Today, optical fibers can transport 10 billion bits of data per second on a single wavelength.

FORBES: Wired and restless

There are many older optical fibers, but low-light-loss ones are vital for telephone cable.

FORBES: The Trials Of Amory Houghton Jr.

Thousands of blades of polyethylene grass, blended with optical fibers, reflect light upward from the trays.

FORBES: Magazine Article

He designed a device that is basically a 6-inch-long broom of 50, 000 optical fibers.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Annual output of optical fibers and optic fiber cables also grew to 25 million kilometers and 15 million kilometers respectively.

FORBES: Technology Breakthrough Makes Chinese Fiber Optics Entrepreneur A New Billionaire

The new technology places glass optical fibers, which contain a laser diode that sends a signal beam into the optical, into the flutes.

FORBES: Fiber-Optic Sensors Set Stage for Extreme Snipers

Optical fibers are great at moving dim light.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

Researchers at the University of Bristol, for instance, are focusing their experiments on photons, containing them in small optical fibers that are built onto integrated chips with the help of a laser trap or ion trap.

FORBES: Teeny-Tiny Quantum Computers Take A Step Closer To Reality

They were only minor players in these erstwhile American-led industries in the 1980s but are now dominant in everything from optical fibers to smartphone components, not to mention virtually every serious manufacturing challenge in the aerospace industry.

FORBES: Who's Winning: The Japanese or the Koreans?