Science 2.

Impact of Optical Instruments

Darius Lapiz

Impact of Optical Instruments - Telescopes

Purpose:
This scientific report's purpose is to show the impact of optical
instruments on people, more specifically, the impact of the telescope in
our society.

Discussion:
Optical instruments are instruments that process light waves to enhance
the viewing of an image. Light waves are part of the electromagnetic
spectrum and are made up of particles called photons. The study of how
light behaves is called optics.
A telescope is an optical instrument that is used for observing remote
objects,
by
gathering
electromagnetic radiation, usually
light waves, then magnifying them.
First unveiled in the Netherlands
during the year 1608 by Hans
Lipperhey and Sacharias Janssen of
Meddelburg and Jacob Metius of
Alkmaar, they had a tube that
contained a convex and a concave
lens which made viewing faraway
objects seem closer than they are.
This type of telescope is called a refracting telescope. Refracting
telescopes use a combination of lenses (concave and convex) to gather
light to form an image and bring the image to the eye. Famous
astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was the first person to point the telescope
to the heavens, built a refracting telescope called a Galilean Telescope
that used a plano-convex objective and a plano-concave ocular to view
objects on the sky. Thanks to this remarkable instrument, he observed the
Moon, discovered four of Jupiters satellites, and viewed the phases of
Venus, which had a huge impact on peoples beliefs about the Ptolemys
geocentric system and Copernicus heliocentric system.
In 1668, Sir Isaac Newton built a different type of telescope based on his
theories that white light is broken into different colours as it passes
through the lens, the same way light bends as it passes a prism. In this
telescope, he used curved, parabolic mirrors to collect light and then
reflect it to a focus. This telescope is known as a reflecting telescope.
Thanks to this new instrument, astronomers can now see objects without

Science 2.2

Impact of Optical Instruments

Darius Lapiz

chromatic aberration due to the dispersion of light, therefore being able to

see objects more clearly. These
telescopes are also cheaper to
produce since lenses are more
expensive and time-consuming to
make.
Centuries after the first telescopes
were
made,
technological
improvements have improved the
way we see objects through
telescopes, by changes in size and
their location. In 1990, the Hubble
Space Telescope (HST), a reflecting
space telescope, was launched into
the orbit of the Earth. Though it is
not the first space telescope, it is
one of the largest and is famous for
its discoveries and contributions to
astronomy. Due to its location, the HST has a clear advantage over its
ground counterparts; the HST is not affected by astronomical seeing,
which is the blurring and twinkling of stars and other heavenly bodies
seen from inside the planet caused by the turbulent mixing in the Earths
atmosphere varying the optical refractive index. This makes images taken
from the HST more detailed and also be able to capture faint objects.

Us humans have viewed the skies for thousands of years, made theories
about them which were approved by fellow scholars, some of them right,
though some of them were wrong. For years people have accepted the
geocentric system of Ptolemy, stating that the Earth is the centre of the
universe while the sun, the planets visible to the naked eye and the stars
revolve around our planet. These wouldve been the things being taught in
schools right now if not for the invention of the telescope. The telescope
gave us a new way of seeing things around us, specifically the skies.
Through the use of telescopes, Galileo saw the phases of Venus, which
was the important information required to finally supersede the geocentric
system with Copernicus heliocentric system, the Sun being at the centre
of our solar system while the Earth and the other planets revolve around
it.
The telescope not only helped us view distant objects bigger, clearer and
more detailed, it also gave us a better understanding of the distant things

Science 2.2

Impact of Optical Instruments

Darius Lapiz

around us. We were able to see the surface of the Moon in greater detail.
We discovered the natural satellites of other planets in our solar system.
The Hubble Space Telescope has helped resolve some debate/mystery in
astronomy. The value of the Hubble constant, which is the measure of the
rate at which our universe is expanding, is constrained; the discovery that
states the expansion of our universe could be accelerating; proof that
there are black holes in the centre of all galaxies and that their masses
are closely related to the galaxys properties; the collision of the comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter was photographed and seen in detail, the
first time an extraterrestrial collision with another solar system object was
directly observed; evidence for the existence of extrasolar planets around
stars similar to our sun is found. These marvellous discoveries helped us
understand what the things are that surround us millions of light-years
away. With better understanding, we are able to see things the right way.
We become more aware of our surroundings, which will definitely benefit
our society in the future, when space travel becomes a reality, when we
colonise other planets, and when we finally are able to use the resources
outside our planet as energy source. More awareness of our universe
brings more certainty in our future, which is still clouded until we discover
new things again in astronomy.
The telescope did not just correct wrong theories, or give us scientific
knowledge about our universe; it also opened us to new mysteries. The
Hubble Deep Field and Hubble Ultra Deep Field are images of a portion of
the universe. These photos are the deepest photos obtained at optical
wavelengths, looking back 13 billion years. This photo resembles the
unknown, a portion of the universe we know a few, if not, nothing about.
The findings by our telescopes not only prove theories, but it also opens
our minds to unlimited theoretical possibilities about the unknown. Our
society will not improve if we are constrained to certain, limited ideas, and
the amount of unknown revealed to us by telescopes certainly has a
positive effect on us. Before the invention of the telescopes, theories by
famous scholars such as Ptolemy were based on what they were able to
see by their limited instruments, hence they made incorrect theories.
However, with the help of telescopes, we learned that the Earth revolves
the Sun, not the other way around, and so on. Now that these mysteries
are revealed to us by the telescopes, we give ourselves room for
improvement in our society, for more knowledge, which is beneficiary for
our future.
Telescopes have impacted peoples lives for centuries ever since it was
introduced. It has superseded incorrect theories, gave us more knowledge
and awareness of our universe, and opened our minds to the mysteries of

Science 2.2

Impact of Optical Instruments

Darius Lapiz

the unknown. All these things have benefited us in the past and present,
and will certainly give us a brighter future.

Science 2.2

Impact of Optical Instruments

Darius Lapiz

Bibliography:
(2010) Optical Instruments. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_instruments
(2010) Light wave. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_wave
Van Helden, A. (1995) The Galileo Project | Science | Telescope.
Retrieved July, 25, 2010, from
http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/instruments/telescope.html
History of the Telescope History of Binoculars. Retrieved July 25,
2010, from
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltelescope.htm
Optical Instruments. Retrieved July 25, 2010, from
http://physics.bu.edu/~duffy/py106/Instruments.html
(2010) Hubble Space Telescope. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Impact_on_ast
ronomy
Freudenrich, Ph.D., Craig. (November 08, 2000) How Telescopes
Work. Retrieved July 26, 2010, from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/telescope.htm