In regard to "strange optical effects" in Feb 14th

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the moon
Posts: 177
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:34 am

In regard to "strange optical effects" in Feb 14th

Post by the moon »

Any ideas what they meant by this?
There are no strange optical effects at the edges as had been seen using reflected light.
That was referring to after they removed the foil beneath one tile and rescanned it with transmitted light. So what are the strange optical effects from the old movies? Could they be responsible for movies like
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ ... =7654784V1
http://stardustathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/ ... =5827299V1
that appear to have surface layers under the surface? Could those extra surfaces actually be other parts of the surface reflecting off the foil or the side of the frame? That's a long shot but these types of movies have confused me for the longest time.
fjgiie
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Location: Hampton, SC, US

What kind of strange optical effects?

Post by fjgiie »

Could the strange optical effects have been:

An optical effect like 3242328V1 or 7108522V1 ?

Or maybe lighting effects like 7411758V1or 383367V1.
ZackG
Stardust@home Team
Stardust@home Team
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Smearing optics

Post by ZackG »

The strange optical effects that Bryan is referring to occur near the edge of the tiles. It causes the spots on the surface of the aerogel to smear and move systematically up and down on the screen (or side to side) as you vary the focus. The effects won't make a second image that you can see, but instead they distort your correct image. When you see a "second surface" it is probably a crack in the aerogel as these are quite common.

What I see in each of those movies is:

3242328V1 = looking at inclusions? out of focus with surface, some smearing due to proximity to edge of tile.

7108522V1 = some smearing due to proximity to edge of tile. However, it's basically a crack in the aerogel.

7411758V1 = A very little bit of smearing. Probably more just a clean surface without much junk on it.

383367V1 = Just out of focus.

7654784V1 = There's a crack under the aerogel.

5827299V1 = Funky optical effect probably caused by proximity to edge, plus there is a crack under the aerogel.
Zack Gainsforth
Space Sciences Laboratory
UC Berkeley
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