Fibers Optics,Then and Now

AJ Douglas

Marcus Cato

Nile Hargrove

What Are Optical Fibers?

• A very thin, flexible glass or plastic strand along which large quantities of information can be transmitted in the form of light pulses: used in telecommunications, medicine, and other fields. In the contemporary age, optical fiber is in high demand in the military. Their strong, and more importantly lightweight and can also be used in harsh environments.

• Today more then 80% of the world’s long-distance voice and data traffic is carried over optical fiber

Optical Fiber’s History• As far back as Roman times, glass has been drawn into fibers. Yet it was not until the

1790s that the French Chappe brothers invented the first optical telegraph. It was a system comprised of a series of lights mounted on towers where operators would relay a message from one tower to the next. In the 1840s, physicist Daniel Collodon and Jacques Babinet showed that light could be directed along jets of water for fountain displays. In 1854, John Tyndall, British physicist, demonstrated that light could travel through a curved stream of water thereby proving a light signal could be bent. In 1961, Elias Snitzter of American Optical published a theoretical description of a single mode fibers whose core would be so small it could carry light with only one wave guide mode. Finally, in 1970, the goal of making single mode fibers with attenuation less then 20 about decibels. This was when optical fibers were actually invented, by scientist at Corning Glass Works.

John Tyndall, 1854s

Elias Snitzer, 1970s

Daniel Colladon, 1840s

…To sum that up.

Person or Group Their Contribution Apx. Year.

Chappe Bros. The 1st optical Telegraph 1790

Colladon and Babinet Directed light through water

1840

John Tyndall Proved light could be bent 1854

Elias Snizter Optical Fiber Theory 1961

Corning Glass Scientist Invented first optical fiber 1970

Implementations of Optical fibers

• Optical fiber is used in so many different ways in the modern age. Here are just a few

• Medical- Used as light guides, imaging tools and also as lasers for surgeries

• Defense/Government- Used a hydrophones for seismic and SONAR uses, as wiring in aircraft, submarines and other vehicles also for field networking.

• Data Storage – Used for data transmission

• Telecommunications – Fiber is laid and used for transmitting and receiving purposes

• Networking- Used to connect users and servers in a variety of network setting and help increase the speed and accuracy of data transmission.

• Industrial/Commercial - Used for imaging in hard to reach areas, sensory devices to make a temperature, pressure and other measurements, and as wiring in automobiles and in industrial settings.

• Broadcast/CATV - Broadcast/ cable companies are using fiber optic cables for wiring CATV, HDTV, internet, on-demand applications and much more.

Medical Viewing tool

Fiber optic cable sensor

Fiber Optics in the Military

How Fiber Optics Work• If you look closely at a fiber optic cable (through a

microscope) you’ll notice it has 3 distinct parts:

• The Core – Then glass center of the cable where the light travels

• Cladding- Outer optical material coating the core that reflects light back into the core.

• Buffer Coating – Plastic coating that protects fiber from damage and moisture.

How Fiber Optics Work

• Imagine shining a flash light down the hallway outside this room. Not too hard right? But what if the hallway suddenly had a 45 degree turn it. How would you shine the light all the way down the hall way. Mirrors would be the most appropriate solution. However, if the hallway had even more turns in it, you need more mirrors correct? Oddly enough, this is how fiber optic cables work.

Essentially the core is the hallway, the cladding Is the mirrors you’d use In the hallway and theBuffer coating would bethe walls of the hallway

Chappe Bro’s Optical Telegraph System

Modern Fiber Optical Cables

Questions?Preguntas

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Sources• Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig.  "How Fiber Optics Work"  06 March

2001.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/fiber-optic.htm>  13 August 2014.

• "History of Fiber Optics." History of Fiber Optics. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.

• "Uses of Fiber Optic Cables." Uses of Fiber Optic Cables. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Aug. 2014.