Lateral support of very large telescope mirrors by edge forces only.

Details Lateral support of very large telescope mirrors by edge forces only. Lateral support of very large telescope mirrors by edge forces only.

Aug 1991

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1991jmo....38.1507s&link_type=abstract

Journal of Modern Optics, Vol. 38, No. 8, p. 1507 - 1516

Physics

Optics

Scientific paper

Until now a diameter of about 4 m seemed to be the upper-size limit of telescope mirrors that still permitted cost-saving designs of lateral supports by edge forces alone. In some designs, the supporting edge forces comprised not only basic push-pull action normal to the edge but also a specific, moderate amount of tangential shear. However, this was a by-product of design economy rather than the result of understanding the potential of tangential support forces as a means of reducing mirror flexure systematically, down to residuals in the 1% region. The surprising possibility of extending the usefulness of pure edge supports is demonstrated by the example of the 8 m mirror of the ESO's VLT. Fitted with a lateral support at the outer edge alone, this thin mirror will exhibit a wavefront aberration with a calculated rms value of only 18 nm, without taking into account possible active control.

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