MATLAB programs are written using mathematical expressions similar to those thatmost engineering students are familiar with. Thiscan be true even for students that have not been formally educated in higher-level programminglanguages. It provides a computing environment which is relatively easy for the students to understand. MATLAB is a matrix driven language which integrates numerics and graphics in a single package.1 We use animation and simulation in MATLABto help students grasp some of the more complex topics in these disciplines. High levels of abstraction areespecially prevalent in electromagnetic field theory and Fourier analysis, two disciplines which arefundamental in fiber optic communication theory. Computer simulation can enable a studentto jump over the hurdle that an abstract physical concept presents. In engineering, ideas also may besimple mathematically but physically counterintuitive. Modern computingtools provide the visual means to educate students more efficiently in concepts that are traditionallydifficult to teach at a blackboard using mathematical derivation. Furthermore, some concepts are simply easier to understand visually. This paper describes how computersimulation and animation can provide a visual means of simplifying these concepts so that they areeasier to understand.Ĭomputer animation has become popular in academia because the common student is visuallyoriented. Specifically, the conceptof group velocity is physically counterintuitive, and an analysis of the pulse spreading that resultsbecause of dispersion often includes a rigorous Fourier analysis. It is in the implications where the difficulty arises. The fact that different frequencies of light travel at different speeds in thefiber is not confusing. The solutions of the differentialequation which describe the modes of the fiber are Bessel functions, with which most students areunfamiliar, and the vectorial nature of the analysis only complicates the situation. A classicexample is electromagnetic mode theory in cylindrical coordinates. Students find certain concepts in fiber optic communication theory difficult to grasp. Simulation and Animation in Optical Fiber Communication
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