The Best Inventions Of The Year

Flexible Fiber

Fiber-optic cable has to lie fairly straight to carry a strong signal, so it's difficult and expensive to install in apartment buildings. Corning's ClearCurve works out this kink by adding a protective rail around the skinny glass core, so you can bend, twist and turn the lines in and out of tight corners without degrading the connection. The innovation has Verizon and other telecoms—ever eager to expand their data services to new addresses—jumping for joy.
Available By the end of the year
corning.com/opticalfiber