How-To Geek

How Fiber Optic Cables Are Made and Laid Across the Sea [Science]

We don’t know about you but yesterday’s video about how fiber optic cables work just made us more curious. Check out how the cables are made and laid across the sea.

In the above video we see how fiber optic strands are manufactured, including how the draw tower mentioned in yesterday’s video works. Once the strands are manufactured, where do they go and how are they used? In the video below we see Alcatel-Lucent’s Ile de Sein, one of the largest and most powerful cable laying ships in the world. Check out the video to see cable storage wells that look like small stadiums.

Finding out how the cables are made and what kind of planning and machinery it takes to lay them across the ocean is just as interesting as how they work.

How It’s Made: Fiber Optics [YouTube]
Undersea Cable [YouTube]


  • Published 06/23/11

Comments (3)

  1. Kerensky97

    I wonder how old that video is. It just seemed a little weird at some places, especially when they mentioned making repairs to a damaged repeater could cost thousands.
    I don’t know if Alcatel (Alcatel-Lucent since 2006) has the budget for thousands of dollars. A thousand is like ten one hundred dollar bills!!!!

  2. JR

    The first video is from How it’s made.

    The second one that you are speaking of is from a show similar to How it’s made called How Do They Do It. And ya it is probably 10-15 years old.

  3. saikia81

    yeah, but how do repeaters work?

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