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What are optical fibers?
Optical fibers are a thin rod of glass that transmits messages using light. The optical fiber glass is no thicker than a strand of hair. The light goes in one end of the glass strand and goes through total internal reflection until the light reaches the end. The light still goes through total internal reflection even when the glass rod is bent. Information such as computer data or telephone calls can be turned into electrical signals. These forms of electrical signals can be converted to visible light signals and are then transmitted through optical fibers.
When optical fibres were first invented and how were they developed?
Timeline of optical fibers.
1790- French Chappe brothers invented the first “optical telegraph”
1840- Physicists Daniel Collodon and Jacques Babinet showed that light colour could be directed along jets of water for fountain displays
1854- British physicist, John Tyndall, demonstrated that light could travel through a curved steam of water
1880- Alexander Graham Bell created an optical telephone system called the photophone
1888- Doctors Roth and Reuss, of Vienna, used bent glass rods to illuminate body cavities
1895- French engineer Henry Saint-Rene designed a system of bent glass rods that were used for guiding light images in hope of putting this method to television
1898- American David Smith applied for the use of dental illumination using a curved glass rod
1920- John Logie Baird had the idea to use arrays of transparent rods to transmit images for television
1930- Heinrich Lamm was the first person to transmit images through a bundle of optical fibers
1951- Holger Moeller applied for a Danish patent on fiber optic imaging in which he suggested cladding glass or plastic fibers with a transparent lox-index material
1954- Charles Townes and his colleagues at Columbia University created the ‘maser’ or ‘microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.’
1958- Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow introduced a laser as an efficient light source
1961- Elias Snitzer of American Optical published a description of single mode fibers whose core would be small enough to carry light
1964- Charles Kao and George Hockham, of Standard Communications Laboratories in England published a document that showed that loss of existing light could be decreased by removing impurities
1970- the goal was set to make try and make single mode fibers
1973- Bell Laboratories developed chemical vapors and oxygen that form ultra-transparent glass which would then be able to be produced into optical fibers
1975- The first optical fiber was installed by the Dorset (UK) police
1977- The first live telephone traffic optical fibers occurred in Long Beach in California
How do optical fibers work?
The simplest way to describe how an optical fiber works is to have information made from light, which is kept in a glass tube and then passed on.
The glass core is wrapped in a plastic coating to keep it safe and also the light from escaping. The glass on the inside of the tube has a high index or in other words the light is able to move fairly quickly through that particular substance. The light will stay inside the glass core because of total internal reflection. Total internal reflection is how the light tries to move from a high index to a low index but just keeps bouncing of the sides of the substance.
The light just repetitively bounces of the sides of the substances until it reaches the end where the light is able to escape and also complete the transmission of messages.
How are optical fibers used in different industries?
The various properties of optical fibers are useful for a range of different applications which include:
v Medical- to receive pictures of organs and arteries
v Industrial- to receive pictures of the inside of complex machinery
v Communications- to transmit data over long distances without transmission loss
1. The use of endoscopes that use optical fibers in medical procedures. There are 5 main medical procedures that use the endoscopy:
Arthroscopy: the endoscope is inserted into the body through an incision in the skin near a joint that needs medical attention. This method can be used to not only loom at a joint or perform small operations such as removing torn tissue.
Bronchoscopy: the endoscopy is inserted through the bronchial tubes in the lugs which allow doctors to look at the airways and remove any objects or substances blocking the airways.
Endoscopy Biopsy: the endoscope is inserted through an incision or an opening in the body that leads to area in the body that needs attention. Biopsy forceps are then used to take samples of tissues that can be analysed by a pathologist.
Gastroscopy: the endoscopy is inserted down through the throat to look for problems in the oesophagus, stomach and duodenum.
Laparoscopy: the endoscopy is inserted through and incision through the abdominal to look at the abdominal organs. It can also be used to perform small operations in that area.
2. The mining industry is looking at upgrading its communication. The mining companies are using fiber optic systems as a cost-effective network, as it will provide better world-class communication systems as well as other added benefits such as greater bandwidth for real-time voice, data and video applications.
3. The reason that fiber optics are used in communication industries is because they provide communication, data links, imaging and data collection. As the large majority of commercial and industrial applications use fiber optics, they rely heavily on the fiber optics to function correctly and efficiently.
Timbercon fiber optic products are the specific product used for communication and commercial industries.
Why are optical fibres an efficient way to transmit messages?
Optical fibers are ideal for today’s transport of messages because they are fast, require little attention and have no electric appeal. Some reasons are listed below as to why optical fibers are ideal to use in the transportation of messages.
- They are less expensive
Although the cost overall will be quite expensive, they will ahead of time have financial benefits.
- Are a thinner material
As the optical fibers are thin that means that more wires are able to be bundled into a cord of the same width, which just means that the optical fibers are more efficient.
- Have a fairly strong signal
When transporting messages the fibers are more likely to have a stronger signal than other materials, this is because most materials are electric based while the optic fibers are light based.
- Low power
As the energy saved in the transmitting of messages is a large amount, it means that less of a strong transmitter is needed.
- Can send digital signals
Optic fibers are able to send digital signals, which is helpful when sending computer messages.
- Non-flammable
They are non-flammable because there is no electricity running through the wires which is not possessed as a risk.
- Provides strong light
The optic fiber produces maximum light in comparison to copper which is dense and heavier than optic fibers.
- Flexible and is almost possesses elastic-like qualities
Due to the flexibility of the optic fibers they are able to be used in security cameras and to also see inside the human body.