The Advantage of Fiber-optic Cable over Copper-core Cable
- Coaxial cables carry electromagnetic waves.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
The frequency of a signal determines how much information or "bandwidth" it carries. The higher the frequency, the more information the signal can carry. Electronic waves peak at about 300 GHz. But light frequencies go several times higher, allowing computer traffic speeds well into the gigabytes. - Because of the higher loss in copper cables, electronic signals need to be amplified at periodic intervals. But fiber optic cable has less resistance to the light waves and allows the signals to travel much farther before amplification is needed.
- Although the shield of a copper-core cable reduces interference from unwanted signals, it cannot eliminate them completely. However, fiber-optic cables act like an infinite number of tiny mirrors in a tubular pattern that allows no other light to enter and cause interference or distortion.
- Copper can corrode or expand and contract with temperature changes, but glass cannot. Therefore copper-core cables need periodic maintenance programs to prevent corrosion and loosened connectors. Because glass never corrodes, such maintenance is not necessary.
