A fiber optic cable is made up of incredibly thin glass or plastic wires, known as optical fibers; a single cable can have from two wires up to several hundred. Each wire is ten times thinner as a human hair and can “carry” for example 25,000 phone calls, so a fiber optic cable can easily support millions of calls.
A fiber optic cable carries information between two locations, using fully optical (light-based) technology.
Different uses of fiber optic cables
Computer networks, as well as radio and television broadcasts
Fiber optic cables are now the main way to carry information over long distances, as they have three great advantages as opposed to old copper cables:
- Less signal loss and less need for amplification
- No electromagnetic interference between optical fibers, so they transmit information more reliably and with better signal quality
- Larger bandwidth
Medicine
Medical gadgets that help doctors investigate the inside of our body, without invasive operations requiring large incisions, were the first application of fiber optics in medicine.
Military communications
A fiber optic cable is inexpensive, thin, lightweight, high-capacity, robust against attack, and extremely secure, so they provide perfect ways to connect military bases and other facilities, such as rocket launch sites and radar stations.