Friday, August 10, 2007

fiber optics


What is FIBER OPTICS??


A technology that uses glass (or plastic) threads (fibers) to transmit data. A fiber optic cable consists of a bundle of glass threads, each of which is capable of transmitting messages modulated onto light waves.
Fiber optics has several advantages over traditional metal
communications lines:
Fiber optic cables have a much greater
bandwidth than metal cables. This means that they can carry more data.
Fiber optic cables are less susceptible than metal cables to interference.
Fiber optic cables are much thinner and lighter than metal wires.
Data can be transmitted
digitally (the natural form for computer data) rather than analogically.
The main disadvantage of fiber optics is that the cables are expensive to install. In addition, they are more fragile than wire and are difficult to splice.
Fiber optics is a particularly popular technology for
local-area networks. In addition, telephone companies are steadily replacing traditional telephone lines with fiber optic cables. In the future, almost all communications will employ fiber optics.

Fiber optics is the technique of transmitting light through transparent, flexible fibers of glass or plastic. The fibers, called optical fibers, can channel light over a curved path. Bundles of parallel fibers acn be used to illuminate and observe hard-to-reach places. Optical fibers of very pure glass are able to carri light over long distances with little dimming.

Fiber optics is based on the optical phenomenon known as total internal reflection. With the simplest form of optical fiber, light entering one end of the fiber strikes the boudary of the fiber and is reflected inward. The light travels through the fiber in succession of zigzag reflections until it exists from the other end fiber.

Optical fiber bundles are either coherent or incoherent. In a a coherent bundle, the fibers are arranged so that the images, as well as illumination, can be transmitted. in incoherent bundles, the fiber are not arranged in any particular way and can transmit only illumination.



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