Roman telescope

I am writing a what-if history fiction and need some help.

If you were suddenly dropped in Rome say in 200 CE and you needed to
build a telescope for mass production. What sort of telescope would you
make and what would it look like?











--
How many public servants care enough about their department agenda that
they would be willing, if it received a budget cut to take a pay cut?

Observations of Bernard - No 46

Bernardz wrote:

I am writing a what-if history fiction and need some help.

If you were suddenly dropped in Rome say in 200 CE and you needed to
build a telescope for mass production. What sort of telescope would you
make and what would it look like?

You would essentially be limited to what Galileo used centuries later, a
very basic refractor telescope using one convex objective lens, perhaps
an inch (25mm) in diameter and a smaller concave eyepiece lens located
at the focal length of the objective. The lenses would be assembled in a
metal or paper tube. The hard part would be making optical quality glass
in 200-CE. It took about 5000-years from the accidental discovery of
glass by the Phoenicians, (in the sand under their cooking fires) to the
first lenses in the 16th century. You would need a small blast furnace
to make the glass from sand. Each lens would be shaped by grinding two
glass disks together with some natural abrasive (sand?) and water
between them. The abrasive would have to be graded to various sizes by
letting it settle through a water column. You would start the grinding
with the coarse grade and proceed to the finest, just like it's done
today. Finally the lens would be polished, probably using bees wax to
make a 'lap' with some kind of very fine abrasive or 'rouge' as the
polishing agent, which might be hard to find in that era.
In all, it would be a very challenging project and I doubt it would be
practical to mass produce them. However, even if you made just one
telescope in Roman times it could change the course of history.


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Bernardz wrote:

I am writing a what-if history fiction and need some help.

If you were suddenly dropped in Rome say in 200 CE and you needed to
build a telescope for mass production. What sort of telescope would you
make and what would it look like?

You would essentially be limited to what Galileo used centuries later, a
very basic refractor telescope using one convex objective lens, perhaps
an inch (25mm) in diameter and a smaller concave eyepiece lens located
at the focal length of the objective. The lenses would be assembled in a
metal or paper tube. The hard part would be making optical quality glass
in 200-CE. It took about 5000-years from the accidental discovery of
glass by the Phoenicians, (in the sand under their cooking fires) to the
first lenses in the 16th century. You would need a small blast furnace
to make the glass from sand. Each lens would be shaped by grinding two
glass disks together with some natural abrasive (sand?) and water
between them. The abrasive would have to be graded to various sizes by
letting it settle through a water column. You would start the grinding
with the coarse grade and proceed to the finest, just like it's done
today. Finally the lens would be polished, probably using bees wax to
make a 'lap' with some kind of very fine abrasive or 'rouge' as the
polishing agent, which might be hard to find in that era.
In all, it would be a very challenging project and I doubt it would be
practical to mass produce them. However, even if you made just one
telescope in Roman times it could change the course of history.


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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 09:37:58 -0500, starman wrote:

You would essentially be limited to what Galileo used centuries later, a
very basic refractor telescope using one convex objective lens, perhaps
an inch (25mm) in diameter and a smaller concave eyepiece lens located
at the focal length of the objective...

That's not what I'd build if I were dropped into that period of history. I'd
make a Newtonian reflector. It would be quite practical to build one 4-6 inches
in aperture using commonly available materials. The quality of the glass can be
much lower with a reflecting telescope, and there is less glass grinding
required. The only lens would be the ocular- much smaller than a refractive
objective.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 09:37:58 -0500, starman wrote:

You would essentially be limited to what Galileo used centuries later, a
very basic refractor telescope using one convex objective lens, perhaps
an inch (25mm) in diameter and a smaller concave eyepiece lens located
at the focal length of the objective...

That's not what I'd build if I were dropped into that period of history. I'd
make a Newtonian reflector. It would be quite practical to build one 4-6 inches
in aperture using commonly available materials. The quality of the glass can be
much lower with a reflecting telescope, and there is less glass grinding
required. The only lens would be the ocular- much smaller than a refractive
objective.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

That's not what I'd build if I were dropped into that period of history. I'd
make a Newtonian reflector. It would be quite practical to build one 4-6
inches
in aperture using commonly available materials. The quality of the glass can
be much lower with a reflecting telescope, and there is less glass grinding
required. The only lens would be the ocular- much smaller than a refractive
objective.

A Newtonian was my first thought but silvering the mirror seemed like the real
problem. Newtonian mirrors were metal until sometime in the 1800's...

I guess one could make a silver Newtonian mirror.

I don't expect to hear from uncle Rod on this one, pretty difficult to make an
SCT in 200BC...

jon

That's not what I'd build if I were dropped into that period of history. I'd
make a Newtonian reflector. It would be quite practical to build one 4-6
inches
in aperture using commonly available materials. The quality of the glass can
be much lower with a reflecting telescope, and there is less glass grinding
required. The only lens would be the ocular- much smaller than a refractive
objective.

A Newtonian was my first thought but silvering the mirror seemed like the real
problem. Newtonian mirrors were metal until sometime in the 1800's...

I guess one could make a silver Newtonian mirror.

I don't expect to hear from uncle Rod on this one, pretty difficult to make an
SCT in 200BC...

jon

I would build a Newtonian telescope, since glass and silver for coating is
available, plenty of slaves for cheap labor, to polish it.

Only thing I would worry about, they may crucified me, to make such an evil
instrument.


JS

"Bernardz" wrote in message
news:MPG.1aa32e61522659a398991e@news...
I am writing a what-if history fiction and need some help.

If you were suddenly dropped in Rome say in 200 CE and you needed to
build a telescope for mass production. What sort of telescope would you
make and what would it look like?











--
How many public servants care enough about their department agenda that
they would be willing, if it received a budget cut to take a pay cut?

Observations of Bernard - No 46

I would build a Newtonian telescope, since glass and silver for coating is
available, plenty of slaves for cheap labor, to polish it.

Only thing I would worry about, they may crucified me, to make such an evil
instrument.


JS

"Bernardz" wrote in message
news:MPG.1aa32e61522659a398991e@news...
I am writing a what-if history fiction and need some help.

If you were suddenly dropped in Rome say in 200 CE and you needed to
build a telescope for mass production. What sort of telescope would you
make and what would it look like?











--
How many public servants care enough about their department agenda that
they would be willing, if it received a budget cut to take a pay cut?

Observations of Bernard - No 46

You would be esentially setting up a Jewlers shop since that kind of
technology was pretty well established at that time of couse everything was
done by hand at that time. So while your at it you could invent the battery the
chemicals existed at that time its what they used in there tanneries the
generator needs a way tmake copper wire how about gun powder too.

Clear Skies
Dwight L Bogan