The Little Known History of Fiber Optic Telecommunication
1792 – The first practical optical telecommunication system – Claude Chappe’s semaphore system
French inventor Claude Chappe demonstrated a practical semaphore system that eventually spanned all of France. His system was a series of semaphores mounted on towers, where human operators relayed messages from one tower to the next. It beat hand-carried messages hands down.
1854 – Total internal reflection – the technology foundation for fiber optic communication
One theory slowly took root which would ultimately solve the problem of optical communication. This phenomenon was named total internal reflection.
British physicist John Tyndall demonstrated total internal reflection by guiding light in a jet of water flowing from a tank. In the 1890s, inventors realized that bent quartz rods could carry light, and patented them as dental illuminators.
