What is an Optic Fibre?
An optic fibre consists of two sections with a covering. The glass core, which runs through the center of the strand, and The glass cladding, that surrounds the core. The glass in the cladding is optically less dense than the core glass. As such the cladding glass has a lower refractive index. This causes the cladding to act as a mirror for light travelling in the core. As a result, the light (infra red) travels through the core by a series of continuous reflections. The Properties of Optical Fibres as Communication Carriers The main job of an optical fibre is to guide light with a minimum loss of energy (signal). Optical fibres have a number of properties that allow them to act as communication carriers. An optical fibre is made from very pure, almost mineral free glass. This purity means that light can travel through an optic fibre for hundreds of kilometres. An optic fibre cable is flexible and can be easily bent. This flexibility makes the fibre very useful. It means that the cable
