Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Telescopes With Liquid Mirrors Go Mainstream
Liquid mirror telescopes have been in limited use for two decades, but only now are they finally seeing the beginnings of wider acceptance in the astronomical community.
(The Large Zenith Telescope's 6-meter liquid mercury mirror)
The largest, the 6-meter Large Zenith Telescope (LZT) operated by the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, stands on a hilltop in a research forest some 40 miles east of the city.“At the LZT, our ability to do astronomy is limited by weather and sky conditions,” said Paul Hickson, an astronomer at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and the LZT’s project director.
As a result, the project focuses on atmospheric measurements that support advanced optics testing on planned conventional world-class, ground-based telescopes.
Unlike large glass mirrors which are subject to the vagaries of humidity, thermal dynamics and constant deformation from gravity itself, liquid mercury — which remains molten at room temperature — can reflect as much as 75 percent of incoming starlight with little of the fuss associated with large conventional mirrors.
However, liquid mirrors must rotate. When rotating, the forces of nature keep the thin layer of liquid mercury in the shape of a parabola. That’s the shape needed for the liquid mirror to be able to collect and focus incoming starlight.
And the rotation has to be both continuous and at a constant speed, which for the LZT is 8.5 revolutions per minute. If the mirror stops rotating for even a fraction of a second, it loses its parabolic shape, says Ermanno Borra, an astrophysicist at Quebec’s Laval University and a longtime advocate for liquid mirror technology.
Although Isaac Newton was the first to note that the free surface of a rotating liquid forms a curve that could be used to concentrate light for a telescope, science fiction writers brought it to readers' attention over the years. During the Golden Age of science fiction, Raymond Z. Gallun describes a liquid mirror telescope on Mars in his 1934 story Old Faithful.
Enigmatic forms of weird apparatus crowded in bewildering complexity against the walls. Tipped at a steep angle at the center of the floor was a vast cylinder of webby girders. Piercing the dome, opposite the upper end of the cylinder, was a circular opening through which a portion of the starlit sky was visible; and at the base of the cylinder a great bowl rotated rapidly, like a huge wheel.
(Mercury Telescope from 'Old Faithful' by Raymond Z. Gallun)
Via Forbes; thanks to Winchell Chung of Project Rho for the tip on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/21/2013)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.' - George Griffith, 1893.
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...' - Fritz Leiber, 1968
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...' - Philip K. Dick, 1966
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
