Scientists have successfully sent data over radio waves at a breathtaking speed of 32 gigabytes per second.

The process takes-off from previous research that twisted rays of light to allow data to be sent at unimaginable speeds.

Prof. Alan Willner of the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering in Australia applied the same theory to sound, specifically to radio waves.

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The team managed to reach this high speed by bending the radio waves. This meant they passed the beam that carried independent strands of data through a "spiral phase plate."

They then twisted the radio beam into the shape of a helix similar in shape to that of DNA. When it reached the other side, a receiver untwisted the beams and recovered the data.

Willner was able to send data at the staggering rate of 32 gigabytes per second over a distance of two and a half meters of free space in a basement lab at USC.

In order to put this speed into context, 32 gigabytes a second is fast enough to send a 10 hour high definition movie in a span of a second. It's also 10 times faster than an LTE wireless connection.

Willner himself was also part of the team that sent data by twisting light. Sending data using light has reached speeds of 2.56 terabytes per second.

While using light is faster by a blinding amount, using radio waves has advantages, Willner says.

He says radio waves are wider and more robust than light. This allows the beams to cope with obstacles between the transmitter and the receiver. Radio waves are also not affected by atmospheric disturbances.

Willner and his team will continue to research the process, with a focus on extending the beam's range.

Tags32 gigabytes per second, Radio waves, Twist, Alan Wilner