What Is Optical Fiber? What Are Its Application Scenarios?

Optical fiber, short for optical waveguide fiber, is a light transmission tool that utilizes the principle of total internal reflection of light within a fiber made of glass or plastic. The optical waveguide fiber was invented by Charles Kao, former president of The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
　　The fine optical fiber is enclosed in a plastic sheath, allowing it to bend without breaking. Typically, a transmitting device at one end of the fiber uses a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser beam to send light pulses into the fiber, while a receiving device at the other end uses a photosensitive element to detect the pulses. In daily life, because the transmission loss of light in optical waveguide fiber is much lower than that of electricity in electrical wires, optical fiber is used for long-distance information transmission.
　　With the rapid development of science and technology, optical waveguide fiber is now increasingly expanding across fields such as communications, electronics, and electric power, becoming a promising new type of foundational material. The accompanying fiber optic technology has also gained favor for its novelty and convenience.