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Fiber Optics Cables
What happens when strands of fiber optics are bundled together and
covered with plastic coating, what do you get? Of course, fiber
optics cables. Your telephone lines or facsimile is perhaps
connected to a transmitter using fiber optics cables. It has been
regarded as the best message channel all over the world. The use of
fiber optics cables has made the telecommunication industry operate
in faster speed compared to the previous decades. Medical
practitioners have found alliance with fiber optics cables because
today more medical equipment is using fiber optics.
Do you know that there are different types of fiber optics cables?
There are actually three types of cables that are widely used today.
Single-mode cable. Your single mode fiber optic cable is made up of
one strand, which is as thin as a strand of hair. It measures 8-10
microns and has one transmission mode. Because of its tapered
diameter it can propagate transmitted data not less than 1310 nm but
not more than 1550nm. The single mode fiber optic cable may be more
expensive than the multimode but the capacity to transmit data is
faster than the latter, which can span a distance of not more than
50 times. At the same time, single mode fiber optic cable can
accommodate higher bandwidth as compared to the multimode fiber
optic cable.
Multimode cable. This cable is composed of so many fibers, which
usually measures 50-100 micron. Data transmission in multimode fiber
optic cable can only travel on shorter distance than the single mode
can. Nevertheless, it has a high bandwidth but not as much as the
single mode. Light messages travel through multi paths as it run
inside the core that is why in longer distances the message may not
be the same as it was sent which was caused by the varying paths
traveled by the light.
Fiber optics cables a have tow existing designs—loose-tube cable and
tight-buffered cable.
Loose-tube. Fiber optics strands are encased in multi-colored
plastic coated buffer tubes allowing a considerable amount of space
available for the strands to move within. Because of this make-up
there is a tendency for water to get into the cable thus, water is
prevented from seeping in by the use of a gel-based substance. This
type of cable is generally used in out-of-plant installation
purposes.
Tight-buffered. In this type of cable the fiber optics strands are
coated so tightly that the strands are in contact with the surface
of the coating material. This cable is used for multiple connections
like connecting terminal facility to a cable outside the plant.
Fiber optic cables are now even commonly used in cable TV
connections even if the cables are difficult to splice. The cable
that connects your TV to a cable network is most like a fiber optic
cable.
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