The document discusses optical fibers, including their evolution, structure, working principles, classification, and applications. Optical fibers first emerged in the late 19th century and were refined over the 20th century. An optical fiber consists of a core and cladding layer that uses total internal reflection to guide light along its path. Fibers are classified based on the number of propagation modes as either single-mode or multi-mode, and also by refractive index profile as step-index or graded-index. Optical fibers have numerous applications in telecommunications, computing, medicine, and other fields due to their advantages over electrical cables.