Fiber Optic technology is used in many devices we rely on today for fast transmission of information and less loss over long distances. The technology is actually an old idea, one which was imagined early in the 1800′s by optical scientists and put into practical use in many fields in the early 1900′s. It uses the principle of total reflection of light which says that there is an angle at which light refracting at a surface, for example from water into air, will totally internally reflect and none of the light will escape the water. All of the energy will return into the water.
This principle was applied with long glass rods or fibers to transmit light or other energy, and the rods were able to be bent or curved without losing the total internal reflection advantage.
Fiber optic technology was first used for radio and television around 1920 and soon adapted to medical and dental technologies such as lighting the inside of a mouth or the human body for precise work. Early optical fibers were made of glass and we still use glass for a lot of applications, as it is strong, less prone to aging, and will work over very long distances.