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OnlyasGoodasTheirTelescopes

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Atsomepointinanyscientificendeavoritsnecessarytobringphilosophyintocontactwiththerealworld.Thetools
fordoingthisarescientificinstrumentsthatperformcriticalexperiments.Thetheoreticianisthus,soonerorlater,at
themercyoftheinstrumentmaker.

Forastronomy,instrumentationhascometomeanbetterandbiggertelescopes.Todaysinstrumentmakersinclude
thethousandswhocontributedtotheHubblespacetelescopeandthethousandswhoareworkingontheWebb
telescope.Theearliestastronomersdependedonthecraftsmenwhofabricatedtheirtoolsofmagnificationwithout
themscientistslikeGalileoGalileicouldnotmeasureandprovetheirobservationsandtheories.

In1609Galileopublishedtheobservationshehadmadeusingaprimitivethreepowertelescope.Hisnews
immediatelyremovedmankindfromhispreviousplaceatthecenteroftheuniverseandastronomylefttherealmof
superstitiontobecomerealscience.

Accountsfromthe1600stypicallydescribecompletetelescopes.Lensesarementioned,butlittleattentionisgivento
themethodsthatproducedthem.Shapinglensesinvolvedincreasinglysophisticateduseofprimitivetools,allof
whichweresomevariationonthebasiclathe.Theoperatortriedtoformalenscontourbycomparingittoametal
gaugethathadanedgecuttomatchacompassscribedarc.Theapproachwassoonabandonedinfavorofamore
sophisticatedprocessthatusedaseriesofturningoperationsinwhichthetools,ratherthanthelensitself,were
latheturned.Lenseswereproducedbygrindingthemagainstametaltoolcalleda"lap,"whichhadbeenproduced
usingalathe.Convexlensesrequiredalaphavingaportionofahemisphericalcavity.Amaleformwasusedfor
concavelenses.

IppolitoFranciniofFlorence,whofurnishedlensestoGalileo,producedlapsusingalathewithapivotedboringbar
thatcouldcutanaccurateportionofahemisphere.Thesamemachinealsopolishedlensesbysubstitutingabuffer

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forthecuttingtool.Thecavity'sradiusofcurvaturewascontrolledbyadjustingthelengthoftherodthatheldthe
cuttingtool.Themachinewassophisticatedenoughtoincorporateaflywheeltosmooththehandcrankedrotation.

Alatercontributiontolensmakingwasthe"baton,"attributedtoChristiaanHuygens,the17thcenturyDutch
mathematician.Priortothisinvention,thelenshadbeenmanipulatedonthelapbyahandlegluedwithpitchtothe
uppersurfaceofthelens.Sincethehandlewassomedistanceabovetheworkedsurface,itwasinevitablethe
craftsmanwouldapplyatippingmomenttothelensblankwhilegrinding,creatinganimperfectlyformedsurfaceto
theouterradiusofthelens.

Thebaton'slengthwassetroughlyequaltotheradiusthathadbeenlatheturnedintothelap.Itcouldholdeithera
lensblankoralapandallowedarightcircularcylinderofglasstobegroundtothedesiredradius.Thebatonkept
thelineofactionoftheforcealwaysnormaltothesphericallenssurfaceatthepointofintersectionwiththelap.

Aftergrindingthelenswaspolished,sometimesusingthesamelapthathadbeenusedtoshapeit.Thatrequired
preparingthelapsurfacetoremoveroughness.Anothermethodstillusedbyamateurstopolishtelescopemirrors
involvedpouringpitchonthelenssurfaceandremovingitafterithardened,creatingapolishingtoolthatexactly
matchedthecurvatureofthelens.

Asthebodyofknowledgeregardingtelescopemakinggrew,itbecameobviousthatthesphericalaberrationdueto
theshapeofsimplelenseswasafactorthatlimitedopticalquality.

JohannesKeplerfirstrecognizedthatahyperboliclenswouldeliminatesphericalaberration.Thisledtoamajor
effortbyahostofscientists,philosophers,andmathematicianswhowerenotaboveactuallygrindingglass,including
Descartes,Galileo,Huygens,Kepler,Newton,Spinoza,andTorricelli.

AnotheraberrationwasobservedandexplainedbyIsaacNewtonin1672,whenhediscoveredthatwhitelightwas,
infact,composedofcolorsthatwererefractedtovaryingdegrees.Thatcausedanimagetobesurroundedbya
coloredrainbowknownaschromaticaberration.Lateronheinventedthereflectingtelescope,recognizingthatin
thiskindoftelescopethelightisfocusedindependentofwavelength.Thevastmajorityofamateurmadetelescopes
todayarereflectors.

Theearlyhistoryofastronomywasgreatlydependentupontheabilityofartisanstocraftgoodlensesfortelescopes.
Technologicaladvancesinitiallyfocusedonincreasingmagnification,followedbysharpeningresolution.Each
refinementinlensqualityledtoanotherdiscoverythelunarmountains,theMilkyWay,Joviansatellites,Saturn's
rings.Thelistcontinuestogrowtoday.
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[AdaptedfromClearasGlassbyRobertO.Woods,ASMEFellow,forMechanicalEngineering,October2006.]

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