glasses for the masses

At the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, they've opened a huge exhibit on glass. How it's made, how it's used, and what makes it such a cool substance.



Among the displays, there is one all about Doug's project, NuSTAR. Inside the case you can see the superthin glass we use to make x-ray telescope optics. The spindle on the right is made from dozens of layers of glass, stacked atop each other. The NuSTAR optics are actually much larger and nearly 200 layers of glass.





Here is an oven with a sheet within, before it is slumped into the mandril. After it's finished forming, Doug's new laser scanner will determine whether the glass will be good enough for mounting into the telescope.