TECHINICL UNIVERSITY OF MOMBASA
CIT 4406 FIBER OPTIC NETWORK ASSIGNMENT
NICHOLAS MUGO WAINAINA
BTIT/239J/2017
ASSIGNMENT: Provide a personal insight and perspective on the transmission of data and
communication of devices using fiber optic cables?
Definition-
Fiber optics refers to the medium and the technology associated with the
transmission of information as light pulses along a glass, plastic strand or fiber.
In fiber optics cables the main medium of data transmission is light, unlike
networking cables that use electricity to send nodes and packets the contains data
that’s being transmitted.
A fiber optics cable can contain a varying number of glass fibers. The main reason for
using glass fibers is because if its reflective properties. Inside the optic cable the
main glass fiber is known as the core. This core is encased in another glass layer
called cladding. This cladding is protected by another layer known as a buffer and
jacket layer acts as the final protective layer for individual stands.
How data is transmitted and devices communicate using fiber optic cables
Data is transmitted if form of light particles that pulse through a fiber optic cable.
Data is transmitted in the form of ones (1) and zeros (0), in the case of fiber optics
cable the presence of light pulse at a certain time is a one (1) and while the absence
of the light pulse represents a zero (0). Therefore, as the light pulse is reflected along
the fiber core the data bits are transmitted.
Both the fiber core and cladding have different refractive index that bends light at
certain angles
The light pulses in a fiber optic cable do not travel at the speed of light due to the
glass density that reduces its speed. As a result, the light pulse becomes week as it
travels and the data might get lost. To prevent this repeater are installed at intervals
to regenerate the optical signal.
The fiber core also plays a huge part in data transmission as it affects both the
quality and the distance covered by the optical signal. The smaller the fiber core the
further the light signal will travel before it needs regeneration.
Fiber cable vary in size they are divided into two;
1.Single Mode Fiber cable
2.Multi-mode Fiber cable.
