Abstract
Charles Kao was the pioneer who suggested using glass fibre waveguide as a means of carrying laser-light over long distances for telecommunications traffic. In his seminal paper published in 1966, he spelled out the appropriate design parameters and performance characteristics that would be needed for a successful system to emerge. At the time, the idea was widely ridiculed. Within a few years, however, in a brilliant set of spectrophotometric experiments, Kao demonstrated that pure silicon dioxide materials exist that have the required very low attenuation. In due course, the problems of creating optical fibres of the required dimensions and strength were solved and optical fibres now dominate telecommunications worldwide. Without them, contemporary communications would be unthinkable. Kao was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for his ‘groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication’.