| Enter the Dragon | | | | Multi-mode bear-claw man |
| You stumble through a maze of mirrors, placed | | | | Optic fibers come as Single-mode fibers and |
| methodically so that the camera filming you | | | | Multi-mode fibers.Single Mode fibers have small |
| doesn't film itself... you have hot pink fluids | | | | cores (about 9 microns in diameter) and transmit |
| smeared over your arms and torso as an | | | | infrared laser light.Multi-mode fibers have larger |
| obscure, esoteric reference to human blood... | | | | cores (about 62.5 microns in diameter) and |
| there is a chinese actor chasing you with an | | | | transmit infrared light from LEDs (light emitting |
| over-sized rabbit's foot with marshmallow | | | | diodes).Who Cares How it Works, Get Back to |
| roasters attached to the fingers as an obscure | | | | the Scary Chinese Actor with the Bear-Claw |
| esoteric reference to a bear-claw-esque weapon | | | | Lets talk advantages to Fiber over Copper: |
| (which will henceforth be reverenced in the form | | | | Thinner- Optical fibers can be drawn to smaller |
| of a mouth-watering innamon/frosting medley | | | | diameters than copper wire. |
| pastry).Is this the freakiest haunted carnival fun | | | | Less Signal Degradation- fiber optic cable not only |
| house ever? Is it a story Spielberg, Coppola, | | | | can be used in networks, but to extend USB, |
| Lucas, and the like tell over a campfire to try to | | | | Firewire, DVI, and other types of signals that |
| scare each other sleepless? None of the above! | | | | degrade over short distances. Gefen, for instance, |
| This horror (multiplied by several millions) is what a | | | | carries a great DVI extender that will carry your |
| poor innocent signal particle experiences every | | | | DVI signal up to 1640 feet, for when you want |
| time he/she is sent through the most horrible | | | | to do a powerpoint at a Vegas trade show at the |
| rollercoaster of death: the fiber optic cable.Enter | | | | Belagio without leaving the dollar black jack |
| the Nightmare | | | | machine at "Jim's Food and Fuel Safari" |
| Fiber optic cable is virtually a tube lined on the | | | | somewhere far away from the strip.No |
| inside with a flexible mirror that bounces the poor | | | | Interference- Interference will someday be |
| innocent signal particle around until it gets to the | | | | extinct from the english language except when |
| other side. Imagine trying to shine a light down a | | | | used soley to refer to the famous playground |
| bending tunnel. If the tunnel is lined on the inside | | | | Deus ex Machina that saved you from total |
| by mirrors, the light will bounce around until it | | | | dodgeball humiliation. In other words, with the |
| finally arrives at the end. More specifically: | | | | advent of fiber optics, information will be sent |
| each optical fiber has three layers: | | | | through light signals and not electrical signals (used |
| 1.Core: A thin glass center of the fiber where the | | | | with copper wires), eliminating that nasty bully |
| signal/light particle travels | | | | called interference.Less Power- Because signals in |
| 1.5.Scary Chinese actor with over-sized rabbit's | | | | fiber optics degrade less, less power is needed to |
| foot | | | | make degradation corrections. |
| 2.Cladding: Optical Material that surrounds the | | | | No Fire Hazard- Since light (not electricity) being |
| core and reflects the light back into the core. | | | | passed through these cables, there is no fire |
| 3.Buffer Coating: Plastic coating that protects the | | | | hazard. |
| fiber from damage and moisture.Thousands of | | | | Flexible- Fiber optic cable is smaller, more flexible, |
| hundreds of tens of a couple of these fibers are | | | | and therefore more agile than copper. It is |
| arranged in bundles in optical cables in an outer | | | | especially useful in medical imaging, mechanical |
| covering called a "jacket".Single Mode Lee vs. | | | | imaging, plumbing, etc. |