StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Fiber Optic Cable vs Coaxial Cable - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Fiber Optic Cable vs Coaxial Cable" states that it is essential to state that climate change greatly affects the quality of data transmitted by coaxial cables as opposed to fiber optic cables which do not suffer from external interference…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96% of users find it useful
Fiber Optic Cable vs Coaxial Cable
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Fiber Optic Cable vs Coaxial Cable"

Both fiber optic cable and coaxial cable fall under guided transmission media which provide a physical path for the propagation of the signal. The twisted pair was majorly used for all sorts of communication until the development of the coaxial cable which provided higher data rates over long distances (Nellist, John, and Elliot, 12). Optical fiber has taken over much of the market given its tremendous capacity for high-speed and long-distance applications. Both fiber optic cable and coaxial cable have their distinct benefits and pitfalls as far as their role in conveying information in the form of data video or audio is concerned. The paper highlights both the advantages and disadvantages of fiber optic cables and coaxial cables as used in transmission.

Fiber optic cable
Fiber optic cables are thin, usually, between 2 to 125 micrometers and flexible transmission media is used to guide optical rays from the information source to the information source. Fiber optic cables are cylindrical and are made up of three concentric sections including the cladding, the core, and the jacket. The core consists of one or more glass fibers with each fiber surrounded by individual cladding. The outer layer called the jacket is made up of plastic and is used to protect against crushing, moisture, and abrasion (Nellist, John, and Elliot, 12).

Fiber optic cables have greater capacity, that is, it has potential bandwidth hence the immense data rate. A large amount of data can be transmitted data high speed over long distances as compared to coaxial cables.
In addition, fiber optic cables are small in size and light in weight as compared to most transmission media such as coaxial cables. This in turn is an advantage especially in reducing the structural support requirement given the light weight of the cable.

Fiber optic cables have reduced attenuation as compared to coaxial cables. The attenuation is significantly lower and is constant over a wide range.
Electromagnetic isolation is another key advantage of fiber optic cables. Fiber optic cables do not suffer from the electromagnetic interference caused by external electromagnetic fields. The system is therefore not vulnerable to such interferences as crosstalk and impulse noise. Fiber optic cables do not radiate energy and therefore do not interfere with other equipment. It also has a high-security degree that eliminates eavesdropping besides the fact that it's inherently hard to tap (Nellist, John, and Elliot, 37).

Great repeater spacing associated with fiber optic reduces the cost and ensures minimum errors. Fiber optic cables can transmit information for greater distances without the need for repeaters as opposed to coaxial cables which required a considerable number of repeaters before the information can reach its destination.

Fiber optic cables have pitfalls among which include high investment and installation costs; more expensive optical receivers and transmitters. Susceptibility to physical damage; fiber optic cables are fragile is easily broken. Even though the installation costs of fiber optic are dropping, it is still high.

Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable is made up of two conductors which allows it to operate over wide frequency ranges; inner wire core which is surrounded by a hollow outer cylindrical conductor. Between the inner core and the outer cylindrical conductor, there is a dielectric material that separates the two. A shield covers the outer conductor. Coaxial cable has a wide range of applications including television distribution, LAN, telephone transmission, and short-run computer links (Nellist, John, and Elliot, 34).

As compared to fiber optic cables, coaxial cable is relatively cheaper and more convenient to install. Coaxial cables have greater throughput given that their sufficient frequency which supports multiple channels.

Coaxial cables have improved noise immunity thereby minimizing the error rate. This is because it has Faraday shielding providing noise immunity.
Coaxial cables have great channel capacity allowing them the ability to transmit various frequencies at the same time. The cables also have a high capacity to transmit large amounts of data at a very high speed given that they consist of a large number of copper wires banded together. Unlike fiber optic cables, coaxial cables are not fragile and can be easily twisted and turned without breaking.

The major pitfalls of coaxial cables include great noise, the bidirectional upgrade required, and problems associated with deployment architecture. Additional cables have to be installed when transmitting audio, data, and video signals at the same time,e, unlike fiber optic cables. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1”, n.d.)
Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/information-technology/1472491-technology
(Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words - 1)
Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words - 1. https://studentshare.org/information-technology/1472491-technology.
“Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/information-technology/1472491-technology.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Fiber Optic Cable vs Coaxial Cable

The Theory of Light Relevant to Fiber Optics

The construction of fiber optic cables consists of three parts namely the core, the cladding, and the coating which are also referred to as the triple C's.... Basic fiber optic theory As mentioned earlier, mode theory along with ray theory is used to explain the propagation and behavior of light in an optical fiber.... The application of optical fibers in fiber-optic communication will also be discussed to evaluate how they allow transmission over longer distances at higher speeds as compared to other communication media....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Fiber Optic Cables and Their Parts

I think we should start our topic by just asking a simple but important question what is a fiber optic cable A fiber optic cable is a cylindrical pipe.... Concept of total internal reflection of light through bent glass plays an important role for working fiber optic cable.... unfortunately, no materials were available at that time to fabricate a glass (or other type of transparent material) fiber optic cable with sufficiently low attenuation to make guided optical communications possible....
11 Pages (2750 words) Essay

Fiber optics technology

Establishing functional compatibility in fiber optic communication systems has pushed manufacturers to develop certain components.... stablishing functional compatibility in fiber optic communication systems has pushed manufacturers to develop certain components.... Moreover, advances in the use fiber optic systems has created a demand for standards that enable interoperability between telephone companies and interexchange carriers.... here is not just one way of implementing fiber optic technology....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Introduction to Fiber Optic Technology

This coursework "Introduction to fiber optic Technology" focuses on the fiber optic technology that is based on the glass or plastic threads, which are known as fibers for transmission purposes.... fiber optic technology is mostly used for local area networks.... The long life with a high data rate and light in weight are the capabilities of fiber optic technology.... fiber optic is constructed using such a technology that contains a high bandwidth....
11 Pages (2750 words) Coursework

Fiber Optics: Development of Pure Glass

This will help to create a clear picture of the path that had to be followed for fiber optic cables to be of efficient use in spearheading the digital revolution.... Of all the earlier transmission media, an increase in the volume of information that can be sent over a large distance at higher speed is the technological development that has been made a reality by the invention of fiber optic cables.... Progress from the use of copper wires as a medium for the transfer of information to the use of optic cables serves as evidence of the great leap in technology over the centuries....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

Developments in Plastic Optical Fiber Technology and its Future

The author of this paper presents a detailed analysis of plastic optical fiber.... This paper discusses the basic structure of the plastic optical fiber, its working, its advantages, and disadvantages.... fiber is the technology of the future that offers some of the important advantages, for instance, a higher data rate with less single distortion.... The capacity of the fiber optics is increasing with the passage of time and lots of new enhancements have also made in this area....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Wearable Technology & Plastic Fibers

The author outlines the consequences of poor design of a wearable device, differences between plastic fiber and optical fiber made of glass.... This work called "Wearable Technology & Plastic Fibers" describes Wearable Technology as available as a technological device and is also known as a wearable gadget....
17 Pages (4250 words) Essay

Fiber Optics in Well Logging

Multiplexing techniques such as wavelength dense multiplexing allow several light signals of different wavelengths to propagate in the cable at the same time (Agrawal, pg.... Fibre optic cables are made of glass, plastic or both.... Fibre optic cables have three major parts; core-cladding and jacket.... Monitoring involves the use of fibre optic sensors in the wells.... The writer of the paper 'fiber Optics in Well Logging' states that Communication between onshore and offshore stations has been improved by use optical fibres due to high bandwidth and fast signal speeds....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us