Raktim Haldar

Fig. 1. Applications of optical-fibers in a nutshell. Source: Internet

After the demise of eminent Indian radio-astronomer Prof. Govind Swarup, the scientific community worldwide now mourns another great loss, Dr Narinder Singh Kapany. Dr Kapany left for his heavenly abode on 4 December 2020. Who was Dr Kapany? Why is he called the 'Father of Fiber-Optics'? Here, we share the inspiring story of Dr Kapany and how the Nobel committee overlooked his ground-breaking contributions in developing the fiber optical technologies, i.e., the backbone of today's internet.

High-speed broadband internet has gradually revolutionized the world during the last few decades. Different types of optical fibers (OFs) such as single-mode OFs, multi-mode OFs, photonic crystal fibers (PCFs), etc., find myriads of applications ranging from optical-communication to medical diagnostics (Fig. 1). The massive amount of data searched on Google each second has to make an intercontinental journey underneath the oceans through the robust optical fiber cables from data-hub to the users from different countries all over the world (Fig. 2)...read more