Computers and other electronic systems use a communication medium to send data from one device to another in the form of signals. The transmitting media can be divided into two categories: directed and unguided. In this article, we will get into Optical vs Coaxial Cable and all about their similarities and dissimilarities.
Unguided media is a form of wireless communication that transmits data without the use of a physical conductor and uses air as a medium. It can even transmit data in a vacuum. To relay signals, guided media need a physical medium such as wires. Twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable are the three types of guided media. The distinction between an optical fiber and a coaxial cable is explained in this article.
Both the optical fiber and the coaxial cable are guided media forms. However, there are some significant differences between the two. The main distinction between the optical fiber and coaxial cable is that optical fiber is used for optical signal delivery. A coaxial cable, on the other side, is used to relay an electrical signal. Let us get into this topic and go through it to find out the differences between optical and coaxial cables that mean Optical vs Coaxial Cable will be discussed. To know about Optical Computing, read this.
Differences Between Optical and Coaxial Cable
So, Optical vs Coaxial Cable and which one is better and which one is perfect for you? In optical cable, the transmission is done in the optical form, and on the other side in the coaxial cable, the transmission is done in electrical form. That is the core difference and this is stated earlier.
The optical cable consists of glass and plastics. Optical fiber uses the concept of absolute internal reflection to direct light across the tube. The internal structure of the optical fiber consists of glass or ultrapure fused silica, surrounded by less thick glass or plastic cladding. The coating is coated with a buffer, either loose or tight, to shield it from moisture.
The density of the two materials is preserved in such a way that the light beam, which passes through the center, is reflected off the cladding rather than refracted through it. In the optical fiber, the information is stored in the shape of a light beam as a series of on and off flashes, which means 1’s and 0’s.
The fiber optic cable is made of glass and is brittle, making it difficult to install. The repeater is mounted at a distance of 2 km to 20 km depending on the form of fiber. optical fiber is of two types, multimode and single-mode. Multimode fiber has two variations, a phase index, and a graded-index fiber. LEDs and lasers can be used as optical cable light sources.
But the coaxial cable is a composition of plastic, metal foil, metal wire, especially copper wire. That is why it can be spliced. It consists of a conductor (usually copper) located at the center of the heart, surrounded by an insulating sheath. The sheath is often enclosed in the outer conductor with a metal braid, a foil, or a mixture of the two. External metallic covering serves as a noise barrier and completes the circuit as a second conductor.
The outer metallic conductor is often wrapped in a plastic cover to shield the entire wire. Coaxial cable is a good alternative to Ethernet cables. The most common use of coax cables in cable TV is the distribution of TV signals. You can also extend cable TV to another room.
In the optical fiber cable, energy leakage happens as the light passes from one location to another, known as attenuation. Attenuation is caused by absorption, dispersion, bending, and dispersion of the following phenomena. The attenuation depends on the cable duration.
Absorption – The light intensity is dimmed as it passes to the end of the fiber due to the heating of ion impurities which is known as the absorption of light energy.
Dispersion – As the signal travels down the fiber, it doesn’t necessarily take the same direction, because it’s extremely skewed.
Bending – This failure is due to the bending of the wire, giving rise to two conditions. In the first condition, the entire cable is twisted, which restricts the further reflection of the light or the lack of cladding. In the second condition, only the cladding is curved marginally, resulting in an unwelcome reflection of the sun at various angles.
Scattering – Loss is caused by changing the microscopic material density or by fluctuating densities.
The loss of power caused by the coaxial cable is coined by the term attenuation and can be influenced by the length and frequency of the cable, the attenuation may increase as the length increases. Various losses are also produced, such as resistive loss, dielectric loss, and radiated loss. You can also remove the coaxial cable lock.
Resistant failure – is caused by the resistance of the conductors, and the moving current generates heat. The skin effect reduces the real region where the current flows, but the increasing frequency gradually makes it more noticeable. Resistance reduction expands as the square root of the frequency. Multi-stranded conductors may be used to overcome losses. Did you know that you can run a coax cable from outside too?
Dielectric loss – There is also another significant loss due to a spike in frequency, but it increases linearly in contrast to the resistance loss.
Radiated loss – The radiated loss is smaller than the resistive and dielectric losses that may be caused where the cable has a weak outer braid. Power radiation causes interference where the signals may be present at a point where they are not expected.
Noise is not a concern for fiber optic cable since it uses light rather than electricity. External light will potentially cause some interference, but the outer jacket is still shielded from the channel. But in the coaxial cable, the transmission occurs through electricity and that’s why there is a severe noise problem in the coaxial cable. You can test the coax cable by reading this article.
The transmitting signal in an optical fiber is unaffected by the external magnetic field. In the case of a coaxial cable, the transmitting signal is impacted by the actual magnetic field to some degree.
Another significant distinction is that an optical fiber cable has a high propagation speed. Coaxial cable, on the other hand, has a relatively slow signal propagation speed. Though you can get enough speed using different types of coaxial cable like cat5 or cat6.
As compared to coaxial cable, optical fibers facilitate signal propagation over longer distances.
The propagation wavelength is much longer than most other guided mediums. A pulse in an optical fiber cable can fly for miles without having to be regenerated. On contrary, When communications devices are positioned at a greater distance, a repeater is needed for every kilometer.
As compared to coaxial cable, the bandwidth consumption factor for signal delivery is even greater for optical fiber.
The transmission speed of optical fiber is quite high as compared to coaxial cable. And it is quite obvious as in optical fiber the transmission occurs at the speed of light.
As compared to twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable has a greater frequency characteristic. Because of the cable’s concentric construction, it is less vulnerable to interruption and crosstalk. Both analog and digital signaling are supported by coax cable. It is less expensive than optical fiber. You can also connect the coaxial cable to the TV if the TV doesn’t have any coax input.
On the other hand, Optical fiber is costly and it must be accurately made, and a laser light source is expensive. The light will be diffused and the beam can be lost if the optical fiber’s backbone is damaged or broken. Both of the joints must be flawlessly polished, balanced, and light-tightly sealed. It makes use of crude cutting and crimping materials, making installation and maintenance more complicated. Glass fiber is more fragile than wire and is more easily damaged.
Again, the optical fiber is thin and compact, with limited diameter. A coaxial wire, on the other hand, is thicker and has a larger diameter.
An optical cable is used to relay optical frequency signals and hence has uses in HDTVs, airplanes, and the medical field for surgical procedures. On the other hand, coaxial cable is used to transfer radio frequency signals, so it’s used in cable TV signal processing, as well as internet and phone connections.
In terms of data transfer speed, noise and interference tolerance, dimensions, bandwidth, losses, and other factors, optical fiber outperforms coaxial cable. However, coaxial cable is less costly, more widely available, and easier to install, and bending the cable has little effect on the signaling.
Conclusion
So here you have got all the information regarding optical cable and coaxial cable. There is a huge difference between coaxial and optical cables. Though they have differences, they do their job quite perfectly in their required position. According to your need, you have to choose one. By going through this informative article, we hope you know all about Optical vs Coaxial Cable and their fnctionalities. So all the best and thanks for visiting our article.
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