From
From Reuters, via Drudge, scientists are finally figuring out how to finish off those long distance relationships once and for all…
Scientists in Britain and the United States will try to shake hands on Tuesday.
No big deal one might think — only they will be 5,000 km (3,000 miles) apart, using the Internet to connect them.
In a technological first, they will use pencil-like devices called phantoms to recreate the sense of touch across the Atlantic, organizers of the experiment said.
The phantoms send small impulses at very high frequencies down the Internet using newly developed fiber optic cables and extremely high bandwidths.
When a scientist in London prods a screen with the phantom, the sensation should be felt by a colleague in Boston, and vice versa.
The report concludes:
The implications of the experiment could be vast, said UCL, which describes the event as the world’s “first transatlantic handshake over the Internet.”
If successful, it could allow people to touch and feel each other over the Internet.
Dear god, NO.