High speed multi focal plane optical system

An apparatus for eliminating beamsplitter generated optical aberrations in a pupil concentric optical system providing a plurality of spatially separated images on different focal planes or surfaces is presented. The system employs a buried surface beamsplitter having spherically curved entrance and exit faces which are concentric to a system aperture stop with the entrance face being located in the path of a converging light beam directed there from an image forming objective element which is also concentric to the aperture stop

Communication system uses modulated laser beam

Electro-optical system is placed on a satellite to effect communications between two remote stations. The system employs an essentially passive, retrodirective, laser beam modulator-reflector

Dual aperture multispectral Schmidt objective

A dual aperture, off-axis catadioptic Schmidt objective is described. It is formed by symmetrically aligning two pairs of Schmidt objectives on opposite sides of a common plane (x,z). Each objective has a spherical primary mirror with a spherical focal plane and center of curvature aligned along an optic axis laterally spaced apart from the common plane. A multiprism beamsplitter with buried dichroic layers and a convex entrance and concave exit surfaces optically concentric to the center of curvature may be positioned at the focal plane. The primary mirrors of each objective may be connected rigidly together and may have equal or unequal focal lengths

Multiprism collimator

A special purpose optical collimator system which generates multiple collimated light beams with precisely related angular separation of the beams, is comprised of a stack of relatively flat plate-like refracted prisms in the form of wedges. Each prism has a specified angular deviation, mounted on top of one another in a fixture which holds the wedges so that they are adapted to operate at minimum angular deviation and thus are relatively insensitive to rotational and angular charges. A collimated sources of monochromatic light, generated for example by a helium-neon laser and a collimated beam expander, provides a common incident beam to the wedges whereupon a number equally spaced emergent beams are provided

Retrodirective optical system

Fabry-Perot interferometer retrodirective reflector modulator for optical communicatio

Design of retrodirector arrays for laser ranging of satellites

The radar equation for laser ranging of satellites is described and the effect of the velocity aberration explained. Equations for the cross sections of cube corners and arrays of cube corners are derived. Interference effects on the distribution of the array cross section and upon range error are described. Tolerance requirements for cube corners are briefly outlined

Balloon atmospheric propagation experiment measurements

High altitude balloon measurements on laser beam fading during propagation through turbulent atmosphere show that a correlation between fading strength and stellar scintillation magnitudes exists. Graphs for stellar scintillation as a function of receiver aperture are used to predict fading bit error rates for neodymium-yag laser communication system

Retrodirective modulator Patent

Optical retrodirective modulator with focus spoiling reflector driven by modulation signa

Animating Marinetti’s ‘Zang Tumb Tumb’ (1914) as a component of a public lecture

Stills from a 5 minute digital film, using a recording of F. T. Marinetti's reading of his own 'Zang Tumb Tumb'(1914). Marinetti's notion of 'words at liberty' (parole in liberta) was explored through animated typography. Presented as part of the BLAST 2014 symposium hosted by Bath School of Art and Design, 24-26 July 2014

BLAST: a mural and sonic cone

In July 2014, Bath School of Art and Design hosted a symposium entitled BLAST 2014, which explored a range of literary and artistic themes emerging from the British Vorticist movement, BLAST being the title of the shortlived periodical published by Wyndham Lewis in 1914. A mural and a cone emitting ethereal sound was constructed and installed in the public gallery to augment the symposium. This installation by Paul Minott consisted of a mural depicting the devastation of the Great War,and a giant version of the vortex symbol which appears throughout the first VORTICIST MANIFESTO