A Brief Introduction To Fiber Optics Technology

Understanding how fiber optics used in everyday life are made and function is a fascinating work of art mixed with science. Fiber optics are fabricated using materials that transmit light and consist of a bundle of very thin plastic or glass fibers held in a tube. One end is at a light source and the other end is a camera lens, used to channel light and images around the corners and bends. Fiber optics have an extremely transparent core of plastic or glass surrounded by a covering named “cladding”. Light is stimulated via a source present at one end of the fiber optic and as the light travels through the tube, the cladding is there to hold it all inside. A bundle of fiber optics may be twisted or bent without distorting the image, as the cladding is designed to reflect these lighting images from inside the surface. This fiber optic can carry light from the light source over large distances, varying from a few inches to over many miles.