Find more facts and information on our topic page about optical activity

active optics

A Dictionary of Astronomy

active optics A system that compensates for the deforming effects of gravity on a telescope's mirrors, maintaining their surface accuracy and alignment. The image of a guide star is examined as the telescope tracks it across the sky. Actuators behind the mirrors control movable supports to preserve the mirrors' shape and alignment. The first large telescope to employ active optics was the New Technology Telescope at the European Southern Observatory.

Find more facts and information related to the .
© A Dictionary of Astronomy 1997, originally published by Oxford University Press 1997.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Software says focus the X-rays this way. ; ...helping develop an X-ray machine with active optics . Software developer Vector Fields Inc, Aurora, Ill, (vectorfields.com) says active optics is a way to focus and position the...nonlinear and difficult to predict. The active optics design problem has many variables... Read more
	First telescope with active optics. (New Technology Telescope to be installed at European Southern Observatory) ; First telescope with active optics The world's first telescope for general astronomical use with active computer-controlled optics is about to be installed at the... Read more
	Radianse.(Focus On Asset Tracking) ; ...institutions to increase productivity, decrease costs, and improve patient safety. Radianse indoor positioning systems (IPS) employ active RFID technology to track assets, patients, and staff with bed-level accuracy in real time. The Radianse Patient Flow Manager... Read more
	NSW: Wharf workers locked out over maintenance contract stoush ; ...workers have been locked out at two city ports today after a contractor to stevedoring giant Patrick Corporation refused to employ active unionists. The union's assistant secretary ROBERT COOMBS says negotiations stalled last night after Skilled Engineering took... Read more
	Digital dealmakers; In focus: Brian Shin.(Visible Measures' services)(Brief article) ; ...pitch: Visible Measures is different from a Nielsen or a comScore because it's not aiming to monitor all Web traffic. We employ active measurement, and our goal and vision for this space is to measure 100% of audience interaction with video across all video... Read more
	Hughes ICO Global Communications Satellites Employ Active Phased-array Antennas. ; A series of modified Hughes Space and Communications Co. HS 601 spacecraft incorporating active phased-array antennas will form the 12-satellite medium earth orbit ICO Global Communications constellation. The spacecraft are approximately 25 percent taller than earlier HS 601s to accommodate Read more
	Xanoptix and Tyco Electronics announced a multiyear, multi-million dollar joint strategic business agreement to promote Xanoptix's XTM Series of optical transceiver products. (Industry News).(Xanoptix Inc., Tyco Electronics Corp.)(Brief Article) ; ...optical transceiver products. The alliance enables the companies to provide the next generation of parallel optics transceiver modules, utilizing optically integrated circuit technology with fused silicon chips and high performance active optics. Read more
	Xanoptix and Tyco Electronics sign strategic marketing and sales agreement. (Business).(Brief Article) ; ...optics transceiver modules, utilizing optically integrated circuit technology with fused silicon chips and high performance active optics. This partnership paves the way for Tyco Electronics to manufacture transceivers with Xanoptix Technology. The benefits provided... Read more
	A sharp, new eye scans the southern sky. (New Technology Telescope, Cerro La Silla, Chile) ; ...relying on the thickness of the glass used, the NTT is the world's first telescope for general astronomical use that utilizes active optics. Its 3.58-meter mirror is only 24 centimeters thick. Computer-controlled supports pressing against its back maintain the... Read more
	E-Business: Shedding light on laser hazards.(Business) ; ...resulting in incomplete data. 'By using some newly developed technology which builds on recent advances in CCD cameras and active optics we hope to produce equipment which will change the way these measurements are done.' Mr Robinson added that in developing... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	optics optics Branch of physics concerned with the study of light and its behaviour. Fundamental...refraction (bending), and polarization (restricting vibrations to one direction) of light. Optics also involves the study of mirrors and lens systems and of optically active chemicals and crystals that polarize ... Read more
	active repeater active repeater 1. A hardware device that amplifies light signals which travel down a fibre optic communication line. The active repeater receives a light signal and converts it into an electrical signal which is then amplified to full strength and... Read more
	New Technology Telescope New Technology Telescope (NTT) A 3.5-m reflector at the European Southern Observatory , Chile, opened in 1989. It uses active optics to produce particularly sharp images, the first large telescope to do so, hence its name. http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/sciops/ntt/ Read more
	Telescopio Nazionale Galileo ...Observatory , opened in 1998. It is operated by the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. The telescope has a thin mirror similar to that of the New Technology Telescope , utilizing active optics and adaptive optics . http://www.tng.iac.es/ Read more
	optical repeater ...signals that travel down a fibre optic communication line. The active repeater receives a light signal, increases its strength, and then retransmits it. This is in contrast to an ACTIVE REPEATER which has to convert the signal to an electrical one... Read more

See all related entries