City of Light: The Story of Fiber Optics

NOTES TO PAGES 140–146 303
reporting the record low loss is at the end of the second paragraph in the published
paper. F. P. Kapron, D. B. Keck, and R. D. Maurer, ‘‘Radiation losses in glass optical
waveguides,’’ Applied Physics Letters 17 pp. 423–425, Nov. 15, 1970, p. 423.
28. Keck interview.
29. F. P. Kapron, D. B. Keck, and R. D. Maurer, ‘‘Radiation losses in glass optical
waveguides,’’ Conference on Trunk Telecommunications by Guided Waves (Institution
of Electrical Engineers, London, 1970, pp. 148–153).
30. Kapron, et al ‘‘Radiation losses in glass optical waveguides.’’
31. Harold E. M. Barlow, ‘‘Introductory address,’’ Conference on Trunk Telecommunications
(pp. xi–xiv).
32. Maurer interview.
33. Cook telephone interview.
34. Richard Dyott, telephone interview, Jan. 11, 1994.
35. Lucy telephone interview.
36. Maurer interview. Although Hopkins and Kapany did important pioneering
work in England, the country never developed its own medical-fiber industry.
37. Richard B. Dyott, ‘‘Some memories of the early years with optical fibres
at the British Post Office: a personal account,’’ IEE Proceedings 133 J, No. 3,
pp. 199–201 (June 1986).
38. Dyott telephone interview.
39. Ibid.
40. Murray Ramsay, interview, Dec. 2, 1994.
41. Corning’s low-loss fiber was a singularly unreported breakthrough. The
only contemporary account I could find was in New Scientist (‘‘Clearer future for
fibre optic communications,’’ New Scientist, 8 Oct. 1970, p. 77). The magazine
three months earlier had published a feature on fiber communications written by
an STL engineer (Martin Chown, ‘‘Light: the long-distance answer,’’ New Scientist,
16 July 1970, pp. 14–19 in supplement ‘‘Telecommunications: the expanding
Spectrum’’). Even major trade magazines such as Electronics and Industrial Research
ignored the breakthrough for months, although they reported lesser developments
in late 1970 and early 1971. (‘‘Glass laser fibers help transmit and amplify
beams,’’ Electronics Sep. 28, 1970, pp. 129–130; ‘‘Transmission system uses
coated glass for laser beam,’’ Electronics Nov. 9, 1970, ‘‘International Newsletter’’
page; ‘‘British use R&D on fiber telecom link,’’ Industrial Research, Jan. 1971,
p. 33). An important reason for the oversight probably was that Corning did not
issue a press release.
42. Schultz, interview.
43. Pearson, telephone interview.
44. The idea that glass flows very slowly at normal temperatures is an urban
myth of science. Although glass panes in some medieval cathedral windows may
be thicker at the bottom than at the top, that is an artifact of old glass-making
techniques which did not yield flat sheets. Much older glass artifacts show no
evidence of flow, and measurements at higher temperatures indicate glass should
be stable at room temperature for the life of the universe. (Edgar D. Zanotto, ‘‘Do
cathedral glasses flow?’’ American Journal of Physics 66, No. 5, pp. 392–395, May
1998).
45. Keck interview.
46. Schultz interview.
47. Ibid.
48. D. B. Keck, R. D. Maurer, and P. C. Schultz, ‘‘On the ultimate lower limit