Speed of light can only travel a maximum of about in a single cycle. Processors must therefore be placed close to each other to minimize communication latencies; this can cause difficulty with cooling. If clock frequencies continue to increase, the speed of light will eventually become a limiting factor for the internal design of single chips. Given that the equatorial circumference of the Earth is about and that "c" is about , the theoretical shortest time for a piece of information to travel half the globe along the surface is about 67 milliseconds. When light is travelling around the globe in an optical
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Planck Society. In June 2008, after an evaluation, the senate of the Max Planck Society decided to convert this group to a Max Planck institute and thereupon founded the "Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light" (German "Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts"). with effect from January 1, 2009. In 2016, the new building was opened. The project was made by the Munich architecture bureau "Fritsch + Tschaidse Architekten GmbH". Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light The Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) performs basic research in optical metrology, optical communication, new optical materials,