Pub. 4 2014 Issue 2

MEMBER PROFILE 18 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY diameter of a multimode fiber in centimeters instead of nanometers, the number would be 0.000085 centimeters. A third type of optical fiber is made from plastic. These have a larger core, one millimeter in diameter, and are designed to carry visible red light from LEDs; the wavelength for red light is 650 nanometers. The optical cables that are made from single-mode and multimode optical fibers contain hundreds of thousands of optical fiber bundles. The bundles are then enclosed by an outer covering for the cable that is called a jacket. How does an optic-fiber cable carry light? The idea is simple: light shines through the core and, because there is total internal reflection, bounces back into the core whenever the cable bends. Signal degradation, obviously, is a bad thing when transmitting light; the way to minimize it is to use premium optical fibers and transmit shorter wavelengths. A premium optical cable that is carrying 1,550-nanometer wavelengths can lose as little as ten percent per kilometer. How does the light carry a message? Light can be on or off, which means it can carry a binary signal. • A datalink acting as a transmitter is used to encode the light into light signals. • The optical fiber carries the light signal across some distance. • An optical regenerator is used when the light signal has to go a long way. It compensates for signal degradation by acting as a laser amplifier. • Another datalink acting as an optical receiver decodes the light signals and forwards the resulting data to a computer, telephone, or television. And, of course, it all works because of mining. Think about that the next time you make a call, use a search engine, or watch a show. X BRIAN D. CUNNINGHAM 801.257.1954 BCUNNINGHAM@SWLAW.COM • W. BRIAN HULSE 801.257.1957 BHULSE@SWLAW.COM GATEWAY TOWER WEST | 15 WEST SOUTH TEMPLE | SUITE 1200 | SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84101 DENVER | LAS VEGAS | LOS ANGELES | LOS CABOS | ORANGE COUNTY | PHOENIX | RENO | SALT LAKE CITY | TUCSON Understanding what makes you unique. www.swlaw.com TM Because not all solutions are black and white. TM Signal degradation, obviously, is a bad thing when transmitting light; the way to minimize it is to use premium optical fibers and transmit shorter wavelengths. FIBER OPTICS continued from page 17