Living in a world with wires as thin as my hair...

With it, we get internet.
With it, we can keep in touch with our loved ones.
With it, we are connected globally without moving out from our couch.
Without it, there's nothing.

Optical Fibres.

These are the cables that have so much benefits in them. An invention that will be greatly appreciated by many for years to come. We depend so much on it now that we could hardly live without it. Why? It provides us with Internet, phone lines and even serves us in the medical field. With such marvellous uses that it can be put to, who said humans can live without it?

And of course, we got the rare chance to visit the place where optical fibres are manufactured. I have seen the process of manufacturing optical fibres on Discovery Channel before, but never have i dreamed that i would one day be in the place where it is all made. Interesting.

We arrived at the Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cabling Company (one of the largest optical fibre company in China) at around 10am. Greeted by an employee of the company, he explained to us the process verbally on how it is made. With our minds enlightened, we were brought on a tour around the company. Before that, we were forbidden to take any photos as much of the process is the company's secret. Looks like this is the case for many high-tech companies. First, they showed us this room where the raw material, glass, is sterilized and cleaned to perfect conditions. Also, we were told that the sterilization area is kept clean with a maximum of 10,000 dust particles per square meter of the gross area. Now that's what i call clean. After that is done, the glass tube is inserted with gases such as silicon chloride and Germanium chloride in order so that it is coated on the inside. The tube is then 'collapsed' to form a big solid glass rod. After which, the rod is heated to a temperature of 2000 degrees Celsius and a thin strand of optical fibre is formed in a 30-m high tower. The final step is to test for the quality of the fibres manufactured. Strict tests are done in order to meet the customer's needs and satisfaction.

I researched on the Internet and found out why we are using optical fibres now instead of copper wires for telecommunications.It is because, firstly, it is much cheaper. Secondly, if optical fibres are used, more information/data/bandwidth can be transmitted compared to copper wires. Copper wires also have a very short life before it needs to be replaced. Thus, optical fibre is in great demand now.

After our trip, we were brought to the Wuhan University to view the Cherry Blossom's. It was my first time seeing it in my entire life. However, it was not as beautiful as expected to be. Most of the flowers were gone. Nevertheless, i still appreciated the fact that i got to see such a rare flower.