News tagged with fiber optics
Scientists solve mystery of the eye
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have a good overall understanding of human vision: when light enters our eyes, it is focused by the lens and strikes the retina in the back of the eye. The light causes some of ...
Nov 17, 2011 |
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An Internet 100 times as fast: A new network design could boost capacity
(PhysOrg.com) -- The heart of the Internet is a network of high-capacity optical fibers that spans continents. But while optical signals transmit information much more efficiently than electrical signals, ...
Technology / Computer Sciences
Jun 28, 2010 |
4.7 / 5 (54) |
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Physicists take steps toward delivering quantum information to the home
(PhysOrg.com) -- Today, fiber optics technology transports information in the form of classical data to homes and businesses. But researchers are currently working on ways to combine quantum data with the ...
Jul 18, 2011 |
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Pair of aluminum atomic clocks reveal Einstein's relativity at a personal scale
Scientists have known for decades that time passes faster at higher elevations—a curious aspect of Einstein's theories of relativity that previously has been measured by comparing clocks on the earth's surface ...
Sep 23, 2010 |
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New 'broadband' cloaking technology simple to manufacture
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have created a new type of invisibility cloak that is simpler than previous designs and works for all colors of the visible spectrum, making it possible to cloak larger objects ...
May 20, 2009 |
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Intel Milestone Confirms Light Beams Can Replace Electronic Signals for Future Computers
(PhysOrg.com) -- Intel today announced an important advance in the quest to use light beams to replace the use of electrons to carry data in and around computers.
Jul 27, 2010 |
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'Holey Optochip' first to transfer one trillion bits of information per second using the power of light
(PhysOrg.com) -- IBM scientists today will report on a prototype optical chipset, dubbed “Holey Optochip”, that is the first parallel optical transceiver to transfer one trillion bits – one ...
Mar 08, 2012 |
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Tomorrow's Internet: 1,000 times faster
Imagine if all the data traversing the world right now -- on long distance networks and between and within computers and other hardware -- could be sent through a single fiber the width of a human hair.
Oct 21, 2010 |
4.5 / 5 (22) |
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Single photon solid-state memory for telecommunications
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the issues associated with quantum information schemes revolves around the ability to develop quantum memories that allow for the retrieval of information on demand. Overcoming this ...
Mar 08, 2010 |
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Optical fiber innovation could make future optical computers a 'SNAP'
Optics and photonics may one day revolutionize computer technology with the promise of light-speed calculations. Storing light as memory, however, requires devices known as microresonators, an emerging technology ...
Dec 14, 2011 |
5 / 5 (18) |
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New kind of optical fiber developed
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists led by John Badding, a professor of chemistry at Penn State University, has developed the very first optical fiber made with a core of zinc selenide -- a light-yellow ...
Feb 25, 2011 |
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Physicists develop multifunctional storage device for light
Light is intangible and, in addition, it travels at great velocity. Nevertheless, it can be confined to a very small space by controllably inserting light into a microscopic container surrounded by reflective ...
Jul 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (17) |
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Fiber Optical Transmission In Demand Of Higher Capacity
(PhysOrg.com) -- With the increasing high volume content over the internet, such as multimedia and high definition images, new transmission methods need to be found to handle the increasing data demand. Nippon ...
Apr 02, 2010 |
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Photonic neuron may compute a billion times faster than brain circuits
(PhysOrg.com) -- The name of the project -- "photonic neuron" -- was catchy enough, but what really caught Mitchell Nahmias' attention was the opportunity to combine his interests in engineering and neuroscience.
Jul 19, 2011 |
4.8 / 5 (17) |
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Pushing light beyond its known limits
Scientists at the University of Adelaide have made a breakthrough that could change the world's thinking on what light is capable of.
Nov 12, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (20) |
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Optical fiber
An optical fiber (or fibre) is a glass or plastic fiber that carries light along its length. Fiber optics is the overlap of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of optical fibers. Optical fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which permits transmission over longer distances and at higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of communications. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because signals travel along them with less loss, and they are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so they can be used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in tight spaces. Specially designed fibers are used for a variety of other applications, including sensors and fiber lasers.
Light is kept in the core of the optical fiber by total internal reflection. This causes the fiber to act as a waveguide. Fibers which support many propagation paths or transverse modes are called multi-mode fibers (MMF), while those which can only support a single mode are called single-mode fibers (SMF). Multi-mode fibers generally have a larger core diameter, and are used for short-distance communication links and for applications where high power must be transmitted. Single-mode fibers are used for most communication links longer than 550 metres (1,800 ft).
Joining lengths of optical fiber is more complex than joining electrical wire or cable. The ends of the fibers must be carefully cleaved, and then spliced together either mechanically or by fusing them together with an electric arc. Special connectors are used to make removable connections.
For more information about Optical fiber, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
