Do bends to drastic degrees in optical fibre reduce signal compared to when it's straight?

It’s digital, so there is no such thing as reduced signal. You have signal, or you don’t.

@dpworkin
Well I mean the reduction of light going through. The light dims down.

That’s the answer. There is a threshold value, whatever that is, and intensity makes no difference as long as it is above threshold.

I’m sorry. If you are asking if physical cable bends can interfere with signal, the answer is yes, but the is no diminution in signal value, just a cut-off.

@dpworkin. Wrong. All forms of signal communication suffer from some loss, noise, and attenuation no matter what (digital or analog). Even twisted pair, signal quality will suffer if it is bent (this leads to additional noise).

Optical fibers should be run as straight as possible. They are essentially tubes coated with a mirror. If that is bent, some light will reflect back wards or in weird directions thus leading to signal degradation.

@FlutherMe Look up.

@dpworkin. Sorry, I was typing that right as you were posting. I had to get my correction in :).

@dpworkin
Did you used to be a physics teacher, or have you had a job in science?

@dpworkin
It’s not I don’t believe the people who have replied I do, but could someone who maybe took physics or was a science teacher and knows this for sure please reply?

I just want to back myself just encase someone wants to back my sources.

@Coting I am just an annoying know-it-all. Sorry.

Who teaches science here?

Not me, but I am a SysAdmin if that helps.

Actually what happens is that when the fiber is bent too far total internal reflection can no longer be maintained. Gradual turns are fine but sharp turns will usually spoil the signal. @dpworkin is right though. There is a cutoff where a certain intensity is no longer taken as a signal but before that is reached the signal can be degraded.

I took a Cisco class in college that went over some of the fiber optic stuff. Fiber optics are waveguides so a lot has to do with the wavelength of the light used and the material you’re using as the medium. Higher frequency light tends to degrade more easily than lower frequency light due to the higher angle of refraction of higher frequencies.

I work for the phone company, and was a fiber optics splicer for 20 years.
Attenuation on a fiber strand will absolutely effect the signal.
That said, some equipment cannot handle too strong a signal, the fiber needs to be padded to produce a weaker signal.