Slow Light = Fast Computing

yohaas writes: The Washington Post is reporting that scientists have been able to slow the speed of light while still maintaining its ability to transmit information. From the article:

Scientists said yesterday that they had achieved a long-sought goal of slowing waves of light to a relatively leisurely pace and using those harnessed pulses to store an image. Physicists said the new approach to taming light could hasten the arrival of a futuristic era in which computers and other devices will process information on optical beams instead of with electricity, which for all its spark is still cumbersome compared with light.