Understaning fiber optics with simple materials.

Overview

Goals

The main goal on this problem is to learn how a fiber-optic cable works, but also how information can be sent and received through it. This can be demostrated through a simple experiment/simulation , using two buckets of water and a laser pointer.

Learning Objectives

While working on this problem students will learn about: Total Internal Reflection (the total reflection of a wave incident at a sufficiently oblique angle on the interface between two media, of which the second ("external") medium is transparent to such waves but has a higher wave velocity than the first ("internal") medium) Critical Angle (the smallest angle of incidence that yields total reflection) Snell's law (a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing through a boundary between two different isotropic media, such as water, glass, or air) Index of Refraction ( a dimensionless number that describes how fast light travels through the material)

Context

An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair.It is most often used as a means to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber and find wide usage in fiber-optic communications due to its many advantages. This problem aims to help students understand better the concept of it by creating a simplified version.