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City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics (Sloan Technology Series) By Jeff Hecht Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Number Of Pages: 348

Publication Date: 1999-03-12

Sales Rank: 876061

ISBN / ASIN: 0195108183

EAN: 9780195108187

pass: gigapedia.org

Binding: Hardcover

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA

Studio: Oxford University Press, USA

Average Rating: 4

Computers you notice. They sit on your desk and hum, ever smaller, ever faster, and always obsolete if bought longer ago than last week. But the equally impressive technology that turns millions of terminals into a global network is less obvious. The phone line that comes into your house probably still pushes electrons through metal. But not far away, the signal will join millions of others relayed down fiber optic cables by laser. Jeff Hecht's fascinating account of this undersung technology goes back 150 years to find the origins of fiber optics. Then he chronicles the many ingenious and determined engineers who fashioned it into a technology that festoons the globe with cables carrying pulses of photons. It was harder than pioneering copper links because supplanting an existing technology needs more persuasion than establishing the first one. And there was competition from the satellite industry, as well as unexpected setbacks, such as sharks who ignored copper but chewed fiber optic cables. Hecht tells a good tale, combining a light journalistic touch with a scholarly knowledge of the industry he has covered for over two decades. The story is not over yet, but this is a rich account of how we got this far in a technology that really has fueled a revolution. --Jon Turney, Amazon.co.uk Book Description: 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 illuminated fountains at many of the great Victorian exhibitions. The modern version of fiber optics--using flexible glass fibers to transmit light--was discovered independently five times through the first half of the century, and one of its first key applications was the endoscope, which for the first time allowed physicians to look inside the body without surgery. Endoscopes became practical in 1956 when a college undergraduate discovered how to make solid glass fibers with a glass cladding. With the invention of the laser, researchers grew interested in optical communications. While Bell Labs and others tried to send laser beams through the atmosphere or hollow light pipes, a small group at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories looked at guiding light by transparent fibers. Led by Charles K. Kao, they proposed the idea of fiber-optic communications and demonstrated that contrary to what many researchers thought glass could be made clear enough to transmit light over great distances. Following these ideas, Corning Glass Works developed the first low-loss glass fibers in 1970. From this point fiber-optic communications developed rapidly. The first experimental phone links were tested on live telephone traffic in 1977 and within half a dozen years long-distance companies were laying fiber cables for their national backbone systems. In 1988, the first transatlantic fiber-optic cable connected Europe with North America, and now fiber optics are the key element in global communications. The story continues today as fiber optics spread through the communication grid that connects homes and offices, creating huge information pipelines and replacing copper wires. The book concludes with a look at some of the exciting potential developments of this technology. Review: Comprehensive explanation of the story of Fober Optics It's great book for those who interests in where it came from. Especailly I would like to note the style of narration as an example of a deep insight into the issue of development and early research works. Unfortunately, the story is ended in the begining of the 90th and whole decade is omitted. It would be better if the story of photonic components development was included but it's a matter of next edition of this book.

As conclusion, I recommend this book to read for everybody who is involved into the field of Fiber Optics. Review: Comprehensive History of Fiber Optics Fiber optics, the backbone of local and international communications and of the Internet, seems like a new technology, but in this comprehensive history of the field Jeff Hecht describes the Victorian origins of light guiding via jets of water. In the first half of the 20th century a number of researchers independently discovered flexible glass fibers, and with the introduction of the laser in the 1950s long-distance optical communication became a possibility. The main section of the book focuses on the work of researchers in Britain, Japan, and the United States from the 1950s through the 1980s as they overcome many technical problems and develop the beginnings of modern fiber optic cables, documenting the failures, the dead-ends, and the ultimate success in the early 1980s. Extensively researched and annotated, with much material from primary sources, City of Light is accessible to the non-technical reader, yet has enough detail and links to additional sources to satisfy students of engineering history.

Review: Good explanation of "where it all came from" Hecht does a good job of explaining where the technology of fiber optics communications came from. His book is not an explanation of how fiber optics communications works, but a history. I have a reasonably good background in fiber optics communications so it's difficult for me to judge whether someone who knew nothing about it would find it easy to follow, although I think they would. I would particularly recommend the book to fiber optic techies - it really makes the technology more meaningful when you understand how the technology developed. A fine job by a good writer - very close to five stars. And if you're technically oriented and want more knowledge of fiber optic technology, I'd recommend "Optical Networks" by Ramaswami and Sivarajan. Review: weak on the last 10 years This is book has a wealth of information on the early years of fibre optics that I have not seen anywhere else. It is full of names and brief explanations of their contribution. But overall I thought this was a dull, slow moving book with little insight. More of an ongoing collection of notes that have been put together for another better book on the history of fibre once the real story finally emerges. There is very little science here. You won't learn much about light physics or why the technology works -only that it does and who patented it. (But the science may be reserved for Hecht's other book.) Also , for those who are trying to keep up with Gilder this book will be disappointing. There is nothing on DWDM (one brief, unexplained mention) or nothing that maps out the current players, companies, or technologies. (I can tell that Gilder has read it because some of the historical facts have been mentioned in the GTR) But there are only a few pages at the end that try to update where the technology has been in the last 10 years, where it is going or why. Huge gaps where a technology is mentioned but not even defined, much less explained. I wish there was a better book on the subject, but for now this is it, and maybe it is worth reading for that reason alone. Sorry to be so critical, but if you like Burke's "Connections" this will only get you lost. It probably would not have been published but for the sudden surge in tech stocks. I hope the Slone series is not all like this.

Review: Excellent book! The author has an easy narrative style, even though clarity is obstructed by poetic wax in a few places. I am amazed out how much information about fiber optics I have absorbed without study. If you like techie stuff, you'll love this book. If you like Dilbert, you'll love this book. Read it!

Rating:
2.5 out of 5 by Book123