The Craft of Reflecting Telescopes

It’s easy to forget that some pieces of technology we take for granted changed the world when they were first made available. One of the most transformative pieces of technology in is the telescope. The craft of these devices are truly astonishing. Here’s more from UK Science Museum:

Astronomers experimented with different recipes for speculum metal over the centuries, but the two main ingredients were copper and tin. Newton added small amounts of arsenic to his, arguing that it made the metal whiter and more reflective. He did at least take some basic precautionary measures when melting this poisonous substance to make his alloy, ‘bewaring in the mean time, not to draw in breath near the pernicious fumes’ (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. 7 (1672)).

See more!


Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 11/15/2024 Featuring Adafruit bq25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 3.3V Buck Board! (Video)

Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: A New Arduino MicroPython Package Manager, How-Tos and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

Adafruit IoT Monthly — The 2024 Recap Issue!

Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — Apple to build another chip at TSMC Arizona

Electronics – Adafruit Daily — SMT Tip – Stop moving around!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !


No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.