[ATM] ATM: Tessellated primary mirrors for bigdobs

[Mel Bartels]

>>>
Actually, you end up with 10 telescopes pointed at the same
object.  The increase in resolution won't be there nor the
increase in brightness. 
<<<


Bob, and where does 9/10 of the light go then?

Think about what you are asserting here.  Imagine a thought-mirror with half
the area of the mirror advanced 1/4 wave and the other half of the mirror
retarded 1/4 wave.  What you are saying is that the light disappears; that
you only see blackness.

Consider a real mirror that's undergoing figuring.  What you are asserting
is that the overall intensity of the image will vary as the mirror's figure
progresses as areas of the mirror's surface come in and out of phase with
each other.  Heck, placing a couple of warm fingers on the mirror's surface
for a the right number of seconds ought to decrease the image's brightness
because you've raised a portion of the mirror's surface 1/2 wave!

If this is what you really believe, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree.


Keep in mind what we've been saying in every email on the subject.  The
resolution is traded downward enlarging the encircled energy spot to the
equivalent of a smaller mirror.  It's the same as a photometric based
telescope like the 32 inch at the Observatory a few hours away.  It's spec'd
at 90% energy in a 1 arc second circle.  That's the resolution of a 4 inch
yet the light gathering power of a 32 inch.  The optical quality is well
past the diffraction realm and into the geometric realm for practical
purposes.

Mel Bartels