(1926-2020)
Indian-American physicist often considered the “father of fiber optics”.
Doctor Narinder Singh Kapany (1926 – 2020) was an Indian-American physicist often considered the “father of fiber optics”. In 1954, Dr Kapany demonstrated light transmission within a glass fiber. The same year, London-based science journal Nature published the findings. While the title of the research paper (‘A Flexible Fibrescope Using Static Scanning’) announced the breakthrough with scientific, descriptive accuracy, the wording perhaps could have done more to capture the attentions of wider audiences.
In 1960, Dr Kapany founded Optics Technology Inc, and published an article in Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. The landmark article, simply titled Fiber Optics, not only helped turn global attentions to the rapidly expanding scientific study of transmitting data as light signals in glass fibers, but also simultaneously coined and popularized the term ‘fiber optics’.
But is Dr Kapany a satisfactory answer to the question of who invented fiber optics? What about the crucial discoveries that led to our modern understanding of light’s characteristics and behaviors? And what about the comparatively more recent development of the laser technology used to send light signals in optical fiber cables? This blog explores the 10 discoveries that led to modern fiber optics.
(1564-1642)
What’s so significant? Scientific studies via light magnification made possible
Galileo Galilei was an Italian philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician. Sometimes incorrectly associated with the invention of the telescope, Galileo’s contribution to the nascent field of optics came instead from his significant improvement on the telescope’s original design.
In 1608, a German-Dutch spectacle maker named Hans Lipperhey (1570-1619) patented a 3X magnification telescope. Learning of the invention, Galileo began crafting his own telescopic devices, offering an initial 8X magnification and eventually 30X magnification, arguably establishing a scientific foothold in optical studies.
(1642-1727)
What’s so significant? Advanced our foundational knowledge of optics
In 1668, Isaac Newton developed a refracting telescope. Known as the Newtonian Telescope, the design abandoned conventional glass lenses in favor of mirrors, reducing chromatic aberration (light dispersal) to increase image sharpness. This innovation arguably heralded research into the methods, materials, and coatings required for lossless light transmission over distance.
Also, in the early 1670s, Newton’s prism-based experiments demonstrated light traveling in straight lines. The evidence supported particle theory, kickstarting fresh debate over light’s composition (i.e., particle theory vs wave theory – more about that in the next section).
(1629-1695)
What’s so significant? Challenged accepted notions of light’s composition
Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch mathematician and astronomer, argued against the prevailing acceptance of particle theory. Despite Newton’s prism-based experiments demonstrating light traveling in straight lines (in accordance with particle theory), Huygens argued that wave theory (i.e., light traveling in propagating, omnidirectional waves) more accurately described light’s observable partial reflection and refraction when crossing between mediums. By contributing a credible argument in support of wave theory, Huygens challenged accepted notions over the nature of light, paving the way for further investigation.
(1788 - 1827)
What’s so significant? Laid the groundwork for efficient, high-quality light transmission
French engineer and physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel expanded on Huygens’ findings in wave theory. Fresnel experimented with light polarization, demonstrating light acts as a propagating transverse wave.
Here’s how it works:
Consider rolling multiple basketballs in a straight line toward a picket fence; the basketballs will not pass through. In this scenario, the fence represents a polarizing filter, and the basketballs represent particle theory (i.e., longitudinal ‘back-and-forth’ waves, such as sound waves). Now consider an oscillating lawn sprinkler, spraying water in all directions towards the same fence. The water passing through will filter into one direction. In this scenario, the water represents transverse light waves.
(1773 - 1829)
What’s so significant? Enhanced our scientific understanding of wave theory
Perhaps due to a difference in societal standing, peers generally sided with Sir Isaac Newton’s predilection for particle theory over Huygens’ work on wave theory. Thomas Young (1773 – 1829) changed all of that. In 1801, Young’s double-slit experiment demonstrated light acting as wave. The experiment involves light passing through two slits onto a screen. If particle theory were correct, Young argued, onlookers would observe two bands of light hitting the screen. However, alternating light/dark bands appear, explained by light exiting the slits in omnidirectional waves, creating the observed interference pattern.
