Foucault Test
The Foucault knife-edge test is an optical test to accurately measure the shape of concave curved mirrors. It is commonly used by amateur telescope makers for figuring primary mirrors in reflecting telescopes. It uses a relatively simple, inexpensive apparatus compared to other testing techniques. Overview The Foucault knife-edge test was described in 1858 by French physicist Léon Foucault as a way to measure conic shapes of optical mirrors. It measures mirror surface dimensions by reflecting light into a knife edge at or near the mirror's centre of curvature. In doing so, it only needs a tester which in its most basic 19th century form consists of a light bulb, a piece of tinfoil with a pinhole in it, and a razor blade to create the knife edge. The testing device is adjustable along the X-axis (knife cut direction) across the Y-axis (optical axis), and is usually equipped with measurable adjustment to 0.001 inch (25 µm) or better along lines parallel to the optical ...
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