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PLate OPtimizer
PLate OPtimizer, or PLOP is a CAD program used by amateur telescope makers to design primary mirror support cells for reflecting telescopes. It was developed by telescope maker David Lewis, first described in 1999, and used to simplify calculations needed in the design of mirror support cells. It was based on Toshimi Taki's 1993 program PLATE, with a simplified user interface, thus giving it wide acceptance among makers of large Dobsonian style amateur telescopes, with good support of mirrors as thin as two inches for a diameter of thirty inches. Comparisons and limitations A basic mirror cell may be built using minimal calculation and simple materials such as wood and outdoor carpet, with a good example being Dobson's original telescopes. However, as amateurs sought to build larger and thinner mirrors, they found such designs inadequate. Many amateur telescope makers use cells which are designed via equal area rule calculation, using programs such as David Chandler's public ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CAD Program
Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve communications through documentation, and to create a database for manufacturing. Designs made through CAD software are helpful in protecting products and inventions when used in patent applications. CAD output is often in the form of electronic files for print, machining, or other manufacturing operations. The terms computer-aided drafting (CAD) and computer aided design and drafting (CADD) are also used. Its use in designing electronic systems is known as ''electronic design automation'' (''EDA''). In mechanical design it is known as ''mechanical design automation'' (''MDA''), which includes the process of creating a technical drawing with the use of computer software. CAD software for mechanical design uses either vector-based graphics t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parabola
In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactly the same curves. One description of a parabola involves a point (the focus) and a line (the directrix). The focus does not lie on the directrix. The parabola is the locus of points in that plane that are equidistant from both the directrix and the focus. Another description of a parabola is as a conic section, created from the intersection of a right circular conical surface and a plane parallel to another plane that is tangential to the conical surface. The line perpendicular to the directrix and passing through the focus (that is, the line that splits the parabola through the middle) is called the "axis of symmetry". The point where the parabola intersects its axis of symmetry is called the "vertex" and is the point where the parabola is most sharply curved. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Finite Element Software
Finite is the opposite of infinite. It may refer to: * Finite number (other) * Finite set, a set whose cardinality (number of elements) is some natural number * Finite verb, a verb form that has a subject, usually being inflected or marked for person and/or tense or aspect * "Finite", a song by Sara Groves from the album ''Invisible Empires'' See also * * Nonfinite (other) Nonfinite is the opposite of finite * a nonfinite verb A nonfinite verb is a derivative form of a verb unlike finite verbs. Accordingly, nonfinite verb forms are inflected for neither number nor person, and they cannot perform action as the root ... {{disambiguation fr:Fini it:Finito ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Computer-aided Design Software
Computer-aided or computer-assisted is an adjectival phrase that hints of the use of a computer as an indispensable tool in a certain field, usually derived from more traditional fields of science and engineering. Instead of the phrase computer-aided or computer-assisted, in some cases the suffix management system is used. Engineering and production *Computer-aided design ** Computer-aided architectural design ** Computer-aided industrial design ** Electronic and electrical computer-aided design ** Computer-aided garden design *Computer-aided drafting *Computer-aided engineering ** Computer-aided production engineering *Computer-aided manufacturing *Computer-aided quality * Computer-aided maintenance Music and arts * Computer-aided algorithmic composition * Computer-assisted painting Human languages * Computer-aided translation Medicine * Computer-assisted detection * Computer-aided diagnosis * Computer-assisted orthopedic surgery * Computer-aided patient registration * Comput ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whiffletree
A whippletree, or whiffletree, is a mechanism to distribute force evenly through linkages. It is also referred to as an equalizer, leader bar, or double tree. It consists of a bar pivoted at or near the centre, with force applied from one direction to the pivot and from the other direction to the tips. Several whippletrees may be used in series to distribute the force further, such as to simulate pressure over an area as when applying loading to test airplane wings. Whippletrees may be used either in compression or tension. They were also used for subtraction and addition calculations in mechanical computers. Tension whippletrees are used in artful hung mobiles, such as those by artist Alexander Calder. Draught whippletrees Whippletrees are used in tension to distribute forces from a point load to the traces of draught animals (the traces are the chains or straps on each side of the harness, on which the animal pulls). For these, the whippletree consists of a loose horizont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Telescope
An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic image sensors. There are three primary types of optical telescope: * Refracting telescopes, which use lenses and less commonly also prisms (dioptrics) * Reflecting telescopes, which use mirrors (catoptrics) * Catadioptric telescopes, which combine lenses and mirrors An optical telescope's ability to resolve small details is directly related to the diameter (or aperture) of its objective (the primary lens or mirror that collects and focuses the light), and its light-gathering power is related to the area of the objective. The larger the objective, the more light the telescope collects and the finer detail it resolves. People use optical telescopes (including monoculars and binoculars) for outdoor activities such as observational as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Optical Aberration
