Fibre optics manufacturing

Credit: PATRICK LANDMANN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Caption: Fibre optics manufacturing. Treated glass rod being used to produce optical fibres. The rod is suspended from one end and has been heated and is being drawn out under gravity to form an optical fibre. Careful control of the tension allows the width of the resultant fibre to be precisely maintained. The original rod was two metres long and several centimetres across. The end result will be 300 kilometres of optical fibres. Optical fibres are thin glass wires, and consist of a glass core and an outer glass cladding. Total internal reflection of light at the core/cladding boundary allows data to be transmitted over long distances with little information loss. Photographed in France.

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