller 5y ago
Or this guy that picked up a submarine cable in his crabfishing net and cut it, not once, but twice with a circular saw: https://www.canliiconnects.org/en/commentaries/35843 https://www.canliiconnects.org/en/commentaries/35843

herpderperator 5y ago

The actual fiber data cables are just like any other, super thin like a human hair. 5 to 10 microns in diameter for the core of a single-mode fiber strand which is used for long distances. They can carry hundreds of gigabits per second. It's not so much the fibers that allow this: the cables don't need to be replaced to increase capacity; the physics behind the cables doesn't really change, they just carry pulses of light. It's the equipment modulating the signal on both sides that is upgraded to allow for increasingly higher bandwidth. Any of the thickness past those few microns is just shielding.