The father of fiber optics: Charles Kao
The rapid transmission of signals over long distances is fundamental to the flow of information in our time. Since the 1930s thin filaments, or fibers, of glass have been used to see inside the body, but these long remained unusable for long-distance information transfer because too much light was lost along the way. In 1966, Charles Kao presented a solution: fibers of very pure glass transported sufficient light. Together with laser technology, his solution has made telecommunication using optical fibers possible.
Kao shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication."
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Images: Charles Kao as a young scientist, 1960s. Optic fibers made of glass make up the circulatory system of our communication society. There is enough fiber to encircle the globe more than 25,000 times.
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