Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 | Author: admin  In mission critical
as well as secure network applications, fiber optic cabling
forms the infrastructure of choice – with superior transmission
line and noise cancelling performance over that of traditional
copper cable.  We all know how signals travel over copper – but
how does fiber optic cable work?  The main reason for its
superior performance is that it converts the signals being
carried into light before transmission, and converts them back
again on the other end.  Fiber optic cables are very thin glass
wires (some are made of plastic) that are arranged in bundles or
optical cables.  Each fiber has a core or thin center where the
light is carried, a cladding that reflects the light back into
the core, and an outside coating called a “buffer” that protects
the fiber from damage.  Each bundle is again protected by an
outer coating, called a “jacket”.  The light signal can travel
at longer distances than electrical signals can travel over
copper, as it bounces ba