Program prints and plots results of computations such as ray traces, radial energy distributions, and designs of two-mirror telescopes

Howell, B. J.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

B75-10294 
*1 
December 1975
NASA TECH BRIEF 
Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA Tech Briefs announce new technology derived from the U.S. space program. They are issued to encourage 
commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
General Optics Evaluation Program [GENOPTICS] 
.
The problem: 
Optical systems that use many mirrors, lenses, 
diffraction gratings, or other surfaces are too complex 
to be analyzed or synthesized by methods that treat 
each component individually. 
The solution: 
A computer program has been developed to 
conduct operations on the many varied components of 
an optical system and to print and plot the results of 
computations such as ray traces, radial energy 
distributions, and designs of two-mirror telescopes. 
How it's done: 
A programed geometry has been devised to allow 
the description of planar, conic, toric, cylindrical, and 
polynomial surfaces. The surfaces may appear in a 
variety of orientations. The path of a ray through the 
system is determined by an iterative technique. The 
modulation transfer function for the system can be 
computed, and third order abberation coefficients 
including aspheric contributions are considered. 
Designs of Ritchey-Chretien, Cassegrain, and Dahl-
Kirkham telescopes t lescopes are obtained via third-order
theory. Different colors of light can be used: The 
interface with a Calcomp plotter is then invoked to 
make a sketch of results of the synthesis or analysis. 
Notes: 
1. This program may be used for any optical system 
with a design or operation that requires ray tracing 
with abberations over a variety of surfaces. 
2. The program was written for a CDC 3200 
computer under the Real Time Scope executive 
using FORTRAN IV language. Conversion to 
another version of FORTRAN could be accom-
plished with minor alterations. 
3. Inquiries concerning this program should be 
directed to: 
COSMIC 
112 Barrow Hall 
University of Georgia 
Athens, Georgia 30601 
Reference: GSC-12038 (GENOPTICS) 
Source: Barton J. Howell 
(GSC-1 2038) 
.	 Categories: 03 (Physical Sciences) 
09 (Mathematics and 
Information Sciences) 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National
	
Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States
	
information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States
	
will be free from privately owned rights.
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General optics evaluation program (GENOPTICS)

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