Related papers: Design of 2-m to 6-m Liquid Mirror Containers
We give a generic description of a liquid mirror system and summarize some practical information useful to making them. We compare laboratory measurements of deformations, due to the weight of mercury on the container of a 3.7-m mirror and…
We present a new class of magnetically shaped deformable liquid mirrors made of a magnetic liquid (ferrofluid). Deformable liquid mirrors offer advantages with respect to deformable solid mirrors: large deformations, low costs and the…
The surface of a spinning liquid takes the shape of a paraboloid that can be used as a reflecting mirror. This very old and nearly forgotten concept has recently been revived and I review its present status. Extensive interferometric tests…
We review the present status of liquid mirror telescopes. Interferometric tests of liquid mirrors (the largest one having a diameter of 2.5 meters ) show excellent optical qualities. The basic technology is now sufficiently reliable that it…
Spaced-based mirrors are a developing use-case for Additive Manufacturing (AM), the process that builds a part layer-by-layer. The increased geometric freedom results in novel and advantageous designs previously unachievable.…
Carbon fibre composite technology for lightweight mirrors is gaining increasing interest in the space- and ground-based astronomical communities for its low weight, ease of manufacturing, excellent thermal qualities and robustness. We…
Variable curvature mirrors of large amplitude are designed by using finite element analysis. The specific case studied reaches at least a 800 {\mu}m sag with an optical quality better than {\lambda}/5 over a 120 mm clear aperture. We…
We have built and tested a 3.7-m diameter liquid mirror that rotates on a ball bearing. We have carried out extensive optical tests. We find that although the ball bearing has a poor quality, the quality of the mirror, with mercury layers…
As wavefront quality demands tighten on space systems for applications such as astronomy and laser communication, mounting small optics such that the wavefront is undisturbed, positioning is adjustable and the design is producible, while…
The trend towards ever larger telescopes and more advanced adaptive optics systems is driving the need for deformable mirrors with a large number of low cost actuators. Liquid mirrors have long been recognized a potential low cost…
We discuss a new technology that promises large inexpensive mirrors. We argue that it should be possible to tilt a rotating viscous liquid by perhaps as much as a few tens of degrees. The tilted liquid parabolic surface is used as the…
Optical resonators are increasingly important tools in science and technology. Their applications range from laser physics, atomic clocks, molecular spectroscopy, and single-photon generation to the detection, trapping and cooling of atoms…
Deformable mirrors are increasingly used in astronomy. However, they still are limited in stroke for active correction of high amplitude optical aberrations. Magnetic Liquid deformable mirrors (MLDMs) are a new technology that has…
I review the present status of liquid mirror telescopes. In a nutshell: LMTs do work and several have been built and used. Extensive interferometric tests of liquid mirrors (the largest one having a diameter of 2.5 meters) show diffraction…
This article presents a new and individual way to generate opto-mechanical components by Additive Manufacturing, embedded in an established process chain for the fabrication of metal optics. The freedom of design offered by additive…
We present the research status of a deformable mirror made of a magnetic liquid whose surface is actuated by a triangular array of small current carrying coils. We demonstrate that the mirror can correct a 11 microns low order aberrated…
We have realized a suspended, high-reflectivity focusing metamirror ($f\approx 10$ cm, $\mathcal{R} \approx 99\%$) by non-periodic photonic crystal patterning of a Si$_3$N$_4$ membrane. The design enables construction of a stable, short…
We present a new procedure for the construction of parabolic mirrors using low cost materials. We build a spinning system composed of nylon threads, fish hooks and a plastic bucket. We pour liquid plaster into the bucket and set it in…
Humans have rich understanding of liquid containers and their contents; for example, we can effortlessly pour water from a pitcher to a cup. Doing so requires estimating the volume of the cup, approximating the amount of water in the…
We report a process for fabricating high quality, defect-free spherical mirror templates suitable for developing high finesse optical Fabry-Perot resonators. The process utilizes the controlled reflow of borosilicate glass and differential…