broomsticking

A technique used in drawing a glass optical fiber.The tip of a preform cylinder is heated to a temperature of 2,500 degrees in a drawing tower.The resulting gob of molten glass is carefully drawn by gravity, in a process known as broomsticking, into a fiber as long as 20 kilometers. Common fiber manufacturing techniques include inside vapor deposition (IVD) and outside vapor deposition (OVD). See also IVD, OVD, and Wicked Witch of the West.