Research News. Long Waveguides from Thin Air. Hannah Lanford A laser is sent down a hallway at the University of Maryland, USA, in an experiment to corral light as it makes a 45-meter journey. [Intense Laser-Matter Interactions Lab, UMD] Fiber optic cables can effectively transmit streams of data, but gravity, distance and power limitations sometimes make such physical waveguides impractical. Yet when sent directly through free space, light spreads and its intensity suffers. ?Ent...