‘Slow’ Light to Speed Up the Net

A huge increase in the speed of the internet could be produced by slowing parts of it down, say researchers. Applying the brakes could be the metamaterials that may make it possible to create invisibility cloaks. The net’s speed limit comes about not in transporting information, but in routing it to its various destinations. Metamaterials could replace the bulky and slow electronics that do the routing, paving the way for lightning fast speeds