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From Parisian Fountain To Digital Holograph – The (OC-1) – Optical Carrier 1

Just before the turn of the 19th Century, two Parisian scientists noticed that a light shone at the end of a fountain of water carried all the way down into the collecting pail. Although this was just an innocent experiment in their free time, the technology used to illuminate the column of water is no different than that which brings us our cable television or crystal-clear phone call today. They had discovered the optical carrier, otherwise known as (OC-1) – Optical Carrier 1

Although it took over a further 120 years to produce something financially and technologically viable, this technology has now revolutionized the telecommunications industry through the medium of optical fiber. The two scientists had discovered that the internal surface of water, and later plastic and glass reflect rays of light inside them – the concept of Total Internal Reflection.

The most prevalent form of optical carrier in our world today is the fiber optic cable. How does it work? Well, imagine those sailors sending messages to each other with the signal lights. Now take those sailors and put them at each end of a long hallway. They can still send messages to each other – right? Not if we put a few bends and kinks in the hallway. Now imagine that we coat the hallway, end to end, with mirrors – get the picture? In this case, sailor Bob is the transmitter, sailor Louis is the receiver, and the hallway is the carrier. This is the same principle used today for digital signals.

The transmitter in optical fibers is now provided by lasers, to ensure controlled bursts of quality light. For light to be reflected totally, it must be shone in (as our two Parisians have shown us) at over 38 degrees of angle. It then bounces off the internal surface, all the way down the fiber, where it is picked up by a receiver that converts it into an electronic pulse.

Fiber optic cables are made of extremely clear glass filaments, the diameter of a human hair. These are then coated with a reflective surface, to further ensure low loss of light, then another coat to protect it from damage. Hundreds or thousands of these are then bundled together and coated again with a plastic buffer.

Optical fibers have many advantages over their copper ancestors: less loss of energy: the light beam does not leach into the environment like electrical pulses may, bandwidth: many more fibers can fit into the same space a few wires can, and less interference: meaning no ‘noise’ from lightning strikes, neighboring power lines etc. That is why optical carriers are the main choice for your cable TV, phone line or internet provider.

Since the early 2000′s, these forms of carriers are also less expensive than wire, and are also kinder to the environment: they require less energy to run, and can go up to 60 miles without needing a signal booster station to intercept and resend the signal down the line.

The technology used for optical carriers is improving every day. Soon, the high-speed bandwidth we have in the home today will seem like a snail’s crawl, so engineer’s imaginations can now run free. What would those two scientists think if we showed them a 3d hologram of their very own Parisian fountain tinkling away in the privacy of our own living rooms?