Optical Fibre Research Paper

Optical fibers

Structure and function:

Optical fibers are made up of a special kind of glass called drawing glass (silicon dioxide SiO2) or plastic, which is even thinner than a human hair and very flexible. The basic structure of an optical fiber has three parts (the core, the cladding and the coating or buffer). Inside, the core is a cylindrical post made of a kind of dielectric material that has no electricity. Light transmits mainly through the core. The core is surrounded by a layer of material called the cladding. The cladding reduces the loss of light from the core into the surrounding air and protects the fiber from absorbing surface contaminants and adds mechanical strength. Outside, the buffer is made of plastic. And

Optical fibers lose less energy than copper cables, so a lower voltage can be used instead of a high-voltage transmitter. Optical fibers are able to transmit digital signals, which are usually used by computers. Optical fibers are without electricity, which is safer than copper cables and non-flammable. Optical fibers are very flexible and can be bent where required and change shape, like in flexible digital cameras. However, there are some disadvantages of optical fibers. The price is much higher than normal cables. Optical fibers are more fragile than electrical wires. And optical fibers can be easily affected by chemicals, including hydrogen. So it is a big problem when they are placed underwater. Most fibers become opaque when exposed to radiation and then they cannot refract light any more. Besides, optical fibers cannot be placed together as easily as copper cables and need additional people to do this work with precision splicing and measurement

An X-ray generator contains X-ray tube to produce X-rays. And radiosotopes can also generate X-rays. An X-ray tube is a simple vacuum tube that contains a cathode, which sends a stream of eletrons into a vacuum, and an anode. The anode collects the electrons and is made of tungsten or molybdenum or copper. When the electrons collide with the target, 1% of the kinetic energy is transformed into x-rays. The remaining 99% of the energy is released as heat. And an x-ray generator also has a cooling system to cool the anode and a water or oil recirculating system. The beam passes through a series of filters on its way to the patient. A camera on the other side is used to record the patterns of x-ray light that passes through the patient’s body. The x-ray camera uses the same film technology as an ordinary film