Introduction to Engineering and Technology Concepts

1. Introduction to Engineering and Technology Concepts Optical and Fluid Technologies

2. Objective • Students will define optical and fluid technologies.

3. Optical Technologies • “Could you imagine a trip to the grocery store and having to manually punch in the bar code numbers for each type of food item you purchase instead of scanning it? What other types of scanning devicesmake our lives easier?”

4. Optical Technologies • Optical Technologies consider the reaction to visible light waves • Optical properties include color (waves that are reflected), optical transmission (ability to pass light waves), and optical reflectivity (ability to reflect light waves) • Think about microscopes, lasers, fiber optics, bar code readers, and scanners…how do they play a role in our lives?

5. Optical Sensors Photo Cell Voltmeter Light Optical sensors can be used as a monitoring device, in which levels of light or changes in the intensity of light can be measured

6. Optics and Communication We’ve been seeing how science and other subjects relate to technology. In truth, communication and optics have a lot to do with each other. Information has been transmitted with light for many years. One of the first kinds of methods used was smoke signals. More recently, flags and flashing lights have been used to convey information

7. Fiber Optics Still, the aforementioned techniques are limited by the distance the information can be sent. Fiber optics are channels that guide light waves through internal reflection over some distance. Internal reflection means that when the light waves strike the outer edge of the fiber, they are reflected back towards the center. Optical communication of this type is called guided optical transmission, which began development in the 1960s

8. Fiber Optics (continued) A typical fiber-optic cable has three layers. The outside layer is a protective plastic coating. The middle layer is called cladding, which reflects light waves back into the glass fiber. The inner layer is a strand of glass called the core. The individual core strands are as small as human hairs. Several hundred of these strands are bundled together into larger cables, with each of these waveguides carrying numerous messages. In fact, billions of bits of information per second can move down an optical fiber. Besides communication, fiber optics are finding their way into the medical field in the endoscope device, which can look inside the human body…possibly preventing unnecessary surgery

9. Fluid Power Systems Fluid Power Systems use either liquids or gases to transfer power from one place to another Systems that use air are called pneumatic systems. Liquids are used in hydraulic systems

10. References • Wright, R. (2004) “Technology” The Goodheart-Willcox Company, Inc.