 Optical fibers had been tried for image transmission before, but Hopkins and Kapany's technique allowed much better image quality than could previously be achieved.This, combined with the almost-simultaneous development of optical cladding by Dutch scientist Bram van Heel, started the new field of fibre optics.Kapany coined the term 'fibre optics' in an article in "Scientific American" in 1960, wrote the first book about the new field, and was the new field's most prominent researcher, writer, and spokesperson.