9 research outputs found
Nanoengineered Astronomical Optics
We describe a technology for the fabrication of inexpensive and versatile
mirrors through the use of a new type of nanoengineered optical material
composed by the spreading of a self-assembling reflective colloidal film spread
at the surface of a liquid. These new reflecting liquids offer interesting
possibilities for astronomical instrumentation. For example, they can replace
mercury in conventional rotating liquid mirrors. The main advantages offered
include extremely low cost and, by coating a viscous liquid, the possibility of
tilting the mirror by a few tens of degrees. We also have coated ferromagnetic
liquids with these reflecting films. The resulting surfaces can be shaped by
the application of a magnetic field, yielding reflecting surfaces that can have
complicated shapes that can rapidly shift with time. These inexpensive and
versatile optical elements could have numerous scientific and technological
applications. Among possible astronomical applications, they could be used to
make large inexpensive adaptive mirrors exhibiting strokes ranging from
nanometers to several millimeters.Comment: Submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters. 18 pages, 4 figure
Free-Standing Polymer–Nanoparticle Superlattice Sheets Self-Assembled at the Air–Liquid Interface
Sorting of Enhanced Reference Raman Spectra of a Single Amino Acid Molecule
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