Laser delivers ‘twice the total global internet traffic’ in a single second

Scientists claim new fibre optic technology could also eclipse latest data transfer recod by a factor of 50

A single laser built by researchers at the Technical University of Denmark and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is able to shift a record-shattering 1.84 Pbit/s (Esri/ Screebgrab)

Researchers have smashed the world record for the most data transferred in a single second, delivering “twice the total global internet traffic” through just one laser beam.

An international team from Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden hit 1.84 petabit per second, breaking the previous record of 1.02 Pbit/s set earlier this year.

The data was only carried by the light from one optical source, which uses a single infrared laser to create a rainbow spectrum of colours holding hundreds of frequencies.