is Fibre Optics?
IT IS THE SCIENCE of transmitting data, voice and images by the passage of light through thin, transparent fibres. It is also spelt “fiber optics”. In telecommunications, fibre optic technology has virtually replaced the copper wire in long-distance telephone lines and it is used to link computers within local area networks. Fibre optics is also the basis of the fibrescopes used in examining the internal parts of the body (endoscopy) or inspecting the interiors of manufactured structural products. The basic medium of fibre optics is a hair-thin fibre that is sometimes made of plastic, but more often of glass. A typical glass optical fibre has a diameter of 125 micrometres (m), or 0.125 mm (0.005 inch). This is actually the diameter of the cladding or outer reflecting layer. The core, or inner transmitting cylinder, may have a diameter as small as 10 m. Through a process called total internal reflection, light rays beamed into the fibre can propagate within the core for great distances
