In a friendly tone: If you’re like many people, you probably think of fiber optic components as those little things on the end of your phone or computer that let you plug into your favorite social networking site. In fact, they’re much more than that! Components of optical fiber are actually tiny strands of glass that transmit data using light rather than electricity. They’re used in all kinds of things, from long-distance internet cables to home heating systems–and really any telecommunications device. Though fiber optics have been around for a while, it wasn’t until recently that the technology became versatile enough to be applied to such a wide range of…