"Air table" redirects here. For the collaborative software service, see Airtable. For the indoor game, see Air hockey.
A laser system on an optical table.
An optical table is a vibration control platform that is used to support systems used for laser- and optics-related experiments in science, engineering and manufacturing. The surfaces of these tables are designed to be very rigid with minimum deflection so that the alignment of optical elements remains stable over time.[1] Many optical systems require that vibration of optical elements be kept small. As a result, optical tables are typically very heavy and incorporate vibration isolation and damping features in their structure. Many use pneumatic isolators that act as mechanical low-pass filters, reducing the ability of vibrations in the floor to cause vibrations in the tabletop.[2]
The surface of an optical table is typically stainless steel with a rectangular grid of tapped holes in either metric or imperial units:
metric: M6 on a 25 mm grid
imperial: ¼"-20 UNC on a 1" (25.4 mm) grid
Optical breadboards, benches, and rails are simpler structures that perform a similar function to optical tables. These are used in teaching and in research and development, and are also sometimes used to support permanently aligned optical systems in finished devices such as lasers.
An opticaltable is a vibration control platform that is used to support systems used for laser- and optics-related experiments in science, engineering...
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equipment. Holography had been supposed to require a very expensive metal opticaltable set-up to lock all the involved elements down in place and damp any...
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to sharpen it, primarily due to complacency. Optical experiments should be carried out on an opticaltable with all laser beams travelling in the horizontal...
Brassboard DIN rail Expansion spring Fahnestock clip Iterative design Opticaltable Description of the term breadboard Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback...
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are two modes of operation, selected by switching the beam from one opticaltable to another. One mode is a spectrograph mode, using the TRIPPEL spectrograph...
smaller high-power laser systems to be built on a typical laboratory opticaltable, as "table-top terawatt lasers". The work received the 2018 Nobel Prize in...
Archived 2009-03-27 at the Wayback Machine Paromtchik, I. E. (2006). "Optical Guidance Method for Robots Capable of Vision and Communication" (PDF)....
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supporting surface. In a laboratory environment, this is typically an opticaltable. A shock can cause the mount to move away from the ball bearings, but...
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