What is fiber optics? Hey Engineering Lovers, my name is Gustavo Pereira and today we are going to talk about optical fibers . But what is fiber optics?
Fiber optics is a data transmission medium that uses very thin glass or plastic threads to transmit information through pulses of light. The main advantage of optical fiber over other means of data transmission is its ability to transmit large amounts of data over long distances and at high transmission speeds. The optical fiber consists of an inner core, which is made of glass or plastic and is the medium through which light is transmitted, and an outer layer, called the cladding, which protects the inner core from physical damage.
Light is transmitted through the inner core of the optical fiber through total internal reflections that occur at the fiber walls, allowing light to move along the fiber with little or no loss of intensity. Optical fiber is used in many applications, including telecommunications networks, high-speed data transmission, cable television, and even medicine. The data transmission capacity of optical fiber is measured in gigabits per second (Gbps) and can reach several hundred Gbps over long distances.
Optical fiber also has other advantages over other means of data transmission, including its immunity to electromagnetic interference and the ability to transmit light signals over long distances without significant loss of quality. For these reasons, optical fiber is often chosen as the preferred means of data transmission in applications that require high speed and reliability, such as high-speed data transmission and communication networks. But when was fiber optics invented?
Fiber optics is a technology that has its roots in the 1950s, but its development and improvement has taken place over several decades. The first report of an optical fiber for transmitting images was made by the German scientist Heinrich Lamm in 1930. In the 1950s, the Indian scientist Narinder Singh Kapany performed experiments and developed an optical fiber that could transmit light over long distances.
It was only in the 1960s that optical fiber began to be considered as a technology for data transmission. In that decade, researchers at Corning Glass Works developed an optical fiber with very low signal loss, making data transmission viable over long distances. From there, fiber optic technology began to evolve rapidly.
In the 1970s, significant advances were made in the manufacture of low-loss optical fibers, which led to the use of this technology in long-distance communication systems. In the 1980s, optical fiber began to be used in telecommunications networks around the world, and since then it has been a crucial element in high-speed data transmission. Technology continues to improve and evolve, allowing data transmission to occur at ever-higher speeds and over ever-greater distances.
But how do we manage to keep the light “trapped” inside the fiber and why doesn't it escape? Light does not escape from optical fibers due to a phenomenon called total internal reflection. This phenomenon occurs when light travels through the inner core of the optical fiber, which is made of a material with a higher refractive index than that of the outer shell.
When the light reaches the boundary between the inner core and outer shell of the fiber, some of the light is reflected back into the inner core instead of passing through the outer shell and escaping the fiber. This reflection occurs because, when light reaches the boundary between two materials with different refractive indices, it undergoes a change in direction, called refraction. If the angle of incidence of the light is large enough, refraction causes the light to bend so much toward the boundary that it ends up being completely reflected back into the inner core of the fiber.
This is called total internal reflection, and it is what allows light to travel along the optical fiber without escaping. The critical angle required for total internal reflection to occur is determined by the optical properties of materials used in optical fiber. Materials are chosen so that the critical angle is large enough so that light can travel through the fiber without escaping, yet still allow light to be easily transmitted through the optical fiber.
And what are the applications of optical fibers in engineering? Optical fibers have several applications in engineering, being widely used in areas such as communication, medicine, monitoring and control of industrial processes, among others. If you've already heard about submarine cables that cross countries and continents, they are fiber optic cables, and they are used to transmit data at high speed in long distance communication networks such as the internet and telephone networks.
They can also be used to monitor infrastructure such as bridges, roads and railways, detecting possible damage or failures in real time. In systems that require fast and accurate control of processes, such as oil and gas production, monitoring of temperature, pressure and other critical parameters, optical fiber is also used, In medicine, optical fibers are used in various medical applications, such as endoscopy and minimally invasive surgery. In the energy and aeronautics industry, fiber optics can be used to remotely monitor a variety of variables such as temperature, pressure, humidity and vibration.
In addition to these applications, optical fibers are also used in other sectors, such as aerospace, defense and security, among others. The versatility of optical fibers and the ability to transmit information at high speed and over long distances make them a key technology in modern engineering. By the way, the application that we know of optical fiber is precisely in the transmission of internet data.
I believe you've already seen fiber optic installation services out there, but why use fiber optics to transmit internet data? Fiber optics is better for transmitting internet data for several reasons. The first of these is greater bandwidth.
Optical fiber is capable of carrying a much larger amount of data compared to other transmission media such as copper cable or radio signal. This is due to the greater bandwidth of optical fiber, which is the ability to transmit a large amount of data in a given period of time. It also has less attenuation, because optical fiber suffers less signal loss than other transmission media.
This makes the optical fiber transmit signals over long distances without the need for intermediate equipment to amplify the signal. Another advantage is immunity to electromagnetic interference. This means that it is not interfered with by other sources of electromagnetic radiation such as Wi-Fi, mobile phones and other sources of radiation.
An important factor is also security, where optical fiber is much more difficult to intercept than other means of transmission, making it a safer way to transmit confidential data. And finally, it has lower latency. This means that the response time between sending and receiving a signal is much shorter.
This is especially important for applications such as online gaming and videoconferencing, where low latency is essential for a good user experience. But tell me here, in your house do you use broadband internet that uses fiber optics? Have you ever thought about replacing the conventional system with fiber optics?
Or maybe you transmit audio from your TV set to a stereo via optical cable. Leave it here in the comments I'm going to leave two videos next door that you might also like, and that are worth checking out to understand other subjects. If you liked the video, leave your like, subscribe to the channel, and share the video on your social networks.
And that's it engineering lovers, a big hug and see you in the next video.
