Explore What's Inside of a Fiber Optic Cable by:Rahim Bidgoli

Fiber optic cable (or optical fiber) is unlike most types of cables; it draw on light instead of electricity to transmit signals

. As you have already known, light is the fastest method of transmitting information, and fiber optic cable has the additional advantage of being immune to electrical interference. Thus, you can run it just about anywhere and anytime. Since light meets very little or no resistance at all, you can run fiber optic cable over very long distances, literally countries apart, without having to boost or clean the signal. Imagine what it means for a normal network installation to process signals that have been transmitted over thousands of miles away. It would be unfeasible.

Fiber optics also has the advantage of speed. It has a much cleaner signal than conventional copper cabling and can transmit signals at more than 10GB per second. To put it into perspetive, fiber optic cabling is to digital information as electrical cabling is to analog information. They are completely different.

Right now, fiber optic cable is used basically for connecting network segments, making short runs, connecting floors and buildings and connecting electrial copper cable to fiber optic cable through Ethernet converters. Even though fiber optic cabling can be very costly, but as it becomes more popular, which it willb be, the price of fiber optic cable (and related devices including Ethernet converters and transceiver modules) should decrease.

Knowing what's inside this very functional invention is good to know. A fiber optic cable includes the core, cladding, strength member, buffer, and jacket as its components. Let's get to know them more!

The core of the cable gives the pathway through which the transmitted light can flow and is made of one or more glass or plastic fiber. The cladding that provides a refractive surface for light beams to reflect back into the core and continue its journey is typically made of plastic. The buffer consists of one or more layers of plastic and strengthens the cable and prevents damage to the core. As the name implies, the strength members are strands of very tough material, such as fiberglass, steel or Kevlar, and provide extra strength for the cable.Finally, the jacket which can either be plenum or nonplenum is the outer covering or shield of the cable.

Fiber optic cable comes in two forms: single-mode and multi-mode. Since single-mode cable is so narrow, light can only travel thorugh it in a single path. This kind of cable is awfully costly and is very difficult to work with. On the other hand, multi-mode cable has a wider core diameter which gives light streams the freedom to travel several paths. Unluckily, the multi-path configuration of the multi-mode fiber allows the possibility of signal distortion at the receiving end.

Sometime in your connection, you will come across connecting either a single-mode or multi-mode fibe optic cable to a conventional copper cable. This can be a problem which can cut the communication you have already established. But you don't have to worry as there are Ethernet converters and transceiver modules that serve to route, boost, and deliver the signals across these two opposite cables. On top of these, there are other related devices such as gigabit converters and SFP mini GBICs readily available on the market that you might find useful in your network.

About the author

Rahim Bidgoli is a honored writer for various technical industry authorities. He has spent the better part of her last 5 years announcing events, statistics, strategies, and other news. Bidgoli has been accredited globally with degrees from multiple countries. He speaks 3 languages and also has a strong finance background. Bidgoli is expected to play a big part in the technical infrastructure and urbanization journalism for years to come.

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