Fiber Optics

What is a Fiber Optic?

To put it simply, a fiber optic is a flexible acrylic core with a Teflon-type coating that transmits light. Describing how it works is a little trickier.

Imagine that you are outside in your garden, instead of in front of your computer, and that you plan on watering your vegetables to make them grow. The problem is that in order to get the water to your vegetables, you need a way to get the water from the faucet to the garden. The answer, use a hose of course. Fiber optic cabling is like a garden hose for light, with a few differences, however.

Now imagine that after you have hooked up your hose and have turned the water on, nothing comes out. Why? The reason is that the rubber coating outside the hose is missing and the water has escaped. In a fiber optic cable, the the Teflon-like coating acts like the rubber coating on the hose, keeping the light inside the cable until it reaches the end where it come shooting out showering the onlooker with light. That is, in simpler terms, how it works.


This document originally from http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Efod_sign/Cable.html


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