This might be the modern day equivalent of an “Eureka!” moment, as scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics claim to have discovered the ability of a microchip to emit Wi-Fi after being embedded with a one-watt LED bulb, where the signal strength is good enough to offer Internet connectivity to not one, two, or even a trio of computers, but four! This particular discovery has led to it being called “Li-Fi”, where it will rely on the use of a special LED light bulb which operates with light as the carrier of choice, ditching the traditional radio frequency bus instead. It has been said that data rates through this new medium would be able to be as fast as 150 megabits per second, which would mean that we could be looking at faster, cheaper and more energy efficient wireless signals down the road.
Li-Fi apparently sips a mere 5% of the energy that is required to power Wi-Fi-emitting devices, where the latter will also need a plethora of other systems to work together including energy cooling systems. This is one discovery that could very well revolutionize the way we make use of Internet connectivity. Li-Fi is still in its infancy, however, and would not be made a standard anytime soon. After all, it right now does not work if the light bulb is turned off, or if it is blocked, but I am quite sure that there will be advances made down the road which will overcome such obstacles!