Fiber Optics (Sep, 1955)

Rope ‘Scope
GLASS FIBERS finer than human hair make up the chief part of an optical instrument that can see around corners. The fibers are aligned in a rope bundle. By looking along the axis of the fibers, you can see an image at the other end, no matter how the rope is looped or twisted. Doctors may use it in internal examinations of the human body. Scientists could observe radioactive materials shielded behind lead walls and engineers could use it to investigate concealed parts of complex machinery. Known as the Fibrescope, it was developed by Dr. H. H. Hopkins and a 27-year-old Punjabi, Dr. Narinder Singh Kapany, at the Imperial College of Science in London. The simple instrument may replace expensive optical systems which are bulky and inflexible.