We’ve all heard of fiber optics. They’re used in our telephone and cable lines and yes, they’re used for Christmas and other holiday decorations. But what is fiber optics and how do they work? The answers may surprise you.

· Fiber optics is optically pure strands of glass no wider than the breadth of a human hair.

· Fiber optics can carry digital information through these strands over very large distances.

· Light travels through a fiber optic strand by bouncing off the walls of the optically pure glass strands.

· Fiber optics was made by three researchers who worked for Corning Glass. They are: Robert Maurer, Peter Schultz and Donald Keck.

· Today, Donald Keck has been inducted into the Inventor’s Hall of Fame fro his part in the making of fiber optics and is director of opto-electronic research at Corning Glass.

By Mary M. Alward