FIBER OPTICS: Bright New Way to Communicate

by Charlene W. Billings ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1986

Once over lightly (puns are inevitable) the technology behind the rapid transition that telephone networks around the world are making from copper wires to glass fibers. Beginning with a historical reminder that Alexander Graham Bell was more fascinated by the potential of his ""photophone"" than by the telephone, the book describes how fibers work, how they are made, and how they are used. A survey more than a technical introduction, the book is clear, accessible and has several striking photographs. Perhaps inevitably when describing a complex new technology still in flux, there are some minor technical inaccuracies: fibers are not cheaper than copper wires per fiber, repeater spacings considerably longer than six miles are common, and the capacity or a fiber is not 256 times greater than a copper pair. (The book compounds this error by showing a photograph of a "". . .wire-copper cable containing 256 pairs of wire"" that is actually of a 2000-pair cable.) But these quibbles do not seriously detract from the utility of the book. Index.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 61

Publisher: Dodd, Mead

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986

Categories: CHILDREN'S