Internet Ocean
Ask Magazine for Kids|October 2019
Say you’re curious about giraffes.
Colette Weil Parrinello
Internet Ocean

You do a web search and click on a link that looks interesting. The information on the web page comes from another computer far away. That computer sends it to yours along a hopping path. Most of its journey is through cables—some under the sea.

How does the internet get under the sea?

1 Make a Glass Cable

Cables that carry the internet on land and under the sea are made of super-clear glass, spun into strands thinner than a hair. Several hundred strands are bundled together. Then they’re covered with layers of metal and plastic to make a cable that’s tough, flexible, and waterproof.

Computer signals travel along the glass threads as pulses of light. Computers read these signals and translate them into web pages, or movies, or the sound of a voice. Light beams are so thin that a single hair-sized fiber can carry over 25,000 phone calls at the same time.

How fast do these signals go? Take a breath. In one second, a light signal could travel five times around the earth. That’s two-thirds the speed of light (186,000 miles a second).

2 Map the Sea Floor

Esta historia es de la edición October 2019 de Ask Magazine for Kids.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición October 2019 de Ask Magazine for Kids.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE ASK MAGAZINE FOR KIDSVer todo
When a Whale Falls
Ask Magazine for Kids

When a Whale Falls

When an enormous whale dies, its body sinks to the bottom of the ocean. There it provides food for thousands of deep-sea creatures.

time-read
1 min  |
October 2019
The Deepest Dive
Ask Magazine for Kids

The Deepest Dive

In 1872, two scientists set out to study the ocean.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October 2019
Marie Maps The Sea
Ask Magazine for Kids

Marie Maps The Sea

Young Marie Tharp thought her dad had the best job ever. He traveled around the country, making maps. His maps were special—they revealed hidden things. They showed where different kinds of soil were, and wet and dry places. That helped farmers know what to plant.

time-read
3 minutos  |
October 2019
Internet Ocean
Ask Magazine for Kids

Internet Ocean

Say you’re curious about giraffes.

time-read
2 minutos  |
October 2019
Bigger Than The Rules
Ask Magazine for Kids

Bigger Than The Rules

How one tall kid changed the way we play basketball.

time-read
3 minutos  |
September 2017
Eat This Spoon
Ask Magazine for Kids

Eat This Spoon

Imagine you’re at a picnic, enjoying some spicy noodles and fruit salad. For dessert, you have a slice of cake. Then you top off your meal by eating your fork.

time-read
3 minutos  |
February 2017
In the Hot Shop
Ask Magazine for Kids

In the Hot Shop

The hot shop at Chicago’s Ignite Glass Studio sizzles with activity.

time-read
3 minutos  |
May/June 2017
The Glass Ocean
Ask Magazine for Kids

The Glass Ocean

Peering out from its case in the museum, the little brown octopus looks ready to uncurl its tentacles and glide away. But this octopus isn’t going anywhere. It’s made of glass.

time-read
3 minutos  |
May/June 2017
Living Glass
Ask Magazine for Kids

Living Glass

What would you do if your skeleton were made of glass?  Maybe you’d be a sponge.

time-read
2 minutos  |
May/June 2017
The Greedy Glass
Ask Magazine for Kids

The Greedy Glass

How many pennies can you add to a completely full glass of water?

time-read
1 min  |
May/June 2017