In optics, aberration is a property of optical systems, such as lenses, that causes light to be spread out over some region of space rather than focused to a point. Aberrations cause the image formed by a lens to be blurred or distorted, with the nature of the distortion depending on the type of aberration. Aberration can be defined as a departure of the performance of an optical system from the predictions of paraxial optics. In an imaging system, it occurs when light from one point of an object does not converge into (or does not diverge from) a single point after transmission through the system. Aberrations occur because the simple paraxial theory is not a completely accurate model of the effect of an optical system on light, rather than due to flaws in the optical elements. An image-forming optical system with aberration will produce an image which is not sharp. Makers of optical instruments need to correct optical systems to compensate for aberration. Aberration can be anal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MATLAB
MATLAB (an abbreviation of "MATrix LABoratory") is a proprietary multi-paradigm programming language and numeric computing environment developed by MathWorks. MATLAB allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages. Although MATLAB is intended primarily for numeric computing, an optional toolbox uses the MuPAD symbolic engine allowing access to symbolic computing abilities. An additional package, Simulink, adds graphical multi-domain simulation and model-based design for dynamic and embedded systems. As of 2020, MATLAB has more than 4 million users worldwide. They come from various backgrounds of engineering, science, and economics. History Origins MATLAB was invented by mathematician and computer programmer Cleve Moler. The idea for MATLAB was based on his 1960s PhD thesis. Moler became a math professor at the University of New Mexico and starte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Telescope Parts And Construction
Hardware Accessories *Finderscope *Iron sight * Reflector (reflex) sight * Cheshire collimator: A simple tool to collimate a telescope Control *Clock drive *GoTo Mechanical construction *Mirror support cell *Serrurier truss *Silvering Mounts *Telescope mount - Types include: ** Altazimuth mount ** Equatorial mount *** Equatorial platform **** Poncet Platform *** Fork mount *** German equatorial mount *** Springfield mount Optics Mirrors and lenses are the critical light-bending components of a telescope. *Objective: The first lens or curved mirror that collects and focuses the incoming light. **Primary lens: The objective of a refracting telescope. **Primary mirror: The objective of a reflecting telescope. *Corrector plate: A full aperture negative lens placed before a primary mirror designed to correct the optical aberrations of the mirror. **Schmidt corrector plate: An aspheric-shaped corrector plate used in the Schmidt telescope. **Meniscus corrector: A meniscus-shaped cor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amateur Astronomy
Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astronomers make contributions in doing citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies. Amateur astronomers do not use the field of astronomy as their primary source of income or support, and usually have no professional degree in astrophysics or advanced academic training in the subject. Most amateurs are hobbyists, while others have a high degree of experience in astronomy and may often assist and work alongside professional astronomers. Many astronomers have studied the sky throughout history in an amateur framework; however, since the beginning of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Active Optics
Active optics is a technology used with reflecting telescopes developed in the 1980s, which actively shapes a telescope's mirrors to prevent deformation due to external influences such as wind, temperature, and mechanical stress. Without active optics, the construction of 8 metre class telescopes is not possible, nor would telescopes with segmented mirrors be feasible. This method is used by, among others, the Nordic Optical Telescope, the New Technology Telescope, the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the Keck telescopes, as well as all of the largest telescopes built since the mid-1990s. Active optics is not to be confused with adaptive optics, which operates at a shorter timescale and corrects atmospheric distortions. In astronomy Most modern telescopes are reflectors, with the primary element being a very large mirror. Historically, primary mirrors were quite thick in order to maintain the correct surface figure in spite of forces tending to deform it, like wind and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honeycomb Mirror
A honeycomb mirror is a large mirror usually used as the primary mirror in astronomy, astronomical reflecting telescopes whose face is supported by a ribbed structure that resembles a honeycomb. The design provides sufficient rigidity for ultra-high-precision optics while reducing the weight of the mirror. The reduced weight, in turn, allows smaller, lighter support and control structures, reducing the overall cost of the telescope. The term may also refer to mirrors made up of a coordinated set of individual hexagonal mirrors. The development of the honeycomb mirror has allowed the creation of larger instruments than would be feasible with solid mirrors. Solid mirrors are not only mechanically cumbersome, but are also difficult to cast and safely cool into a single, large blocks of glass. Honeycomb designs can reduce the weight of the mirror by as much as 80%. See also * Liquid-mirror telescope * List of largest optical reflecting telescopes * List of telescope parts and construc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
