In this case, tightly wound is a good thing.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS - Fiber-optic cable from Optical Cable Co. - Brief article

A high-technology company in Roanoke, Va., is offering a tougher, more resilient fiber-optic cable for the "hothouse, rough and tumble environment of steel mills, oil refineries and chemical plants," says a spokeswoman. The key to the rugged cable is a "tightly bound outer jacket that firmly binds all the fibers together so that the cable moves as a single, solid, rope-like unit," which is critical in...