James Gourley
PHS 208
Barrett Honors Contract
Additional Research Report
The Future of Fiber Optics
I. What is Fiber-Optics? Fiber-optic technology is often discussed in a wide range of conversations. This may be when people talk about TVs, phones, internet, or general technology. Fiber optics may also be referred to when talking about light and optics. An optical fiber is defined as a “flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of human hair” (Wikipedia). These fibers are used as a means of light transmission from one end of the fiber to the other end of the fiber and this is referred to as fiber-optic communications. These fibers are quite technologically advanced because they have the ability to transmit more data and at a quicker rate than normal cables made of wire. There is also much less lost data when using fiber-optic technology. Clearly, the benefits of fiber-optics are much greater than traditional wired cables. Fiber-optic cables are also used for the purpose of lighting and sensing. There are already many practical applications of the technology such as lasers, but these applications are just the beginning of the potential of this powerful technology.
II. How was Fiber-Optics Discovered? Fiber-optics as we know it today has been the result of a long chain of inventions that all began with John Tyndall’s 1854 discover that light can be conducted through water and bent. Later in 1895, a
The medium comes in the form of a salvific complex of fiber optic cable and ROM,
The most important and influential invention in history is the light bulb. The light bulb was created by Thomas Edison in 1879. It is used in many different ways today. It is used to help us see during the day and when it is dark out. We use the lightbulb at home, work, school, stores, and even at gyms. Even though Edison was not the one who came up with the idea of the lightbulb, he is credited with making the first successful one. There were twenty-three other people before him who have tried numerously and failed. It took Edison a year to create the light bulb. In that year, he experimented with over 1,400 fibers until he tried cotton fiber. Cotton fiber allowed a light bulb to last 1,500 hours compared to forty hours.
Data security: Magnetic fields and current induction work in two ways, they just don’t generate noise in signal carrying conductors; they also let the information on the conductor to be leaked out. Since there are no radiated magnetic fields around optical fibers; electromagnetic fields are confined within the fiber. This makes it impossible to tap the signal being transmitted over fiber cable. Thus the fiber cable is the most secure medium available for carrying sensitive data.
Coaxial cable uses a single conductor in the middle of a cable and the central conductor is surrounded by an insulator which is called the dielectric. Coax cables have become obsolete. Unshielded twisted pair cabling, also known as UTP cabling, has become the most common used network cabling. UTP cabling consists of four twisted pairs of wire, which have a different number of twists per foot, all encased on one sheath. This cabling is graded by different categories. Category 5 is recommended for Ethernet speeds of 100 Mbps. Category 5e, for running gigabit Ethernet or 1000BaseT networks. Category 6 and Category 6a are used to give better performance at higher speeds. Fiber optic cable is wave guided or light guided because it guides the light waves along the length of the cable. Single mode fiber optic cable can operate over long distances. Because fiber allows one mode of light to propagate, light pulses put on the fiber keep their shape much longer. This allows the light pulses to travel much further without interfering with other
Fiber: A fiber cable is either multiple strands of fiber optic surrounded by insulation, or a single fiber strand surrounded by insulation.
Fiber optic cable was once reserved for high-performance needs, but today it’s turning up in all kinds of networks. If you’re familiar with copper cable, you’ll quickly discover that fiber optic cable is a completely different animal. Not only is the installation process different for fiber, but also the troubleshooting process. Fiber optic cable is also far more fragile than copper cable, so there are more potential causes of trouble. I’ll discuss common fiber optic cable problems and how to diagnose and repair them. The most common causes of fiber optic malfunctionsAnyone who’s ever done network troubleshooting knows it’s a
2. There are a number of problems facing Sof-Optics (detailed below). The most severe problems
Assuming perfection (no busy-signals, no customer-abandons), a Customer-Svc Rep can handle (8 hrs) ÷ (130.65 sec) = 220.4 calls/day, or 206.6 calls/day with a 30-min break. A Data-Entry Operator can handle (8 hrs) ÷ (37.5 sec) = 768 calls/day, or 720 calls/day with a 30-min break.
Electromagnetic waves are continually used to upgrade and advance our technology, being implicated for its use in microwave ovens, radio waves for telecommunications and x-rays in medicine.
After the invention of the electric grid, inventor Alexander Graham Bell created the first telephone. This device allowed people to communicate instantaneously without having to wait days, weeks, months, and sometimes years before hearing back or finding out their message was not delivered or miscommunicated. Engineers now have made the telephone advance enough to communicate wirelessly to anyone, anytime all around the world. Forms of transportation have incorporated these technologies to allow communication with the company, whether the vehicle is stolen, in-case of a car accident or any issue. Furthermore, they have developed the internet which allows people to video chat and translate, to speak and learn new languages in a convenient way; all for free. This method of communication has created countries that are diverse and majority know and respect peoples cultural, ethical, and religious background. The internet has allowed information from all over the world to be gathered in one convenient accessible place. Even allowing world news to be posted and heard must faster than ever before. Students have been given the ease of studying notes from the internet and even taking tutoring classes or assistance from their teachers over the internet via email. This also helps the environment by decreasing the amount of paper needed. With the use of technology engineers from around
From 1878-1880 Edison and his associates worked on at least 3,000 different theories. The way it worked was it made light by using electricity to heat a thin strip of material called a filament until it gets hot enough to glow. It was made with a filament housed in a glass vacuum bulb. Thomas had a glassblowing shed that is where he made the bulbs. The goal was to use less electricity than the arc lamp.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the first know traces of light can be tracked to Great Britain in 1803. Humphry Davy created the first ever man-made light seen in the World. He demonstrated the ability to flow electric current through two pieces of carbon powered by a battery source creating a bright and powerful arc. Some researchers give Mr. Davy credit as the inventor of light (DOE). Things took a drastic change in 1835. James Bowman Lindsay was able to keep a constant electric current flowing. He used parts of Davy’s old design and simply improved it. His ability to keep current flowing revolutionized the technology and created the first ever incandescent light bulb (Live Science). Edison was not born until 1843, so it is ridiculous for him to be credited with inventing the
Based off what I’ve learned from lecture twisted pair and fiber optics cables are very different. Both are physical layer cabling apart of the layer 1 of the OSI model. Fiber optics transfer can data using light unlike twisted pair cables which use electricity. In terms of distance, a fiber optics can carry a signal up to thousands of miles; twisted pair cables have a limit of 100 meters.
In 1990 when I was a Junior in High School, I took a class on electronics where I learned the fundamentals of electricity and electromechanical theory. The same year, I was a member of the Virginia TSA or Technology Student Association, in which they held competitions for technology projects. With the help my Dad, we built a Fiber Optic transmitter and receiver system and a visual color organ. This was a from scratch build, we designed the circuits, etched the circuit cards and then build the apparatus. It was REALLY cool for 1990, Fiber Optic communication systems were somewhat unheard of in 1990. We had a transmitter and receiver box in which
When the light moved from an area of low density (like air) to high density (like glass) the angle of refraction reduced, this was found during the project. For example,