Briefly describe the difference between optical fiber and optical cable
First, explain the meaning of optical fiber communication: optical fiber communication is one of the most significant inventions since World War II. Without optical fiber communication, there would be no communication network today.
In 1976, the world's first civilian optical fiber communication line was opened, and human communication entered the "speed of light era". In the same year, my country's first practical optical fiber was born in Wuhan Research Institute of Posts and Telecommunications, which greatly shortened the gap between my country in the field of optical communications and western developed countries, and opened a new era in my country's optical fiber communications technology and industrial development.
Today, with the rapid development of the Internet, the Internet of Things is also growing rapidly. 5G is the basis for the realization of the Internet of Things. In this era of intelligence, our rapid economic development is inseparable from the spirit of hard work of the Chinese nation, and it is every one of us who stick to our posts and work hard to let the world know the speed of China. As a person in the communication industry, I have witnessed the speed of communication, experienced 2G introduction of equipment, 3G equipment diversification, 4G localization, and 5G internationalization. This is the development speed of China's wireless communication, from lagging to following, and finally surpassing.
PS: Optical fiber development history
In ancient times, there was no Internet, no fiber optic cable, and the only way to transmit information quickly was to use flying pigeons. With the rapid development of science and technology, mankind has entered the information age. With the increase in the amount of information, it is necessary to find a new transmission method. After years of research, the transmission speed is faster, the transmission volume is larger, and the loss is low. Since the birth of optical fiber communication, mankind has entered the era of light.
In 1870, British physicists discovered the principle of total reflection of light, which laid the foundation for future optical fiber signal transmission;
The "optical phone" was invented in 1880, which used light beams to transmit sound waves;
In 1966, Dr. Gao Kun published "Optical Frequency Dielectric Fiber Surface Waveguide" and produced the world's first optical fiber that can be used for communication;
optical fiber
The main component of the optical fiber is glass fiber, and the main component of the glass junction is high-purity silica. It is fired into an optical fiber preform at a temperature of 1500 degrees. Drawing a length of 7,500 kilometers, clean an annealing tube to prevent impurities and dust from falling on the optical fiber. It melts into a soft embryo at a high temperature of 2200 degrees Celsius. After a 1-meter-long annealing tube, it gradually cools down to a diameter of 0.1 mm For the glass filament, the take-up machine rotates to drive the fiber drawing and complete the collection of the fiber. The optical fiber made of glass fiber inside the optical fiber can transmit the optical signal to thousands of kilometers away, and combine hundreds or thousands of optical fibers to form an optical cable like a cable, which improves the strength of the optical fiber , And greatly increase the communication capacity.
This is the process of optical fiber production. The production is a thin and long glass optical fiber. If you melt the fiber, you will find that each optical cable is a transparent glass fiber, which is very brittle and easy to break. No matter how straight-pull is pulled, it is also the reason why some predecessors often say that the optical fiber cannot be broken and is easy to break during fiber splicing. This is the characteristic of optical fiber.
Optical cable
Generally speaking, the optical fiber cable is to pass more than one optical fiber through the post-processing jacket, layer by layer protection, so that the optical fiber can be transmitted in the outdoor and indoor environments, and it is not easy to disconnect, so that the optical fiber can adapt to various different environments. As an important information high-speed for transmitting data, optical fiber cable affects our lives. Most people listen to it is fiber-to-the-home. In fact, it should be called fiber-optic cable to the home, but it is a very thin fiber optic cable, called a drop cable. There are mainly these types of optical cables: 6-core, 8-core, 12-core, 48-core, 72-core, 96-core, 144-core, 288-core, etc., the most commonly used are 6, 8, 12, 24, and 48-core optical cables.
The difference between optical fiber and optical cable is broadly speaking, an optical fiber is an optical cable, which is a transmission medium. But in a strict sense, the two are different products. The difference between optical fiber and optical cable: optical fiber is a thin and soft medium that transmits light beams. Most optical fibers must be covered by several layers of protective structures before use, and the covered cables are called optical cables. Therefore, the optical fiber is the core part of the optical cable, and the optical fiber constitutes the optical cable through the protection of some components and the auxiliary protective layer.
