Surely, fiber optic lighting can be used in other circumstances where traditional lighting is common, however, cost and performance trade-offs negate the value of fiber optics in traditional lighting scenarios. Fiber optics is much more expensive than wire. An optical sensor converts light rays into electronic signals, similar to a photoresistor which changes resistance based. The technology of fiber optics was first identified in the 1870's when John Tyndall noticed light from a gas street lamp was captured in a stream of water coming from a full barrel of water positioned beneath the light. However, it wasn't until the 1950s that a formal method of transmitting light. Radiation absorption excites an orbital electron to a higher energy level. Heating the material enables the trapped states to interact with phonons and decay into lower-energy. Fiber optic sensing relies on light rays within optical fibers to detect changes in temperature, strain, and other environmental parameters. And by extension, those same fibers can be used for.
[PDF Version]