A fiber optic cable is a network cable that contains strands of glass fibers in an insulated casing. They are designed for long-distance, high-performance data networking and telecommunications. Compared to wired cables, fiber optic cables offer higher bandwidth and transmit data over longer distances. Fiber optic cables support a large portion of the world's Internet, cable television, and telephone systems.
Fiber optic cables, how do they work? | ICT #3
A fiber optic cable consists of one or more strands of glass, each only slightly thicker than a human hair. The center of each strand is called the core, which provides the path for light to travel. The core is surrounded by a layer of glass called cladding, which reflects light inward to prevent signal loss and allows light to pass through bends in the cable.
The two primary types of fiber optic cables are single-mode and multi-mode. Single-mode fiber uses extremely thin strands of glass and a laser to generate light, while multi-mode fiber optic cables use LEDs.
Single-mode optical fiber networks often use Wave Division Multiplexing techniques to increase the amount of traffic the strand can carry. WDM allows light at several different wavelengths to be combined (multiplexed) and later separated (de-multiplexed), effectively sending multiple communication streams over a single pulse of light.
