In our second consecutive talk by one of our own club members, Peter Ivey started his excellent talk with a musical introduction, the title of which is noted above.
He then posed the following questions: What are fibre optics, why are they so important and how did they come about?
In the 1960s, a three-minute call to Australia cost £140 whilst now it is free. Peter further went on to say that in the banking business of today, optic fibres are essential for emails and for online meetings. They also transform healthcare and the digitalising of health records. It makes messaging apps easy to access for information and leads to inevitable easier methods of communication in many other walks of life.
Peter explained that optical fibre, or fibre optic, is a flexible glass or plastic fibre that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibres find usage in fibre optic communications. A fibre optic cable contains anywhere from a few to hundreds of optic fibres within a plastic casing, also known as optic cables or optical fibre cables.
They transfer data signals in the form of light and travel hundreds of miles significantly faster than those used in traditional electrical cables. For this reason, it is better to use silica clad silica fibres in hyperdensity applications. There are basically three types of optical fibre: single mode, multimode graded index and multi amount step index optical fibres. These are used in the signs of transmitting data voice and images by the passage of light in telecommunications.
Fibre optical technology has virtually replaced copper wire in long-distance telephone calls and it is now used to link computers with local area networks. Fibre optics also known as optical fibre is a technology that uses light pulses to transmit information over glass or plastic fibres. Fibre optic cables are made up of multiple optical fibres, surrounded by protective layers and are used in telecommunications, Internet and television services.
Some key features therefore of fibre optics are: Transmission, whereby they can transmit data over longer distances and faster than other technologies. Materials: fibre-optic cables are typically made from silica glass but can also be made from plastic. Construction: fibre-optic cables are made by heating a preform in a drawing tower until it softens, then pulling the end to form a thin strand. The strand is then wound over pulleys to produce the cable. Layers: fibre optical cables have multiple layers to protect the core and guide the light. The core is surrounded by a reflective cladding to prevent light from escaping.
The cladding is then protected by a buffer tube layer, and the entire strand is covered by a jacket layer. Applications: fibre optics are used in telecommunications, internet service provider networks, and enterprise data centre networks.
Safety: fibre optic cables are non-metallic and therefore not affected by electromagnetic interference. They are also safer because they do not carry a current.
Finally, Peter explained that DuPont, the United States chemical company, found a way of making optic fibre which they license. Mr Kao, a Chinese emigré in this country, discovered fibre optics in the1960s. Following this the internet uses a lot of power, much of which comes from the USA.