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Bouwers meniscus telescope is not a Maksutov by description.
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==Bouwers meniscus telescope==
==Bouwers meniscus telescope==
In August of 1940<ref name=king> ''The History of the Telescope'' By Henry C. King, page 360; [http://books.google.com/books?id=KAWwzHlDVksC&pg=PA360&dq=Bouwers+published+meniscus&lr=&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false google books] </ref> Albert Bouwers built a prototype for a design for a wide field concentric meniscus telescope<ref name=king> ''The History of the Telescope'' By Henry C. King, page 360; [http://books.google.com/books?id=KAWwzHlDVksC&pg=PA360&dq=Bouwers+published+meniscus&lr=&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false google books] </ref> (independently patented February of 1941) similar to, and slightly predating, [[Russians|Russian]] optician [[Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov]]'s 1941 [[Maksutov telescope]].<ref>[http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/mak/MAKSTO.HTM Evolution of the Maksutov design]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=isH9fTnpc7YC&pg=PA152&dq=%22Bouwers+telescope%22 Reflecting Telescope Optics: Basic design theory and its historical development, By Ray N. Wilson page 150]</ref> War time secrecy kept Bouwers and Maksutov from knowing about each others designs<ref name=telescopeeng> [http://www.telescopengineering.com/history/DmitriMaksutov.html Dmitri Maksutov: The Man and His Telescopes By Eduard Trigubov and Yuri Petrunin]</ref><ref name=mak1> Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 48 "Maksutov telescope - Invention and Design, Applications, Derivative Designs" (article hosted by from encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com)</ref> and Bouwers design was not published until after World War II<ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1950IrAJ....1...48A Armstrong, E. B., "'''Geometrical Optics and the Schmidt Camera'''", Irish Astronomical Journal, vol. 1(2), p. 48]</ref>. Bouwers original design (based on the ideas on an earlier concentric telescope, [[Bernhard Schmidt]]'s "[[Schmidt Camera]]".<ref name=weasner>[http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/mak/MAKSTO.HTM Evolution of the Maksutov design]</ref>) used a concentric shaped meniscus corrector and therefor was not [[achromatic]] and could only be used as an [[Astrograph|astrographic camera]] working at a single [[wavelength of light]].<ref name=weasner>[http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/mak/MAKSTO.HTM Evolution of the Maksutov design]</ref><ref name=bouwers1>Ian Ridpath, "Bouwers telescope", ''A Dictionary of Astronomy'', 1997 [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O80-Bouwerstelescope.html first sentence of article]</ref>. Bouwers came up with a later design that used a cemented [[Doublet (lens)|doublet]] to form the meniscus corrector shell to correct [[chromatic aberration]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=v7E25646wz0C&pg=PA202&dq=maksutov++bouwers&lr=#PPA202,M1 D. J. Schroeder, "Astronomical Optics", page 202]</ref>
A. Bouwers made a prototype by August 1940. <ref name=king> ''The History of the Telescope'' By Henry C. King, page 360; [http://books.google.com/books?id=KAWwzHlDVksC&pg=PA360&dq=Bouwers+published+meniscus&lr=&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=&f=false google books] </ref> By February of 1941 Albert Bouwers independently patented a design for a wide field concentric meniscus telescope<ref name=rto/> It was invented in 1940 <ref name=firefly/> by Albert Bouwers in [[The Netherlands]] and Russian optician Dmitri Maksutov in 1944. <ref name=firefly> ''Firefly astronomy dictionary
By John Woodruff'' page 135 [http://books.google.com/books?id=kX_DAEsOWssC&pg=PA135&dq=Albert+Bouwers&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=Albert%20Bouwers&f=false Google Books]</ref> Some sources suggest [[Russians|Russian]] optician [[Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov]]'s had Maksutov telescope design by 1941.<ref name="Evolution of the Maksutov design" /><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=isH9fTnpc7YC&pg=PA152&dq=%22Bouwers+telescope%22 Reflecting Telescope Optics: Basic design theory and its historical development, By Ray N. Wilson page 150]</ref> War time secrecy kept Bouwers and Maksutov from knowing about each others designs<ref name=telescopeeng> [http://www.telescopengineering.com/history/DmitriMaksutov.html Dmitri Maksutov: The Man and His Telescopes By Eduard Trigubov and Yuri Petrunin]</ref><ref name=mak1> Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 48 "Maksutov telescope - Invention and Design, Applications, Derivative Designs" (article hosted by from encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com)</ref> and Bouwers design was not published until after World War II<ref>[http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1950IrAJ....1...48A Armstrong, E. B., "'''Geometrical Optics and the Schmidt Camera'''", Irish Astronomical Journal, vol. 1(2), p. 48]</ref>. Bouwers original design (based on the ideas on an earlier concentric telescope, [[Bernhard Schmidt]]'s "[[Schmidt Camera]]".<ref name=weasner>[http://www.weasner.com/etx/guests/mak/MAKSTO.HTM Evolution of the Maksutov design]</ref>) used a concentric shaped meniscus corrector and therefor was not [[achromatic]] and could only be used as an [[Astrograph|astrographic camera]] working at a single [[wavelength of light]].<ref name=bouwers1>Ian Ridpath, "Bouwers telescope", ''A Dictionary of Astronomy'', 1997 [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O80-Bouwerstelescope.html first sentence of article]</ref><ref name="weasner" />. Bouwers came up with a later design that used a cemented [[Doublet (lens)|doublet]] to form the meniscus corrector shell to correct [[chromatic aberration]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=v7E25646wz0C&pg=PA202&dq=maksutov++bouwers&lr=#PPA202,M1 D. J. Schroeder, "Astronomical Optics", page 202]</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 02:50, 18 August 2009

