An optical table is platform that is used to support systems used for optics experiments and engineering. Because optics often demands vibrations be sub-wavelength (fractions of a micrometre), optical tables are typically very heavy and often use pneumatic bearings that act as a low-pass filter to vibrations.
The surface 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: ΒΌ-20" UNC on a 1" (25.4 mm) grid
Read more about Optical Table: Explanation, Breadboards, Rails and Benches
Famous quotes containing the words optical and/or table:
“The convent, which belongs to the West as it does to the East, to antiquity as it does to the present time, to Buddhism and Muhammadanism as it does to Christianity, is one of the optical devices whereby man gains a glimpse of infinity.”
—Victor Hugo (1802–1885)
“In New York, pretending to be above the struggle means no seat on the bus and a table next to the kitchen.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)