Re: [ATM] PLOP 101

["Bob May" <bobmay@nethere.com>]

Plop is a finite analysis program that basically shows the deformation of
the glass of the mirror when it is supported by the various points of
support.  Much has been done to this basic process to make it easy for us
non-math types to be able to use the program to evaluate the locations of
those points and what happens to the surface of the glass.
Glass is, like any material, something that will bend a bit when it is
supported by small areas of contact with the underlying holder.  When the
glass is thin, that bending is a lot larger than with thick glass and thus,
the surface can become so distorted that the "perfect" parabola can become
something else alltogether different than what you really want.
Bob May
bobmay@nethere.com
http://nav.to/bobmay
http://bobmay.astronomy.net

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