A thin strand of transparent material used to carry optical signals. Optical fibers are constructed from special kinds of glass and plastic, and they are designed so that a beam of light introduced at one end will remain within the fiber, reflecting off the inner surfaces as it travels down the length of the fiber. Optical fibers are inexpensive, compact, and lightweight and are often packaged many hundred to a single cable. See also fiber optics.
A hair-thin fiber made of glass that functions as a waveguide for light; used in bundles to transmit images; SYN. glass fiber, optical fibre, glass fibre.
Very fine, optically pure glass fiber through which light can be reflected to transmit an image or information from one end to the other. Optical fibers are increasingly being used to replace copper wire in telephone cables, the messages being coded as pulses of light rather than a fluctuating electric current.
Bundles of optical fibers are also used in endoscopes to inspect otherwise inaccessible parts of machines or of the living body (see endoscopy).