Lab 9: Pre lab

1)

Bessel function taken directly from opti 310 homework last year.
Code attached
First zero of Bessel function at approximately x = .58 mm

2)

3)
The reason we get the image shown when the knife is on midfocus has to do with the
wavelengths of the light plus the geometry of the light blocked. The knife edge is blocking the
light before it hits the focus point, meaning that if the light is blocked on the left, the image on
the right will be dark. However, here we observe that the left outer shell is dark and the right
inner part is also dark. The geometry at the midfocus ends up blocking the outer right shell, and
leaving the rest of that semi-circle go through. The left inner part is clipped by the knife edge,
but there is some light that manages to make it through at the outer shell. One will be from one
mirror and the other will be from the other mirror.
4)
In the Foucault test, the shadowed section reverses as the knife edge moves across the path
longitudinally because if the knife is before focus and blocking the left, due to the geometry of
the light path, the light on the image will be blocked on the right, but as the knife moves and
blocks the right side of the light, the image experiences a shadow to the left once again due to
geometry. Ill draw a picture demonstrating the first one once this is printed.

5)

6)
Schlieren photography is used for imaging the flow of fluids. The process works by having a a
collimated source illuminate a target (or behind the target). Since air flow causes density

gradients, the refractive index is varied, causing distortions on the collimated light. This allows
for the flow to be imaged using shadowgraph.
7)
Some applications of Schlieren photography would be the study of shockwaves, studying the
changes of pressure due to heat (in gas), and detecting gas leaks.
8)

An AK variant being fired (left) and a supersonic F-15 (right)

And heres an F-18 because Marines thats why!