Liquid Mirrors in Engineering

Ermanno F. Borra

Liquid deformable mirrors are a young but promising technology. They offer engineers a lower-cost alternative to their solid counterparts as well as the ability to generate extremely large deformations.

imageA liquid mirror image.

Liquid mirrors have a major intrinsic advantage over solid optics. While the fundamental forces of nature conspire to deteriorate the surface qualities of solid mirrors, they confer the desired shape upon liquid mirrors, which follow equipotential surfaces.

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