description Charles K. Kao Overview
Charles K. Kao was an engineer and physicist whose research established the practical basis for transmitting information through optical fibers. He showed that purified glass could carry light over long distances with sufficiently low signal loss, helping transform fiber optics into a telecommunications technology. Kao shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for work concerning the transmission of light in fibers and is associated with the development of modern optical communications.
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What did Charles K. Kao contribute to fiber optics?
Charles K. Kao showed that highly purified glass could carry light over long distances with sufficiently low loss. His work at Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in the 1960s helped turn optical fiber from a laboratory idea into a practical communications technology. [Nobel Prize biography](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2009/kao/biographical/)
When did Charles K. Kao win the Nobel Prize?
Kao received half of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on fiber-optic communication. The other half was shared by Willard Boyle and George Smith for the invention of the CCD sensor.
How does fiber optics carry information?
A fiber sends information as pulses of light through a thin glass core, rather than as electrical signals through copper wire. Kao's key insight was that reducing impurities in the glass could make long-distance transmission practical.
Why does Kao's work matter to the modern internet?
Low-loss optical fiber supports high-capacity links between cities, data centers, telephone networks, and undersea cables. The Nobel Committee specifically connected Kao's breakthrough to global broadband communication and the Internet.
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