From: "Russell Jocoy" 
To: atm{at}shore.net
Reply-To: "Russell Jocoy" 






>From: "Bob May" 
>Reply-To: "Bob May" 
>To: "atmlist" 
>Subject: Re: ATM 3/4" mirrors, multipoint cells, machine generated optics
>Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 12:17:34 -0800
>
>I would sort of suspect that the half-pound or so of glass sitting on each
>point will tend to make it work decently well, especially with its
>neighbors
>wanting it to be that way.  Thus, I would think that a 162 (4 levels of
>triangles followed by a layer of beams) point cell should function quite
>nicely.
>Probably the biggest reason why we haven't done thin mirrors is that the
>pros have gone and started doing multisegment mirrors rather than keeping
>with a single surface for their large thin mirrors.  The other end is the
>builtup (HexTek) or cast (Roger Angel's work) mirrors which are a bit more
>difficult to do for a start.  Thin mirrors have the stigmata of astigmatism
>attached to them for obvious reasons of flexing while working the glass and
>the subsequent lack of accuracy in the shape.  On a really thin mirror this
>would be almost like taking some water and beating it into submission to
>form a permanent parabolic shape in a pan.
>Bob May
>http://nav.to/bobmay
>bobmay{at}nethere.com
>NEW! http://bobmay.astronomy.net
("atm{at}shore.net")

      Well Bob let's start beating water in pans. You know as well as others
that when someone says
you can't do something, .. They will try anyway.. Many breakthroughs in
technology have happened
this way,.. (though the Scientific community  says it was all revalation)
Information and  hands on
experimentation in the information age has made ATMers (pushers of glass
& the envelope) more
aware of downfalls and how to avoid them. As you well know you have put
enough information on
the internent for the novice to make a very nice telescope mirror. Of
course this was your objective,
but the seed is  sown, and in turn the people with questions beyond the
norm will push the limit.
   Many will fall by the wayside, and many will try again, but you know that
there are the few that will
try something different just because everyone else says it won't work. 
That is the nature of man,...
thank  God for that, if not we would be reading letters from each other via
Pony Express.. dust off that
E-mail please...

                                                      RUSS JOCOY... a big
fan...
("atm{at}shore.net")

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