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THIS PROCEDURE WILL HELP YOU
CONSTRUCT A FIBER OPTIC IMAGE PIPE, WHICH CAN TRANSMIT IMAGES AROUND
CORNERS. |
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| WARNINGS:
BE CAREFUL WHEN WORKING WITH MATCHES. IF I GET SUED 'CAUSE SOME
IDIOT TORCHED HIMSELF WITH A ZIPPO I'LL BE SOOOOOO PISSED. |
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DESCRIPTION
FIBER OPTICS ARE LIGHT
PIPES WHICH CAN TRANSMIT LIGHT THROUGH THEIR LONG AXIS. AN ARRAY
OF FIBER OPTICS CAN BE USED TO CREATE AN IMAGE PIPE WHICH WILL TRANSMIT
WHOLE IMAGES IN THE SAME MANNER. A FINISHED BUNDLE IS FLEXIBLE,
AND CAN BE BENT IN ANY DIRECTION AND STILL TRANSMIT AN IMAGE.
THE IMAGE PIPE TRANSMITS
AN IMAGE PIXEL BY PIXEL, JUST LIKE A COMPUTER MONITOR. THE
RESOLUTION OF THE IMAGE PIPE WILL DEPEND ON THE DIAMETER OF YOUR FIBER
OPTICS. SMALL FIBERS WILL MAKE A HIGHER RESOLUTION BUNDLE.
THIS DOCUMENT PREPARES AN 11 X 11 IMAGE PIPE. |
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MATERIALS |
-FIBER OPTICS, ABOUT 100
FEET TOTAL
-SUPER GLUE |
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EQUIPMENT
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-MATCH / LIGHTER
-BENCH VICE |
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PROCEDURE |
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WHY?
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1.
START BY PREPARING ABOUT ONE HUNDRED 1' SEGMENTS OF
FIBER OPTIC. CUTTING WITH PLAIN SCISSORS IS FINE. THEN TAKE
TEN OF THEM AND SANDWICH THEM IN THE BENCH VICE, WITH ABOUT 1/8"
PROTRUDING FROM THE TOP OF THE VICE. |
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THIS WILL HOLD THE FIBERS IN POSITION WHILE
THEY ARE FUSED. |
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2.
USING A MATCH OR FLAME STICK, RUN A FLAME BACK AND FORTH RAPIDLY OVER
THE EXPOSED PART OF THE FIBERS. WHEN THEY HAVE SHRUNK TO ABOUT
1/16" YOU ARE DONE. IF THEY BUBBLE OR TURN BLACK, YOU'VE OVERDONE
IT. |
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THE FLAME HAS TWO FUNCTIONS. FIRST IT
CREATES A DOME OF PLASTIC AT THE END OF THE FIBER, WHICH TRANSMITS LIGHT
MUCH BETTER THAN THE JAGGED EDGE LEFT BY CUTTING. ALSO, IT MELTS THE
FIBER TO THE FIBERS SURROUNDING IT. |
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3.
BRING ABOUT .5" OF THE BUNDLE UP THROUGH THE VICE. APPLY SOME
SUPERGLUE TO THE BACK OF THE STRIP, AND GLUE A STRIP OF PAPER IN PLACE
AS SHOWN. |
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THE PAPER WILL PROVIDE MECHANICAL STABILITY
TO THE BUNDLE, WHILE ALSO AIDING WHEN EACH STRIP IS JOINED TOGETHER. |
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4.
WRAP THE PAPER AROUND TO THE FRONT OF THE STRIP, AND HOLD IN PLACE WITH
MORE GLUE. |
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5.
WHEN YOU'VE COMPLETED TEN BUNDLES, YOU'RE READY TO START ASSEMBLING THE
PIPE. SIMPLY GLUE THE PAPER WRAPPER ON EACH END OF THE STRIP TO
ANOTHER STRIP. BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE NO TWISTS IN THE CABLE, OR
ELSE PARTS OF YOUR IMAGE WILL APPEAR DISTORTED. |
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6.
WHEN ALL THE STRIPS HAVE BEEN STACKED AND
GLUED, PUT THE ENTIRE BUNDLE BACK INTO THE VICE. ONCE AGAIN
QUICKLY RUN A FLAME BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE EDGE OF THE BUNDLE.
REPEAT FOR THE OTHER SIDE. |
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AS SHOWN IN THESE PICTURES, THE ENDS OF THE
BUNDLE WILL NOT LIKELY BE LINED UP PERFECTLY. MELTING THE PLASTIC
WILL HELP LINE UP THE ENDS OF THE BUNDLES, AS WELL AS MELTING EACH LINE
TOGETHER. |
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7.
ALL DONE! |
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AT THE OTHER END OF THE IMAGE PIPE IN THIS
PICTURE IS A PIECE OF ELECTRICAL TAPE OBSCURING HALF OF THE PIPE.
THE IRREGULARITIES IN THE IMAGE ARE CAUSED BY POOR ALIGNMENT WHEN GLUING
THE STRIPS. |
