Flexible Light Optical Fiber Another interesting application of Optical fibers is the total inner reflection and the use of glass (transparent plastic rods) in which light is sent from one point to another. The pictures above demonstrate light is constricted to travel within the rod, or even throughout curves, to conclude a successive total inner reflection. Rafael Medina: Computer Science, Alejandro Montoya: Electrical Engineering, Southwestern College SPAWAR Interns Rapid Thermal 1200C Buried Oxide TiN Al Si Buried Oxide TiN Al Si A practical optical fiber consists of a transparent core surrounded by a cladding, a material that has a lower index of refraction than the core. The combination may be surrounded by a plastic jacket to prevent mechanical damage. The figure shows a cutaway view of this plastic jacket. In the optical fiber, the index of refraction of the cladding is less than that of the core. Light traveling in the core experiences total internal reflection if it arrives at the interface between the core and the cladding at an angle of incidence that exceeds the critical angle. We know how optical fiber is constructed and that light is bounced along the core losing very little of its intensity as it travels. Reflection When a light ray traveling in one medium encounters a boundary with another medium, part of the incident light is reflected. The following image can demonstrate several rays of a beam of light incident a smooth reflected surface. As you can see, the rays are parallel to each other. Whereas, the direction of a reflected ray is in the plane perpendicular to the reflecting surface. Refraction When the light travels through a glassy medium and encounters a boundary leading into another transparent medium, a certain portion of the energy is reflected and partially enters the second medium. IV.-Results and Conclusions Information can be sent through Light and through optical fiber and that it is possible to introduce natural light indoors to help minimize cost and improve workspace. Unfortunately there is a significant loss of information over long distances with light, but it can be made to go around corners with reflection and focused for longer distances. The beam must be focused on to the receiver with a focal lens to be able to receive the most info possible. It is very hard to actually pass light onto optical fiber, it must be concentrated and focused before entering the fiber. I.-Introduction Flexible Light does not refer to the ability to traverse in curved direction but to the many applications that we can use light for. II.-Company SPAWAR(Space And naval Warfare) Systems Command We were hired as student interns in the Advanced Technology division of SPAWAR under our mentors Brian Williams(Rafael), Mathew Boss and Chunyan Lin(Alex) III.-Methods We were fortunate enough to be able to work on 2 projects together, though our first projects were individual, we were given the privilege to work on two new projects ourselves. Project 1 LaserComm kit: Our first project together was to learn how to operate and understand the use of LaserComm kit. The LaserComm kit consists of a Laser diode transmitter, microphone, laser receiver, power supply and loudspeaker hooked up to a video camera and television to allow us to also view and transmit video. The LaserCom works by modulating the amplitude and length of the laser light and sending it to the reciever which then decodes the signal and passes it on to either a speaker or television or both. (top)we proved we can use the kit to send info to the reciever that is 20 ft away. The problem was that laser light is lost and replaced by that of the helium light indoors. However we were able to fix this by placing a large concave lense in front of the reciever to collect the light and feed it to be decoded and sent to the television.(below) Project 2 Indoor Natural Light : For our second project we tried to find a way to use natural light and use it indoors without having to do expensive modifications to building structure saving not only electricity but lessening the carbon footprint of our facilities, “Thinking green”. Using a laser we can demonstrate that light can be sent through a fiber Optic cable with little loss, proving that a concentrated beam can be Transmitted to a different place, similarly, natural light should be able To be sent indoors if concentrated. V.-Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Office of Naval Research, under the Internal Applied Research (IAR) Program at SPAWAR Systems Center San Diego. We would also like to thank everybody at SPAWAR and MESA for making these life changing internships possible especially Mr. Ayax Ramirez and Dr. Raga Bakhiet for their unwavering faith and commitment to the Southwestern College SPAWAR internships and for their dedication to us students. VI.- Contact Info Rafael Medina: Alejandro Montoya: (619) Important Information and Terms Advanced Technology Branch Interns Laser Beam being focused by lens into receiver Video being transmitted Laser emitter and receiver being tested at 20 ft. Proof on Concept.- Laser light being passed through fiber optic cable Light being passed from inside the apparatus through fiber optics How light travels within fiber optic cable Magnified view of fiber optic cable