optical fibre

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optical fibre Fine strand of glass, less than 1mm (0.04in) thick, that is able to transmit digital information in the form of pulses of light. More data can be transmitted (up to 10 billion bits of information a second) and there is less interference. Such transmission is possible because light entering an optical fibre is conducted, by reflection, from one end of the fibre to the other with very little loss of intensity. Initially used in endoscopes that examine the interior of the body, their application is spreading to many forms of mass communication.

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