Why Are Optical Fibres Better Than Copper Wires For Signal Transmission?

In a world where technology is at an ever-increasing pace, the need for lightning fast internet is not a choice anymore. It’s a must. Super-fast internet speed can save a lot of time and help you get information instantly. Over the years the way internet works have evolved many folds. Initially, the data was transferred through copper wires whereas today fibre optic cable is used for much faster speed and consistent performance.

This switch in the conducting material allows data transfer with minimal loss and at a very high speed. A research group of the Technical University of Denmark squeezed 43 terabits per second through a single optical fibre using only one transmitter. So the question arises here is that “How does an optical fibre works so efficiently?”

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To answer this let’s understand the working principle of fibre optics.

The fibre optics cable is a hair-like glass fibre that transmits light impulse by LED or Laser. It is a long tube which has glass coating on its inner surface and works on the phenomenon of ‘total internal reflection’. Hence, the data is transferred in the form of light.

The following properties make optical fibre a better choice over copper cables-

• Greater efficiency

Optical fibre provides more bandwidth as compared to the copper wire. It can provide a speed of up to 10 GBPS or more, which is impossible to achieve using the conventional copper wire. Greater bandwidth means that optical fibre can carry more information with much greater efficiency than copper wire in the same amount of time.

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• Long range transmission

In fibre-optics data travels in the form of light due to which very little signal is lost during the transmission and data can be transferred at a higher speed and up to large distances.

• less interference

Fibre-optic cable is less prone to electromagnetic interference and noise than copper wire. For example, to cover a distance of two kilometers, the copper wire experiences a considerable amount of quality degradation whereas there is no such degradation of quality in fibre-optics.

• Size, weight, and strength

Fibre optic cable is lighter and thinner than copper cable. Moreover, optic fibre is around 8 times stronger in terms of tension than copper wire and it can be used more efficiently in confined underground pipes. Also, its stiffness makes it less prone to any damage. Optic fibre is much lighter and thinner compared to the conventional copper cable.

• Price

The fibre-optic cable requires less maintenance and less networking hardware. This makes it cheaper than copper over a long run.

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• Durability

Fibre-optic cables are more durable than copper cables. Their core is made of glass, which is an insulator; therefore no electric current can flow through it. This allows the optical fibre cable to be laid along with industrial equipment without any worry. Moreover, the fibre is least affected by temperature fluctuations as compared to copper, so it can even be submerged in deep waters.

Fibre optic systems are most reliable and widely used by multinationals today.