The idea of horror vacui (Latin for ‘horror of the vacuum’) is widely attributed to Aristotle from the 4th century BCE (though the internet tells me that Aristotle would not have been speaking Latin). Horror vacui is usually expressed in English as ‘nature abhors a...
When we consider transparent materials, often the first one we think of is glass! It is one of the most commonly used materials in people’s homes for windows, as well as within optical use-cases such as telescopes, microscopes, cameras and glasses and for packaging...
Most of us probably see hundreds of chimneys each day but pay them absolutely no heed unless one is collapsing or on fire. But at a certain time of year, not too far from now, the chimney in a house becomes the focus of attention, mainly for the younger occupants....
Brewster Window or Angled Viewport? Earlier this year we manufactured some viewports that from a first glance you might think are Brewster windows… but they actually aren’t!While it might seem like just a technicality, the distinction between angled viewports...
What is the Definition of Photonics? Photonics is a field of physics and a sub-discipline of the broader branch of optics, both of which have ties within engineering. There are debates regarding the definition of photonics, with some research broadly defining...
Measuring flatness without an interferometer Typically to measure the flatness of an optic, scientists use a device called an interferometer (a Twyman-Green or Fizeau interferometer to be specific). Flatness is the measurement of the maximum peak-to-valley...
Visualising data with colour maps It is not uncommon in science to have a dataset consisting of a set of measurements, each with (x, y) coordinates for the position in two‑dimensional space at which the measurement was performed. A convenient way to visualize...
What is chemical vapour deposition (CVD)? Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is the technique used to grow the diamonds for our diamond vacuum viewports and our x‑ray anode diamond tips. Diamond is a highly valued material in the vacuum technology industry due to...
Torr Scientific recently played a small part in the ongoing DUNE – Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment where we supplied some special developmental low‑temperature windows for testing for the second prototype detector in association with experimenters at CERN....
Lead glass: your trusty shield Introduction Many laboratories and other workplaces contain equipment or materials that emit or produce ionizing radiation such as X‑rays or gamma (γ) radiation. The radiation might be a by‑product of a process, or it might be...
Sparklife Bonfire night is a few weeks behind us now, and many of us are now looking ahead to the Christmas holidays. For those not from round here, we in the UK and a few other places like to let off fireworks to commemorate a historical (1605) failed bombing...
Customers with demanding optical requirements often specify a high degree of flatness for their viewport windows. In most applications, the ideal window would have no effect on the light passing through it. TSL has engaged a company with proven expertise in the field...
