Overview

Used in communication, fiber optics is the technique of sending light waves through glass fibers. It is analogous to communicating via radio waves in that signals are encoded at one end for transmission and decoded at the other. Fiber optics was developed sporadically throughout the first half of the twentieth century. Since the 1960s the field has exploded as material sciences and computer technology have made fiber optics more efficient. Today around 80% of long-distance communication is carried through fiber optic networks.

Background

Long-distance communications via optical signals has been with humanity for many centuries, ranging from smoke signals to sailing ships communicating with flags. The first mechanical optical communication systems were semaphore towers, developed in France in the 1790s.

During the nineteenth century many of these systems were made obsolete by telegraphy and...