Description

The physics department is developing a suite of quantum optics laboratory experiments. One component of several of these involved focusing an optical sensor on a crystal 1 m away. The crystal remains stationary, but the sensor is frequently repositioned, and then needs to be laboriously re-aligned to point at the crystal. The idea here is that by sliding along an arc of a 1-m circle, the sensor could remain focused on the center of said circle, where the crystal would be. This would streamline both the development and execution of the experiments. Thus we want as big a section of a 1 m circle as we can get. (A necessary feature would be a way to secure the arc to the optic table, such as placing powerful magnets inside. An extra feature is the placement of 0.1° markers along the top so that we can easily measure the angle of the sensor as it slides along the arc.) Often, mass-produced custom lab parts cost approximately $30. However, this would have no ability to be mass-produced, since it is a unique product to Principia's lab. The estimated cost to produce this highly custom product would be about $60. Materials to print this cost $3. The estimated savings are $57.