(1831 - 1879)
What’s so significant? Maxwell’s equations established light as an electromagnetic wave
In 1845, English scientist Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) conducted experiments into the interaction between light and magnetism, demonstrating electrical and magnetic forces were not entirely separate, and may be two aspects of a combined electromagnetic force. Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell later built on Faraday’s observations. Maxwell’s Equations (1861) unified electricity, magnetism, and optics, providing a theoretical framework describing the interaction and wave propagation of electric and magnetic fields.
(1842 - 1919)
What’s so significant? Developed our understating of loss and attenuation
Why does a person standing in the midday sun on a clear day see blue skies, while onlookers stationed far away simultaneously observe a red sunset in the same direction? Answer: Rayleigh Scattering. In 1871, Lord Rayleigh published a paper on the dispersion of electromagnetic radiation by particles. More simply, Rayleigh established the idea that Earth’s atmospheric gases ‘scatters’ sun light. The scattering creates a screen of shortwave blues overhead while allowing only longwave reds to travel from-horizon-to-land at low sun. This insight deepened our knowledge of light’s interaction with particles.
(1865 - 1913)
What’s so significant? Enabled the development of modulators and switches
Why does a person standing in the midday sun on a clear day see blue skies, while onlookers stationed far away simultaneously observe a red sunset in the same direction? Answer: Rayleigh Scattering. In 1871, Lord Rayleigh published a paper on the dispersion of electromagnetic radiation by particles. More simply, Rayleigh established the idea that Earth’s atmospheric gases ‘scatters’ sun light. The scattering creates a screen of shortwave blues overhead while allowing only longwave reds to travel from-horizon-to-land at low sun. This insight deepened our knowledge of light’s interaction with particles.
(1879 – 1955)
What’s so significant? Einstein merged particle and wave theory, introducing quantum physics
In 1905, Einstein published four papers with far-reaching implications, each focusing on revolutionary concepts that redefine our understanding of space, time, mass, and energy. Within the papers, Einstein introduced the world to many scientific concepts that would become foundational to modern physics, including E=mc2 and the Special Theory of Relativity. Regarding the photelectric field, Einstein proposed a wave-particle duality (i.e., light is not a particle or a wave, but rather a combination, called “quanta” or “photons”). This stance on light’s composition significantly advanced our understanding of light propagation.
(1927 – 2007)
What’s so significant? Fiber optics made possible
In 1954, two American physicists, Charles Townes (1915 – 2015) and Arthur Schawlow (1921 – 1999), invented the ‘maser’ (microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation). In 1960, Theodore Maiman invented the more powerful laser (based on light amplification). The laser provides a coherent, high-intensity, focusable light source, enabling wavelength division multiplexing (i.e., different wavelengths – or colors – of light carrying multiple signals in a single fiber). The laser enabled high-speed, long-distance data transmissions, ushering in the era of fiber optics.
Many groundbreaking discoveries paved the way for modern fiber optic technology. To enable hyperscale connectivity and global fiber optic communications, a miscellany of history’s pioneering scientists contributed notions, insights, and evidence, forming a patchwork of achievements that led inexorably to gigabits, exascale, and Microsoft’s planned $100 billion Stargate supercomputer (coming in 2028).
The roadmap to dependable optical fiber materials took a different path, involving decades-long experimentation into silicon – for more information, see Silicon’s dual role: Fueling AI’s need for computation and connectivity.
From the earliest insights – and subsequent debates – into the nature of light propagation, to the challenge of reimagining and fine-tuning long-standing ideas, the field of optical science has encompassed a rich tapestry of revolutionary, milestone innovations. The answer to the question of question of who invented fiber optics is perhaps not one name, but rather with an impressive show of hands spanning generations of luminary thinkers.
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