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In Reply to: RE: Post Cryo posted by Awe-d-o-file on April 19, 2015 at 14:36:07
IMHO, I doubt cryo treatment of borosilicate glass fiber optic material would be of benefit, but who knows if POF (Plastic Optical Fiber) might be. I would go on to wonder how cryo treatment might affect the cladding of an optical cable, too. I've read that polymers may benefit from cryo treatment for improved mechanical strength and resistance to wear, but how that may affect the performance level, one way or another of an optical cable is unknown to me. The only association of fiber optics with cryogenics I've come across is its use as a lead for temperature sensors. As a side note, cryogenic ampules are manufactured with borosilicate glass.
Follow Ups:
Has anyone stepped back a bit and stopped to consider what the cryo is actually doing?In the case of steels,the evidence is overwhelming that the steel develops more martensite which tempers and actually hardens the steel, as Scandinavian smiths discovered by throwing forged blades into the snow drifts.
One wire manufacturer, quite prominent, thought the copper was affected and has tested it, apparently, claiming that cryoing wire can increase the purity by 10%, theorizing that the extreme cold literally "shrinks" the base material and will force out dissolved molecular air embedded in the metal ( hence we have things like oxygen free wire, etc.)
If this is true then it could very well benefit even fiber optics, no matter what the base material is, being that the fiber is man made and drawn under unknown circumstances ( 6N plasticor 6N borosilicate?). Drawn wire will force a certain amount of air into the surface of the drawn material.
Plastics are rather amorphous in their molecular structure (Borosilicates mimic quartz, IIRC and I could be very wrong), but they are not true crystalline in nature. A true crystal follows a set physical pattern of layering, molecule by molecule. While needing high purity to form ( at least clear ones), an extruded tube will necessarily follow on more "plastic" an amorphous mix of the same molecule.
Air embedded in the dielectric may not be a bad thing as electrically air is very good and only second to a vacuum. Molecular gas in the fibers are another thing, however, and would cause a greater scattering effective not as pure. Technically, a true crystal has a set "blueprint", so to speak, and the molecules are built up one by one layer by layer. Unless synthesized under exacting conditions, though, such purity and consistency is rarely achieved. I would think that the cheaper fiber optic cables would benefit more as their production is not as well controlled.
At any rate. food for thought.
Incidentally, the coatings should have an effect, as their interface with the cable is partially responsible for the reflection within the cable itself.
Edits: 04/22/15
Thanks! I still enjoy that cable too, thanks for the rec.
E
T
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