Albert A. Bouwers was an optician from the Netherlands who lived from 1893–1972.[1] He is known for developing and working with X-Rays and various optical technologies as a high-level researcher at Philips research labs. He is lesser known for patenting in 1941 a catadioptric meniscus telescope design similar to but slightly predating the Maksutov telescope.[2][3]

Biography

Bouwers was born in the town of Dalen in the Netherlands in 1893.[4] He obtained his Ph.D. from Utrecht University in 1924, with a dissertation entitled in Dutch Over het meten der intensiteit van Röntgenstralen[5] He was also the director of the Philips Laboratory's X-Ray Department.[6]

Bouwers developed a night vision device for viewing in low light conditions, called the "night eye".[7] The design used a photosensitive layer of cesium and antimony in a cathode-ray tube, to brighten images by over 1,000 times.[7] Unlike active infrared systems, it did not require an infrared flashlight.[7] The design was initially produced by Olde Delft Optical Company in the Netherlands.[7]

Bouwers meniscus telescope

In August of 1940[8] Albert Bouwers built a prototype for a design for a wide field concentric meniscus telescope[8] (independently patented February of 1941) similar to, and slightly predating, Russian optician Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov's 1941 Maksutov telescope.[9][10] War time secrecy kept Bouwers and Maksutov from knowing about each others designs[11][12] and Bouwers design was not published until after World War II[13]. Bouwers original design (based on the ideas on an earlier concentric telescope, Bernhard Schmidt's "Schmidt Camera".[14]) used a concentric shaped meniscus corrector and therefor was not achromatic and could only be used as an astrographic camera working at a single wavelength of light.[14][1]. Bouwers came up with a later design that used a cemented doublet to form the meniscus corrector shell to correct chromatic aberration.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Ian Ridpath, "Bouwers telescope", A Dictionary of Astronomy, 1997 first sentence of article Cite error: The named reference "bouwers1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Evolution of the Maksutov design
  3. ^ Reflecting Telescope Optics: Basic design theory and its historical development, By Ray N. Wilson page 150
  4. ^ Reflecting Telescope Optics, by Ray N. Wilson, page 498. Google Books, pg 498
  5. ^ Mathematics Genealogy Project "Albert Bouwers"
  6. ^ "Tensions within an Industrial Research Laboratory: The Philips Laboratory's X-Ray Department between the Wars", by Kees Boersma, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Boersma Enterprise Soc. 2003; 4: 65-98 Oxford Journals abstract
  7. ^ a b c d "The View in the Dark", Time Magazine; Friday, Jun. 21, 1963 article
  8. ^ a b The History of the Telescope By Henry C. King, page 360; google books
  9. ^ Evolution of the Maksutov design
  10. ^ Reflecting Telescope Optics: Basic design theory and its historical development, By Ray N. Wilson page 150
  11. ^ Dmitri Maksutov: The Man and His Telescopes By Eduard Trigubov and Yuri Petrunin
  12. ^ Cambridge Encyclopedia Vol. 48 "Maksutov telescope - Invention and Design, Applications, Derivative Designs" (article hosted by from encyclopedia.stateuniversity.com)
  13. ^ Armstrong, E. B., "Geometrical Optics and the Schmidt Camera", Irish Astronomical Journal, vol. 1(2), p. 48
  14. ^ a b Evolution of the Maksutov design
  15. ^ D. J. Schroeder, "Astronomical Optics", page 202

Further reading

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