Fiber Optics Lesson Plan #1 For STEM Teachers


It's easy to demonstrate how fiber works - you can do it with a sample of plastic fiber (available free from FOA) and a laser pointer like the photo below and shown in the YouTube video "Fiber Optics For Teachers - An Introduction."


FOA has samples of this kind of fiber that we will send to teachers at schools in the US or you can find it at science distributors. Request a sample by sending an email to the FOA at <info@foa.org> with your name, the school where you teach and a mailing address.

Here are more details on this and other demonstrations you can do in class or help your students with science projects.

 
What Do You Need For The Demo?
Besides the FOA plastic optical fiber (POF) sample, all you need is a laser pointer.



The best laser pointer for this kind of demo is the green laser version shown above which we purchased from Radio Shack for about $55. But any laser pointer will work - even the one sold in hardware and pet stores to use to "torture" your pet that sells for only $2!

There are several things you can do to make the demo better.

• Cut the end of the fiber carefully - a razor blade works best - and try to make the cut perpendicular to the length of the fiber for best light coupling.
• Work in the lowest light you can - shut off the room lights and pull the shades.
• Place the fiber inside the output hole of the laser pointer and move it around until you get the best light coupling. You can also put some tape on the fiber to enlarge it so it fits more snugly into the center of the output of the laser pointer.
• The whole length of POF will light up - the light you see is the loss of light in the fiber. Glass fiber has much less loss - so little loss that a signal goes tens or even hundreds of miles.
  
• Once you have the light visible through the fiber, have someone put a bend in the end to show how it lights up as light is lost in the bend.
• Turn the laser pointer on and off to send a signal. You can use "Morse Code" to send actual messages.

Now you can watch the video "Fiber Optics For Teachers - An Introduction." and duplicate the demo.


 
More Classroom Curriculum Materials, Videos And Demos Or Labs
FOA creates lots of curriculum materials for our hundreds of schools around the world and much of it is appropriate for introducing students to fiber optics.

The place to begin is the FOA YouTube video "Fiber Optics For Teachers - An Introduction." It shows some demos you can do in the classroom and offers a sample of the plastic optical fiber for teachers.

There are 3 videos in the FOA "Fiber Optics Live" series that show how fiber works using large (30mm) acrylic rods and a laser pointer:
How Light Travels In A Fiber  
Fiber Attenuation  
Connector Loss  

FOA has a video lecture series on YouTube with over 40 lectures and the first one is a good introduction on how fiber is used in communications: FOA Lecture 1: Fiber Optics & Communications 

FOA has a video about all the places where fiber is used - it's called "Where Are The Jobs In Fiber Optics" and it not only shows you where fiber is used but where job opportunities are for those interested in working in this field.

Here are links to all the FOA YouTube videos.


PowerPoint Presentation On Fiber Optics For Teachers
Here is a short PowerPoint presentation you can give to your classes yourself. It is aimed at introducing fiber optic technology to science or career education students and showing what career opportunities exist in the field.