Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A flexible transparent fiber of extremely pure glass or plastic, generally between 10 and 200 microns in diameter, through which light can be transmitted by successive internal reflections, commonly used in telecommunications.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Communications) A thin fiber of very pure glass used to carry signals transmitted by means of light. It has much greater information-carrying capacity than a copper wire, and in the 1990's became a dominant means of transmitting telephone communications over long distances.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Alternative form of
optical fibre .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a very thin fiber made of glass that functions as a waveguide for light; used in bundles to transmit images
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word optical fiber.
Examples
-
The Commerce Department confirmed that there are only three companies that make optical fiber in the United States that meet federal Build America Buy America standards. Optical fiber is a strand of glass that’s been “drawn,” or melted down, to about as thin as a human hair. Light passes through this glass carrying data, providing an internet connection. The fiber is then wrapped into cables so that it can be installed safely in the field.
Marketplace - Business news and economic stories for everyone. Kai Ryssdal 2024
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.