Medical & Commercial Uses of Fibre Optics.

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Medical & Commercial Uses of Fibre Optics.

The use of fibre optics over copper cable offers many advantages. Firstly, they are capable of carrying signals with much less energy loss than copper cable, and with a much higher bandwidth. They have a much larger information-carrying capacity and are not subject to electrical interference. Optical fibres are much lighter and thinner than copper cable and hence less space is needed, making it easier for engineers to install. They offer another big advantage in sense of security - it is much more difficult to gain access to unauthorised data travelling through optical fibres. Running costs are also cheaper, due to the fact that fibre consumes far less electrical power than copper. Signals sent over long-distance fibre-optic cables need less amplification than do signals sent over copper cables of equal length. Many communication companies have installed large networks of fibre-optic cables. Underwater fibre-optic cables carry signals across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

There are only a couple of minor disadvantages. One being that the price of optical fibres is more than the cost of copper cable on a per meter basis. However, with the increased bandwidth and greater transmission lengths possible, fewer