UFOUnidntified Fibre Optics

8/6/2019 UFOUnidntified Fibre Optics

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The Fibreoptic Industry AssociationUFOs Explained 2002: Issue 3UFOs Explained 2002: Issue 3 Brand-Rex LimitedBrand-Rex Limited

Optical fibresOptical fibres

explained!explained!Solving the mystery ofSolving the mystery ofUnexplained Fibre OpticsUnexplained Fibre Optics

FIAThe Fibreoptic Industry Association

www.fia-online.co.uk

The original content of "UFOs Explained" has been suppliedcourtesy of Brand-Rex Ltd, www.brand-rex.com, and copyright

remains with Brand-Rex Ltd. This FIA publication may bereproduced in whole or part for non-profit making educational activities.

It may not be copied in whole or part or used for any commercial activity.


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UFOsUFOsNo, theyre notNo, theyre not

over yourover yourheadhead.

If any mention of fibre optics has yourunning for the hills, panic not; help is athand. Its only a mystery because no onehas bothered to explain it to you.

Well, thats where this little book,produced by the Fibreoptic IndustryAssociation, can help. It wont make you aworld-leading authority, but it will get youon the first few rungs of the ladder and

help you to talk knowledgeably on thesubject.

And thats important. Sooner or later,youll want to put fibre optics to work inyour own business or industry, so it makesthe best possible sense to start learningabout it here and now.

Youll be surprised to discover howstraightforward and logical it all is. Yes,its an exciting new technology. And yes, itholds terrific promise for the future. Butfibre optics are already here and inwidespread use. Theyre making life easierand a lot more convenient for you right now.

Pick up a phone, visit the bank, stop off ata petrol station, and its almost certainyoure in contact with fibre optictechnology. So join us as we begin to

explore the world of optical fibres. Its sosimple, youll soon feel confident toembrace the technology without feeling outof your depth.

This light-hearted but useful introduction to fibreoptics was originally published by Brand-Rex (formallyBICC Brand-Rex). The Fibreoptic Industry Associationhave updated parts of the text and reformatted thedocument for the purposes of electronic publication.

The Fibreoptic Industry Association take this

opportunity to thank Brand-Rex for their permission topublish this document. Also we would like to thank thetechnical staff at Brand-Rex for the time and effortin obtaining an electronic version of the text andgraphics. Particular thanks go to Barry Elliott and IanTorr.


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tomorrows cable.tomorrows cable.

that information is all too easily corrupteddue to electrical machinery, thunderstormsor noisy power lines. The problem justdoesnt exist for optical fibres.

Security, too, is an important point. Signalscarried by optical fibres are practicallyimmune to detection; theyre effectivelyinvulnerable to eavesdroppers.

Low attenuation is another key benefit.(Low attenuation is a term youll comeacross time and time again in the world offibre optics, so you might as well know whatit means from the start). Its simply a way

of describing low transmission loss. Whichmeans that a message can be trusted to golong distances from sender to recipient,intact, without needing a boost fromregenerators along the way.

You need another good reason? How aboutsafety. Optical fibre cables will not indeed, cannot produce sparks. Whichmakes them highly desirable in areas wherea stray spark could result in a big bang.

Todays cable,Todays cable,

Fibre optic technology has been with us for severalyears and has by now proved its superiority. Opticalfibre systems offer so many advantages, its easy to seewhy copper cables cant compete.

For one thing, optical fibre cables are much easier (andtherefore cheaper) to install, being far smaller in sizeand lighter to handle.

But the biggest advantage is that optical fibres cancarry far more information than any copper cable. Avirtue of the highest importance, youll agree, in an agewhere the flow of data transmission has increased froma trickle to a torrent.

Then again, optical fibres are completely free fromelectromagnetic interference. Even though copper cablecan only handle a limited amount of information bycomparison,


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RegeneratorsDevices placed at regular intervals along atransmission line to detect weak signals andre-transmit them seldom required in a fibreoptics system. (Often wrongly referred to asrepeaters).

SheathThe outer finish of a cable. Usually anextruded layer of either PVC or polyethylene.

Silica GlassExceptionally pure glass used to make an

optical fibre.Single Mode FibreAn optical fibre so constructed that lighttravelling along the core can follow only onepath. (Also called monomode).

Step Index(More precisely, step index profile). Adescription of how the refractive index ofglass used in this type of optical fibre

graduates, in a clearly defined step, from thehighest density to the lowest. The shift fromone level of density to another causes the lightto bounce as it travels.

Strain MemberPart of an optical fibre cable which removesany strain on the fibres. Commonly usedmaterials include steel, glass and syntheticyarns.

Tight BufferedA type of cable in which the optical fibres areencapsulated in a plastic material.

Time MultiplexingInterleaving digital signals to increase datarates.

WavelengthA measurement of the length of anyelectromagnetic wave. The shorter thewavelength, the higher the frequency. SeeFrequency.

Wavelength MultiplexingUsing more than one wavelength of light in thesame fibre to allow greater rates ofinformation transmission.

A useful glossary of terms

a strain member a strain member

The original content of "UFOs Explained" has been suppliedcourtesy of Brand-Rex Ltd, www.brand-rex.com, and copyright

remains with Brand-Rex Ltd. This FIA publication may bereproduced in whole or part for non-profit making educational activities.

It may not be copied in whole or part or used for any commercial activity.

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UFOUnidntified Fibre Optics