Bulletin No. 2, 2009

Prof. Charles K. Kao Wins Nobel Physics Prize   21  There is a tide in the affairs of men. Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. Professor Kao has remembered well these lines from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar since he read them in high school. He interprets them thus: ‘The meaning of these lines is apparent: “The key to a successful career lies in seizing the right opportunity.” But you can also see it from a different angle: success won’t come unless all conditions are ripe.’ In 1966 when Professor Kao proposed to replace copper cables with clear and pure optical fibres for communication, many people derided the idea. But Professor Kao firmly believed in it and finally turned it into reality. He seized the right opportunity by dedicating himself to fibre optic research and four decades later, conditions ripened enabling him to add the Nobel honour to the many great prizes he had won along the way. Optical Fibre Applications You may not know it but optical fibres are integral to modern life. Besides being used for data transmission, they are a powerful tool in medicine, allowing doctors to use flexible endoscopes to examine the internal organs of patients, among other things. Optical fibres also have wide application in architecture and aircraft maintenance. Maintenance personnel can use snake scopes to inspect inaccessible areas. Nuclear engineers can also use fibre scopes to monitor the radiation zones of nuclear power plants. To the layman, the most visible products of optical fibres may be fibre optical lights, which are used for lighting and decoration.