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324
14. OPTICS IN THE INDUSTRY
BY JAMES WEIR FRENCH, D.Sc., F.INsT.P.
ABSTRACT. The subject is discussed only from the industrial point of view. The first
point raised is that educational authorities cannot subordinate more important interests,
such as those of the chemical and electrical industries, to the minor claims of the optical
industry which, although important, is comparatively small. A statement of the needs of
the industry leads to the second point, that, as the work of an optical designer so largely
depends upon his workshop and general experience, his training must come from the
industry itself, and that only a good, comprehensive education including a knowledge of
fundamental optical principles is necessary as a preliminary to workshop training.

it that the purpose of this discussion is to outline a course of optical study

I
TAKE
that will be of general educational value, that will be of service to the industry,
and that will help the user of instruments to appreciate their optical performance.
From the industrial point of view, I should prefer to consider first what type
of education best suits our requirements. Before doing so, I cannot refrain from
suggesting that difficulty must be experienced, not so much in the formulation of
a course of study a s in the reformation of what exists, since such reformation must
involve an increase in the number of lecture hours.
Here and there throughout the country some individual teaching of optics may
be found, but in general it forms no important part of a school curriculum. If we
exclude the admirable practical teaching of Prof. Conrady at the Imperial College
and the ophthalmic teaching at the Northampton Institute, the subject of optics-
other than physical optics suitable for examination purposes-forms a very small
part of the teaching of our colleges and universities. Our physicists and mathe-
maticians are not disposed to devote their time to the material aspects of optics.
All who can do so are more profitably employed groping among the ruins of the
I 9th-century edifice of science, searching for the architect’s plan and building new
foundations here and there where the ground seems reasonably sound, hoping to
find a ray of light among the ddbris.
Educational authorities would no doubt be very willing to teach everything well,
if circumstances permitted. But they are unable to do so. From all sides they are
pressed to allocate more hours of study to cope with the rapid development of
chemical engineering and the electrical industry. Three-year courses have been
extended to four and hitherto essential subjects have become alternatives. Reforma-
tion of optical teaching means an extension of hours and, when one considers the
strength of other appeals, it is difficult to know how these can be allocated, either
in schools or colleges.
My first point is that educational authorities cannot subordinate more important
interests to the minor claims of the optical industry which, although a key industry,
is a comparatively small one.
It may help us to form some idea of the kind of optical instruction which is
desirable if I outline the work involved in the design of an optical instrument. In
small concerns such design may depend upon the enthusiasm of an individual of
 The teaching of geometrical optics . 325
outstanding ability and ingenuity. T o an ordinary mind computation work can be
appallingly monotonous and there are many men who, having the other qualifica-
tions, fail in this particular respect. Such an individualistic system is only of limited
application. I n larger establishments the individual must be supported by a number
of assistants. I recollect that, in the case of one important continental firm, the
material prepared by one individual was handed over to about thirty or forty
computers, expert in the use of logarithmic tables but otherwise of no very special
education. This was before the introduction of computing machines which have
reduced so materially the actual labour of calculation. T h e design of an optical
instrument is not the work of such computers. The actual designer may not be
skilled in this particular section of the work, for the reason that the mechanical may
dominate the optical. When the optical system as a whole has been designed, the
computation of the elements, individually and in combination, is entrusted to the
operators of the calculating machines who need have no exceptional mathematical
equipment other than a common knowledge of the simple trigonometrical ex-
pressions, which can hardly be regarded as mathematics. Particular rays are traced
step by step through surface after surface for the purpose of determining at various
stages the longitudinal and transverse aberrations. These values are assessed
by the skilled computer who decides at what particular part of the system a modifi-
cation can best be effected. His special skill is much more practical than mathe-
matical. It is based essentially upon industrial and commercial experience that can
be gained only from years of active practice within the industry itself. It depends
upon a knowledge of what is necessary to excel the productions of progressive
competitors. It involves experience of workshop conditions and, above all, good
judgment in the balancing of one type of aberration against another, for no optical
system can be free from all kinds of aberration. To satisfy the needs of some
particular client, it may even be necessary to re-assess the relative importances of
the various aberrations to suit the ideas of the customer.
