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[Phys-l] exotic imagers (was: pinhole camera)



On 04/16/2007 12:26 PM, Edmiston, Mike wrote:

Please note that this doesn't mean the 1-micron resolution at 18.6-keV
is worthless.

Exactly. A zone plate doesn't have to be anywhere near
perfect to be
a) useful, and
b) more useful than a pinhole.

I never claimed these critters were anywhere near perfect.

The 18.6-keV x-rays give some object penetrating
capability to an imaging device designed around it, and it also begins
to open the door for x-ray fluorescence analysis with 1-micron
resolution. Both of these can be extremely useful.


Also: If you have a billion dollars or so, you can build a
reflector-type X-ray telescope.
http://chandra.harvard.edu/about/telescope_system.html


Using mirrors gives you a gazillion times less chromatic
aberration compared to an ordinary zone plate.


It's fun to think about things like the Chandra X-ray
Observatory, because it is so close to the boundary
between "doable" and "not doable". (The corresponding
gamma-ray mirrors are not doable, AFAIK.)