fiber optics

fiber optics   n.   (used with sing. verb) The science or technology of light transmission through very fine, flexible glass or plastic fibers. A bundle of optical fibers. fi'ber-op'tic, fi'ber·op'tic (fī'bər-ŏp'tĭk) adj.

fiber optics

A technology that uses specially designed bundles of transparent fibers to transmit light.

Note: Some of the applications of fiber optics are in medicine, where it is used to view otherwise inaccessible parts of the body, and in telecommunications, where it is used to transmit data of all types.

Main Entry: fiber optics
Variant: or chiefly British fibre optics
Function: noun plural
1 : thin transparent fibers of glass or plastic thatare enclosed by material of a lower index of refraction and that transmit light throughout their length by internal reflections; also : a bundle of such fibers used in an instrument (asfor viewing body cavities)
2 singular in construction : the technique of the use of fiber optics —fi·ber–op·tic or chieflyBritish fi·bre–op·tic /'fI-b&-"räp-tik/ adjective

fiber optics n.
An optical system in which light or an image is conveyed by a compact bundle of fine flexible glass or plastic fibers.

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fi'ber-op'tic adj.

fiber optics   Technology based on the use of hair-thin, transparent fibers to transmit light or infrared signals. The fibers are flexible and consist of a core of optically transparent glass or plastic, surrounded by a glass or plastic cladding that reflects the light signals back into the core. Light signals can be modulated to carry almost any other sort of signal, including sounds, electrical signals, and computer data, and a single fiber can carry hundreds of such signals simultaneously, literally at the speed of light. Signals that have weakened after travelling very long distances in the fibers can be optically pumped with lasers, amplifying them without the need to convert them into electrical signals. Optical fibers are relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install when compared with wire cables, and they require very little power and are easily laid out underground. Optical fibers are also used to transmit images focused on one end to the other end through circuitous paths, as in bronchoscopes and colonoscopes used in medical examinations.

fiber optics spelling
US spelling of "fibre optics". See optical fibre.
(1997-03-31)