Some particulars regarding a typical submarine periscope of average dimensions
will afford an indication of the magnitude of the work involved in the computation
of the optical system. Of simple operations involving, say, two multiplications and
one division, there are 12,000in this particular example, which is not an extreme
case; the number of individual operations is about 40,000; and the amount of
writing involved is equivalent to the writing of a 70,000 word book. When it is
considered that the instrument in question has to be designed and constructed
within the limits of a contract date with the probability of a penalty for delay in
delivery, it will be realised that in actual practice such work cannot be undertaken
by an individual ; it must be so organised that it can be distributed over a group of
computers.
So far as the general design is concerned, methods no doubt vary greatly. My
own particular system is somewhat as follows. The most suitable way of meeting
the specification having been decided upon, an optical diagram showing the
positions of the lenses, the central beam, and the oblique beam, is prepared; this
path-in-air diagram is adjusted to suit the principal rays determining the angular
field and the cones of rays determining the illuminations at the centre of the field
326 rames Weir French
and at the margin. Upon this diagram the thicknesses of glass are then indicated
and the diagram is adjusted accordingly, the amount of adjustment generally being
small as, with experience, allowance can usually be made in the initial diagram for
the air/glass differences. The principal thicknesses having been determined, the
system is redrawn with greater precision, the final dimensions being checked by
calculations, all of the simplest arithmetical kind. The designer knows from ex-
perience the difficulty that may be incurred in the computation of each particular
element and his principal aim is to ensure that he does not set the computers too
difficult a task in any one respect. There is great scope for ingenuity in the pre-
paration of this original design and it is in this particular stage that the most effective
work is done. Particulars of the system are then sent to the computer. He receives
information regarding the focal lengths and diameters of the various elements,
approximate thicknesses of the lenses and prisms, and air separations. He also
receives for the axial beam its radius at the entrance surface of each element and
for the extreme oblique beam the radial distances of the points of intersection of
the principal ray with the respective surfaces. T h e approximate radii of the in-
dividual surfaces of each combination are then calculated by simple proportion
from some existing similar combination ;it is rarely necessary to compute the curves
de novo, but even if that were necessary the ordinary simple approximate formulae
would suffice for the purpose. T h e approximate curvatures having been determined,
the work of computation by the now well-known trigonometrical system can then
be commenced.
Practical considerations then determine the progress of the work. Theoretically
it may seem desirable to modify the surfaces of one of the large diameter objectives
or projectors. This, however, would involve the construction of large and expensive
test plates. Practical considerations make it advisable to manipulate the smaller
diameter entrance or exit systems.
My second point, therefore, is that the work of an optical designer so largely
depends upon his workshop and general experience that his training must come from
the industry itself and that only a good comprehensive education, including a
knowledge of fundamental optical principles, is necessary as a preliminary to his
workshop training. A schoolboy’s education must of necessity be general, as the
kind of work he will be engaged upon later is quite unknown. The more determined
he is to become an optician, the likelier he is to become something else. Of the
hundreds of boys of whom I have had experience, I cannot remember one who
possessed more fundamental knowledge of optics than could be acquired by him
in a few evenings of purposeful study. And so far as the kind of optical knowledge
required by the industry is concerned, the same applies to graduates. I personally
have long since ceased to expect any such specialised knowledge. I prefer to re-
member that inherent qualities may be of more permanent value than those
acquired, that the steel industry was revolutionised by a clerk, that after the Fire
of London an optician was entrusted with the design of St Paul’s, that James Watt-
another optician and instrument-maker-became the greatest of steam engineers,
and that on the other hand we owe the art and practice of optical glass making to
a carver of clock-cases.