Fiber optics technology is a fascinating study. These ultrafine cables have unique qualities that transfer light through each fiber’s entire length. This ability to project light has all sorts of applications, from communication to translating data. Unsurprisingly, there are loads of everyday simple ways fiber optics have changed the world.
High-Speed Internet
Most people are familiar with the term fiber optics because of their everyday use of the internet. High-speed data transfer has come leaps and bound thanks to this amazing invention. Back in the day, copper cables were used for data connections. Fiber optics can be more complex, are lighter, more flexible, and are also faster at transferring information. As fiber optics are refined and used more widely, the internet will continue to speed up and be reliably available in more and more locations.
Borescopes
One of the more straightforward and simple ways fiber optics have changed the world is by seriously upgrading borescopes. These amazing handheld devices allow the user to remotely view a subject in a finite space. The first models of borescopes featured a tiny camera at the end of a lit barrel which could then be inserted in tight spaces. Rigid borescopes today are still used to inspect cast elements like pipes. When fiber optics were applied to the technology, borescopes became instantly applicable to almost every industry with heavy machinery.
Fiber optic borescopes are completely flexible and so they can be inserted into any area, including very small or areas with twists and turns. Fiber optic technology in borescopes is always evolving. The images received on the view screens are always getting crisper, and the devices are becoming increasingly smaller and more portable. There are varieties on the market as tiny as a .5mm diameter!
Bringing the Future Closer
While the internet and borescopes may be the two most recognized applications for fiber optics, there is a lot to look forward to. This technology is still relatively young and is always being developed. Besides even faster internet, fiber optics are always contributing to expanding the ways we can telecommute. Data transfer over increasingly long-distance is being made possible by the gradual fine-tuning of this technology.
Fiber optics are also used to project light which can read information and return the data it finds. Currently, this technology is used to explore hazardous environments and detect dangerous heat levels in industrial workspaces. There is even a possibility in which fiber optics are used to send signals to human neurons to create prosthetics that can feel and sense.
FAQ
What are borescopes?
One of the more straightforward and simple ways fiber optics have changed the world is by seriously upgrading borescopes. These amazing handheld devices allow the user to remotely view a subject in a finite space. The first models of borescopes featured a tiny camera at the end of a lit barrel which could then be inserted in tight spaces. Rigid borescopes today are still used to inspect cast elements like pipes. When fiber optics were applied to the technology, borescopes became instantly applicable to almost every industry with heavy machinery.
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