A PHYSICAL DEFINITION OF FIBRE OPTICS HOW DOES IT WORK? HISTORY A VISION FOR FIBRE OPTICS

PHYSICS

A PHYSICAL DEFINITION OF FIBRE OPTICS

Fiber optics is a branch of optics dealing with the transmission of light through fibers or thin rods of glass or some other transparent material of high refractive index. If the light is admitted at one end of a fiber, it can travel through the fiber with very low loss, even if the fiber is curved. Through fiber optics the possibilities of transporting huge amounts of information are endless.

Fiber can carry information so fast that you could transmit three episodes of your favorite television show in one second.

Two optical fibers can transmit the equivalent of 24,000 phone calls - at the same time.

Taken in bulk, it would take 33 tons of copper to transmit the same amount of information handled by 1/4 pound of optical fiber.

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

The principal on which this transmission of light depends on is that of internal reflection: light traveling inside the fiber center, or core, strikes the outside surface at an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle so that all the light is reflected toward the inside of the fiber (instead of scattered elsewhere) retaining all the light and therefore information. Interference is reduced completely.

Thus the light can be transmitted over long distances by being reflected inward thousands of times.

In order to avoid losses through the scattering of light by impurities on the surface of the fiber, the optical fiber core is clad with a glass layer much lower refractive index - meaning the light won't be scattered - the reflections occur at the interface of the glass fiber and the cladding.

Bundles of several thousand very thin fibers transmit images. Each point of the image projected on one face of the bundle is reproduced at the other end of the bundle, reconstituting the image, which can be observed through a magnifier.

This image transmission by optical fiber is used in medical practice.

Optical fiber systems also can travel long distances before signal repeaters are needed to regenerate signals due to maintaining of light in the wires. It is no surprise due to the efficiency and speed of fiber optics that it is the wave of the future.

Fiber optics will be an integral part of the information age to come and carry us far into the future.

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HISTORY

The beginning of fiber optics development began with the discovery that light signals could be bent, by English physicist John Tyndall. Later on, Alexander Graham Bell took the concept further with his photophone experiment which transmitted voice signals on beams of light.

Through research, scientists came to realize that optical fiber could transmit light, but these fibers could not carry information far thus making them inefficient. Scientists at the research and development company, Corning, came to a breakthrough finally developing optical fiber spending 20 years and millions of dollars.

Fiber optic communication is a much more efficient way of communicating. Speed not only being a positive characteristic of fiber optics, the capacity of information one fiber can transmit is incredible.

Interest in the use of light as a carrier for information grew in the 1960's with the advent of the laser as a source of coherent light. Initially the transmission distances were very short, but as manufacturing techniques for very pure glass arrived in 1970, it became feasible to use optical fibres as a practical transmission medium. At the same time developments in semi-conductor light sources and detectors meant that by 1980 world wide installation of fibre optic communication systems had been achieved.

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A VISION FOR FIBRE OPTICS

With further development, the increased information-carrying capacity of fiber optics could enhance productivity, the economic situation, and simply the way of life in our country only for the better. Industries are to only benefit from the use of fiber optics which would lessen the costs of communication therefore increasing productivity within these companies. The medical field can only benefit from fiber optic technology as well. With this state of the art technology at the hand of capable medical personnel, society as whole would benefit from the ability to communicate and transmit information in a speedy and efficient manner especially when dealing with life or death situations. Finally, fiber optic technology will only benefit the community as a whole allowing communication to run smoother thus life in general.

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