Fiber Optic Cables

- Fiber optic Cable is a cable with 1 or more optical fibers, used to carry light.

- Consists of bundle of glass threads each capable to transmit data modulated onto light waves.

- Fiber optic cables are much thinner and lighter than metal wires.

- Data transmitted is digitally(natural form for computer data) rather than analogically.

Core - Main middle part through which the light travels.

Cladding - It keeps the light signals inside the core.

Fiber optic cable transfers data digitally where as Metal cable transfers analogically.

How Optical Fiber works?

- Fiber optic cable is made of incredibly thin strands of glass or plastic known as optical fibres.

- Light travels down a fiber optic cable by bounsing repeatedly off the walls.

- Light hits the glass wall and reflects back again.

- In this way light travels from source to destination.

Types of optical fibres

- Optical fibres carry light signals down them in what different modes.

- One mode is to go straight down the middle of the fiber - Single Mode.

- Another is to bounce down the fiber at a shallow angle - Multi Mode.

Single Mode Multiple Mode

	Single Mode	Multiple Mode
Diameter of Core	5-10 microns(millonths of a meter)	10 times bigger than Single mode fiber.
Working	Carry signals straight from the middle of core.	Carry signals through multiple light rays or modes concurrently.
Scope	Longer distances.	Shorter distances.
Application	Cable TV, Internet, telephone signals.	Mostly in computer networks.