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:
“There is an optical illusion about every person we meet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“They were not on the table with their elbows.
They were not sleeping in the shelves of bunks.
I saw no men there and no bones of men there.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)