Fibre optics

Fibre optics – the science of trapping light and directing it from one point to another – is often associated with cutting-edge technology, when in fact its use dates back to the 1840s when French academics discovered that light trapped in a stream of water could travel around bends.

However, it was perhaps not until the mid-1960s, when German physicist Manfred Börner started sending data using light instead of electrons, that its fundamental importance to business emerged. Today, a single fibre scarcely thicker than a human hair can carry about 90,000 television channels. The technology is also immune to electrical interference and environmental noise, safe to use around explosive fumes and difficult to wire-tap. Little wonder, then, that it is optical fibres that form the backbone of the internet, ferrying data along submarine cables that connect every continent except Antarctica.

The speed, size and bandwidth of fibre optic technology has been transformational for business. Colleagues on different continents can collaborate via services such as videoconferencing and screen sharing, giving new meaning to the concepts of multinational companies and home-working.

Without fibre optics, the internet might not have kept pace with the development of the electronic office with its VoIP (voice over internet protocol) phones and the older email systems replaced by cloud-based versions. Fibre optics have also enabled the birth of the consumer internet and digital media, which have demonstrated a hunger for bandwidth that few could have predicted when copper cables were being laid.

In the office itself, fibre optic cabling uses a fraction of the space of traditional network and telephony infrastructure, meaning higher ceilings and more spacious office designs.

In medicine, fibre optics can not only shine light into inaccessible places but are also used for endoscopes, the tiny cameras used for internal examinations and surgery that have transformed the medical industry. They have led to the widespread use of less invasive keyhole surgery, which in turn has reduced patient stays and cut costs for hospitals.

In manufacturing, products can be built with tiny fibre optic sensors that measure strain, temperature and pressure. These give manufacturers real-time intelligence about the performance of their products after they ship. For example, the health of an aircraft engine can be monitored, in some circumstances even enabling engineers to predict failures.

Bede McCarthy