Front cover image for City of light : the story of fiber optics

City of light : the story of fiber optics

Jeff Hecht
""City of Light"" tells the story of fiber optics, tracing its transformation from 19th-century parlor trick into the foundation of our global communications network. Written for a broad audience by a journalist who has covered the field for twenty years, the book is a lively account of both the people and the ideas behind this revolutionary technology. The basic concept underlying fiber optics was first explored in the 1840s when researchers used jets of water to guide light in laboratory demonstrations. The idea caught the public eye decades later when it was used to create stunning illumina
eBook, English, 2004
Rev. and expanded ed View all formats and editions
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004
1 online resource (xii, 340 pages) : illustrations
9780198026761, 9780195186550, 9780195162554, 9781280452970, 9780199883080, 0198026765, 0195186559, 0195162552, 1280452978, 0199883084
60543677
The Sloan Technology Series; Preface to the Paperback Edition; Preface; Contents; 1 Introduction: Building a City of Light; 2 Guiding Light and Luminous Fountains (1841-1890); 3 Fibers of Glass; 4 The Quest for Remote Viewing: Television and the Legacy of Sword Swallowers (1895-1940); 5 A Critical Insight: The Birth of the Clad Optical Fiber (1950-1955); 6 99 Percent Perspiration: The Birth of an Industry (1954-1960); 7 A Vision of the Future: Communicating with Light (1880-1960); 8 The Laser Stimulates the Emission of New Ideas (1960-1969). 9 ""The Only Thing Left Is Optical Fibers"" (1960-1969)10 Trying to Sell a Dream (1965-1970); 11 Breakthrough: The Clearest Glass in the World (1966-1972); 12 Recipes for Grains of Salt: The Semiconductor Laser (1962-1977); 13 A Demonstration for the Queen (1970-1975); 14 Three Generations in Five Years (1975-1983); 15 Submarine Cables: Covering the Ocean Floor with Glass (1970-1995); 16 The Last Mile: An Elusive Vision; 17 Reflections on the City of Light; 18 Epilogue: The Boom, the Bubble, and the Bust; Appendix A. Dramatis Personae: Cast of Characters; Appendix B.A Fiber-Optic Chronology. NotesIndex; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Z
English