Optical fibers are generally made from glass or plastic and are polished with a fiber polishing machine. From one end to the other light is transmitted along the center of the fiber, and then a signal may be imposed. In maximum applications, fiber optic systems are much superior to metallic conductors. Bandwidth is their greatest advantage. Due to the wavelength of light, it becomes possible to transmit a signal that contains considerably more information when compared with a metallic conductor or even a coaxial conductor. Other benefit includes:

Usually, cell phones work differently: using invisible radio wave that is a technology called wireless because it uses no cables, they send and receive information. But fiber optics works differently. Through a glass or plastic pipe, it sends information coded in a beam of light. In the 1950s to help doctors so that they can see inside the human body without having to cut it open first it was originally developed for endoscopes. In the 1960s, engineers made use of the same technology for transmitting telephone calls at a light speed which is around 300,000 km per second in a vacuum.

• Lighter and Smaller —compared to metallic conductors with equivalent signal-carrying capacity fiber weighs less and needs less space.

• Freedom from EMI — immunity against electromagnetic interference (EMI) is offered by Fiber optics, No other interference is caused as no radiation is emitted from them.

• Low Power Loss —it allows longer cable runs and fewer repeater amplifiers.

• Electrical Isolation —a grounding connection is not required by fiber optics. Both the transmitter and the receiver are kept in isolation from each other and then they are free of ground loop problems. Any sparks or electrical shock risk is absent. The fiber polishing fixture is very useful.

Copper wire is about 13 times heavier. Fiber requires less duct space and is easier to install.

Major application areas of optical fibers are:

• Communications —in fiber optics the most popular uses are the transmission of voice, data, and video. These are:

Avionic systems.

Every Military system.

Industrial control systems.

Telecommunications.

Local area networks (LANs).

• Power Delivery —for tasks such as marking, laser cutting, welding, and drilling optical fibers can deliver remarkably high levels of power.

• Illumination —areas that are very difficult to reach can be illuminated by a bundle of fibers gathered together with a light source at one end, for example, in conjunction with an endoscope inside the human body. You can also use them as a display sign or simply as decorative illumination.

• Sensing —to obtain spectral information, pressure, and temperature, fiber optics, and fiber polishing machines can be used to deliver light from a remote source to a detector. To measure several environmental effects, such as electrical resistance, strain, pressure, and ph. the fiber can be used directly as a transducer. The light intensity, phase, and/or polarization are affected by environmental changes in ways that can be detected at the other end of the fiber.