Adaptive Optics Demonstrations
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The demonstrations on this site were designed and built by a group of faculty and students at Carthage College. The initial research was funded by CFAO for the summer of 2001 and the 2001-2002 academic year. Carthage College participants include Dr. Douglas Arion, Dr. Kevin Crosby, Dan Lyons (2004), Kendra Rand (2003), Ann Randolph (2003). We are also grateful for the work done by Eric Miller and Megan Phannenstill during the summer of 2001. The text for this site was written by Kendra Rand (03) except for the page that provides more information on the vision demonstration which was written by Ann Randolph (03).
The Center for Adaptive Optics (http://cfao.ucolick.org)
The Purpose of the Demonstrations
Currently, a group of students and faculty at Carthage College are designing and building demonstrations on optics and adaptive optics to enrich the general public's understanding of these areas. We believe that the public's understanding of and support for advancements in science are critical. These demonstrations are one practical way to spread knowledge of what is happening in science to those outside of the scientific community. Our hope is that the demonstrations will be a step toward bridging the gap between science and the general public.
We have developed a progressive series of demonstrations that illustrate optical concepts. The series begins by demonstrating how optical systems work, then how the eye functions, how telescopes work, and finally how adaptive optics techniques have furthered both astronomy and vision science. Many people have seen and used telescopes, or wear glasses or contacts, but have a very limited understanding of how those devices actually work. These demonstrations clearly illustrate the scientific principles behind the devices while engaging people in active and interesting ways.
Why Adaptive Optics?
Light from an object in space travels for years in a straight line as it approaches the Earth. Its path is complicated, however, when the light enters the Earth's atmosphere. The temperature and air currents in the Earth's atmosphere are constantly changing, thereby disrupting the path of the light waves. If this light is coming from a galaxy or object that we are trying to image, the Earth's atmosphere will cause the image to lose much of its sharpness and clarity, making the object look blurry to someone on Earth. Adaptive optics is a process that allows astronomers to cancel out the effects of the Earth's atmosphere on the light, resulting in much clearer images and therefore much more information about the object being observed (more information).
In addition to astronomy, adaptive optics has many applications, especially in vision science. Scientists are now using adaptive optics techniques to build cameras that can take pictures of the human retina. The pictures from these cameras allow us to study the eye in much more detail and advance vision research and treatment in areas such as detecting and diagnosing retinal diseases.
The more we learn about the world around us, whether it be on the grand scale of the universe or on a more individual scale like the human eye, the more we learn about ourselves. When my sister Jessica walked out of the eye doctor's office wearing her first pair of glasses, she gazed around in astonishment. I clearly remember her stopping, turning her head for a closer look, and gaping at a nearby tree. After a few minutes she managed to sputter, "I never know you could see individual leaves!" In the same sense, for scientists, using adaptive optics techniques has been like putting on glasses for the first time. The purpose of these demonstrations is to help others 1) know that there are "glasses" out there, 2) learn how the "glasses" work, and 3) appreciate the "glasses" and see their effects firsthand.
The Demonstrations: Lenses Vision Telescopes/Ray Tracing Shack-Hartmann