Re: ATM Foucault Follies and Equilibration Anxieties

[Scott Rychnovsky <srychnov@chem.ps.uci.edu>]

>I have recently been refiguring a 6-in. f/4 mirror for the practice, since
>it formerly had a rough surface and a marginal figure, which was 1/4 wave
>overcorrected.  Using a Foucault tester with a slit and moving source, I
>was able to get what I thought was an excellent figure--at least that's
>what the numbers and the analysis were saying.
>
>But then I star tested.  And found the same 1/4 wave overcorrection!  So I
>figured out using the "TEX" program and ADMIR what zonal numbers would give
>me 1/4 wave UNDERCORRECTION.  And I refigured yet again using these numbers
>as my goal.
>
>

Roger,

Would you mind posting the raw data (mask dimensions, focal length) and the
Foucault data?  I had some problems with a Foucault measurements last year
but found that the apparant  inconsistency was due to the greater
sensitivity of the star test to spherical aberation.  I would like to rerun
your undercorrected numbers just out of curiosity.

Thanks,

Scott
--
Scott Rychnovsky
srychnov@chem.ps.uci.edu