Eli5 How does the teeny tiny ‘actual’ undersea internet cable transport all the information requests from both sides of the Atlantic?

Question

If the huge layers of cables around it are just for protection, how can the large number of requests be transmutted through a cable that thin?

In: 2

Answer 1

From what we know, light has no mass, so “fitting” light into space is not a problem. I believe engineers have created a fiber optic strand that could fit all internet traffic at one time with tons of “room” to spare, it is roughly 8 million times faster than home internet.

The difficulty is engineering the rest. For example, having a laser that can pulse fast enough to transmit the signal, repeaters (devices that keep the light going strong because it will dissipate over time) at the bottom of the ocean, and other issues that might impact the spatial and spectral integrity of the signal, and of course, getting high-speed internet to more places in the world.