Optical fiber, also known as optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a technology that transmits information as light pulses along a flexible glass or plastic fiber. It is used as a medium for telecommunication and computer networking because it is flexible and can be bundled as cables. Optical fiber is especially advantageous for long-distance communications because infrared light propagates through the fiber with much lower attenuation compared to electricity in electrical cables, allowing long distances to be spanned with few repeaters.
The fiber consists of a core surrounded by a cladding layer, both of which are made of dielectric materials. To confine the optical signal in the core, the refractive index of the core must be greater than that of the cladding. Optical fiber carries more information than conventional copper wire, due to its higher bandwidth and faster speeds. Because glass does not conduct electricity, fiber optics is not subject to electromagnetic interference.
Fiber optics is used for long-distance and high-performance data networking. It is also commonly used in telecommunication services, such as internet, television, and telephones. For example, Verizon and Google use fiber optics in their Verizon FIOS and Google Fiber services, respectively, providing Gigabit internet speeds to users. The optical fiber works on the principle of total internal reflection, where light rays can be used to transmit a huge amount of data.
