• Thunderbolt

    HARDWARE

    Ed Tittel

    By Ed Tittel

    Not many people know this, but Thunderbolt originated as an optical networking technology. Apple and Intel worked on its initial design.

    Known as Light Peak, it was based upon optical components and fiber-optic cables at Intel’s Silicon Photonics lab. When it turned out that copper cables could deliver the same 10 Gbps bandwidth as the more expensive and finicky optical elements, the cheaper, less demanding technology won.

    Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.40.0, 2023-10-02).