City of Light

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 keyapplications 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 greatdistances. 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.

"In this deft history, Hecht, a writer for the British weekly New Scientist, shows how the illuminated fountains that thrilled crowds at the great 19th-century exhibitions convinced scientists that light can be guided along narrow tubes. In our century, scientists used these tubes of light first to look inside the human body and then, as the physics of wave transmission were better understood, to transmit audio and optical information. Hecht explains which technological advances have made fiber optics the backbone of our telephone system in the last 10-15 years and how everyday applications should increase exponentially once fibers are connected directly to our homes. . .[g]eneral science buffs should enjoy his account of the development of the technology that will change our lives in many unexpected ways in the next century." —Publishers Weekly, "Jeff Hecht brings to life the people, the competition, and the human drama behind this technological breakthrough. Prepare yourself for a delightful read as you discover what made the global village called the City of Light a reality whose potential for social change is still being fathomed." —Richard N. Zare, Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science, Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, "This book is a revelation and ranks with the best popular writing on science and technology. Jeff Hecht's meticulous research proves that even our newest technologies have a long past. His book tells the enthralling story of fiber optics, used today in nearly every facet of life, from transmitting digitized data to peering into and even operating on the human body. With an eye for forceful personalities, innovators and visionaries, he takes us from the birth of fiber optics in Victorian light-guiding parlor tricks and illuminated fountains to the Information Age, with limitless quantities of pure information coruscating globally along beams of light in glass fibers. Hecht embraces the human drama of the inventors with all their successes and foibles and transforms the city of light into an entertaining and illuminating celebration." —Martin C. Carey, Harvard University Medical School, Senior Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, "This is one of the best popular books on a technical subject I have ever seen. It is written in a lively style and it covers all parts of the optical fiber story, from the very beginning to the present days, and, amazingly, all over the world." —Laszlo Solymar, Professor of Applied Electromagnetism, University of Oxford, "A marvelous chronicle of fiber optics technology which in large measure has created the Information Age. Jeff Hecht has not only presented the history of this remarkable technology—uncovering threads which I did not know—but captured the drama and human aspects which make this an interesting read for anyone. All the celebrities are here, each building on the other's foundation." —Donald B. Keck, Division Vice President, Director of Optics & Photonics, Corning, Inc