Friday, October 8, 2010

Physics And The Contributions Of Douglas Hall

By Sheree Mendoza

There are many people who have made some significant contributions to society, and Douglas Hall is one of them. He is a physicist who is still living born in the year 1953. He brought the common usage of the Erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) which will be explained in more detail. However, the EDFA was specifically developed by others associated with the University of Southampton.

This fiber amplifier is the most used optical amplifier. An optical amplifier amplifies an optical signal without the use of an electrical signal. These devices are important in optical communications.

There is more than one amplifier available besides the EDFA. Other examples include semiconductor optical amplifiers, laser amplifiers, and raman amplifiers. The doped fiber amplifier helps in increasing this signal. An EDFA is a doped fiber amplifier.

To explain how an EDFA works is to start with the signal. The original signal is sent through to the amplifier. The amplifier core is made of silica, and it has erbium ions as well. The signal is then able to be amplified through this action because photons are released. With this bolt of energy, this allows the widening of the wavelengths that the signal can be used. This helps to use this for massive amounts of communication.

To recap this process in more detail, a light source or laser light is sent into the amplifier with the optical signal. This light excites the erbium ions, and photons are released. It is these photons which allow amplification of the signal.

The uses of these fibers are for communications, and this technology has really made huge advancements. They have many uses today including those for telecommunications like telephone and internet systems. They are used in the medical field for scopes that can be entered into the human body. It is a great invention which transmits signals much more efficiently than metal wires over long courses.

Douglas Hall made an important contribution because he introduced the EDFA to the public. As can be seen, it is very popular because so many people use telephone and internet services. It helps businesses carry on so that they can reach their clients and other businesses. The way it works is very scientific, however, the public knows how to use the products that fiber optics assists.

Douglas Hall - 40724

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