What Are Optical Fibres Made From?
An optical fibre is in effect a means of sending pictures from one place to another with light acting as a guide. Optical fibres are sometimes defined as very thin filaments of glass, but they can also be made from plastic. The light is guided down the centre of the fibre which is referred to as the ‘core’. The core is surrounded by cladding to act as insulation. Usually the core and the cladding are made from glass in its purest form, or from a very high quality plastic. The optical fibres, despite the fact that they are so thin (usually almost less than 1 mm) have a huge capacity and they consume very little power and are very lightweight which makes them a very cost effective and energy friendly means of sending pictures or light beams and their use is now widespread within the telecom and digital camera industries.
