Charles K. Kao

Hello. My name is Charles K. Kao. A long, long time ago, in the year 1933, I was born. Even when I was a little boy, I was very curious. I loved to play with all sorts of things, like soft clay and colorful chemicals. I was always wondering how things worked. Most of all, I wondered about light and how it could travel from one place to another.

I grew up and had a big, bright idea. In the year 1966, I told everyone about it. I thought we could send messages using little flashes of light. I imagined sending them through tiny threads made of super-clean glass. It would be like sending a whisper down a very, very long string. I knew if the glass was pure enough, the light could travel far, far away. It could carry our words and our pictures to friends all over the world.

My idea came true. Today, those tiny glass threads are called fiber optics, and they are used all around the world. They are buried under the ground and hidden under the big blue sea. These threads help people talk on the phone. They bring cartoons to your screen and let you see your family on video calls. Many years later, in 2009, people gave me a special prize for my work. It makes me happy that my bright idea helps connect everyone.

I lived to be 84 years old. People remember me as the 'Father of Fiber Optics' because my work with light helps bring the world closer together every day.