Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: scientizscht on 28/10/2018 16:23:52

Title: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: scientizscht on 28/10/2018 16:23:52

Hello

Do optic fibres transport optical information or only light energy where the information is lost?

Thanks!

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: Bored chemist on 28/10/2018 17:06:08

They do both, but the usual purpose these days is to carry information.

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: scientizscht on 28/10/2018 17:44:25

Quote from: Bored chemist on 28/10/2018 17:06:08

They do both, but the usual purpose these days is to carry information.

How does it work exactly? So, can I throw in the optic fibre the light reflection from the image below and generate that image at the other end of the optic fibre?

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/QR_code_for_mobile_English_Wikipedia.svg/220px-QR_code_for_mobile_English_Wikipedia.svg.png)

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: Bored chemist on 28/10/2018 18:17:11

Not ordinarily.
The signals sent down optical fibres are like Morse code. The light is switched on and off (there are other ways of modulating it too).
So, if you wanted to send that image down an optical fibre you would have to scan the end of the fibre across the little squares one at a time.

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: evan_au on 28/10/2018 20:38:09

Quote from: scientizscht

can I throw in the optic fibre the light reflection from the image below and generate that image at the other end of the optic fibre?

Early endoscopes used by doctors consisted of a bundle of optical fibers and a lens to focus the light.
This is able to carry an image - some fibers will be illuminated by bright parts of the image and others dark.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscope

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: chris on 28/10/2018 22:09:34

Here's an experiment demonstrating how a fibre optic works (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/get-naked/experiments/water-fibre-optics) that we did as a kitchen science practical. It explains the physics behind fibre optics and their applications.

Title: Re: How do optic fibres work?
Post by: Bored chemist on 28/10/2018 22:11:09

Quote from: evan_au on 28/10/2018 20:38:09

Quote from: scientizscht

can I throw in the optic fibre the light reflection from the image below and generate that image at the other end of the optic fibre?

Early endoscopes used by doctors consisted of a bundle of optical fibers and a lens to focus the light.
This is able to carry an image - some fibers will be illuminated by bright parts of the image and others dark.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endoscope

Specifically, they used a coherent bundle.
One that behaves like this rock
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulexite#Optical_properties