Science
PHYSICS
PSU researchers harness I
AARON KUBAS
science reporter • under ided nujor
Harnessing the power of light?
This is what scientists and engi
neers at Penn State are trying to
do.
They are experimenting with the
transmission of data over a wire
less network, with hopes of im
proving speed and allowing Wi-Fi
to be more accessible all over the
SCIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY
Behrend to host PJAS science competition
ELIZABETH MASTELLER
Penn State Erie will be hosting
the Pennsylvania Junior Academy
of Science competition this week
end to display their various proj
ects in the Junker Center among
other places on campus.
PJAS, this year held at Behrend
on Feb. 20, is a “statewide organi
zation of junior and senior high
school students designed to stimu
late and promote interest in sci
ence among its members through
the development of research proj
ects and investigations,” according
to their website.
The organization opens up the
ability for students to explore the
is at the forefront of this technol
ogy that could make future com
munications networks use the
light spectrum.
Scientists have been trying to
tap into the light spectrum for
communications purposes be
cause the speed of light is much
faster than the speed of sound. If
the spectrum of light can be har
nessed for the use of communica
tions, the possibilities are endless.
world of science and use the scien
tific method to learn about re-
s( ivtl( r n t f)OlU , l
search
Students usually begin by
hearing about PJAS in
their schools; it starts
out as a school sci
ence project
Students do re
search and decide
what project they
would like to do,
with their options
open.
Once they de
cide on an idea,
they must gather
information on
their topic and fig
ure out what re-
ight for data transmission
The switch of broadcast antenna
TV from analog signal to digital
signal lessened the congestion of
the RD spectrum. This freed up
the RF spectrum for more emer
gency personnel.
However, the RF spectrum is still
very congested and slows down
the transmission rate of data,
which is why scientists and engi
neers have been trying to harness
the light spectrum for use in corn-
sources they will need.
After this, the student must form
a hypothesis.
ptot o3s* - n ®t
What; High school science competition
Where: Penn State Behrend
When: Saturday, Feb. 20,8am-4pm
Why should I go: Lots of interesting
science experiments. Learn something!
Once all of this is
done, the student must
submit it and hope
to get approved.
Then they must
begin to carry out
I the experiment,
possibly repeat
ing it numerous
times to collect
data.
After they collect
all their data, they
need to analyze it.
Once analysis is
done they need to
interpret the data
Call (814) 824-8282
Offer may not be combined with any other discounts, coupons, deals, or specials.
the director of the university's
Center for Information and Com
munications Technology Re
search, constructed a device that
bounced infrared light off walls
and back to a transceiver which
detected that light.
They calculated data transmis
sion rates of one gigabit per sec
ond - the fastest Wi-Fi
transmission of data in the world.
With the construction of this de
vice, Wi-Fi networks around the
world would be able to transmit
data at speeds which, until re
cently, no one thought possible.
Fadlullah and Kavehrad both say
that their system can support
transmission speeds far beyond
one gigabite per second.
However, researchers like Fad
lullah and Kavehrad still have a
long way to go in perfecting de
vices that will transmit data using
light and getting them ready for
commercial use.
The possibilities are endless; the
light spectrum could transform
our whole society from, say, video
game consoles to how hospitals
and nations communicate, to fu
ture wireless networks.
and make conclusions that relate
to their hypothesis, either agreeing
with it or refuting it.
From this they must make a final
statement, again regarding their
hypothesis, whether they found it
to be verified or disproven.
After this whole process the stu
dent must prepare to share their
data. They can do this through a
report, graphs, posters, and any
thing else they can think of. It’s
good to try to keep it original and
interesting.
The students that will be here at
Behrend have already won their
school competitions and will be
competing on the regional level on
Saturday.
Behrend Beacon i A
Febraury 19, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
Top Science News:
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He broke the previous record by 21
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How can someone hold their breath
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"It is, as a matter of fact, possible -
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Today in Science
Today will mark the 537th an
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Fellow astronomers Galileo
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under house arrest for the last nine
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Beacon Science Staff
Science Editor
Ryan Cula
Science Reporters
Elizabeth Masteller • biology major
Aaron Kubas • undecided major