Schlieren
Schlieren (/ˈʃlɪərən/ SHLEER-ən; German: [ˈʃliːʁn̩] ⓘ, German for 'streaks') are optical inhomogeneities in transparent media that are not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of such inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneities are localized differences in optical path length that cause deviations of light rays, especially by refraction. This light deviation can produce localized brightening, darkening, or even color changes in an image, depending on the directions the rays deviate.
History
Schlieren were first observed by
The word schlieren originates from the German schliere, meaning "streak".
Schlieren flow visualization
Schlieren flow visualization is based on the deflection of light by a refractive index gradient[4] The index gradient is directly related to flow density gradient. The deflected light is compared to undeflected light at a viewing screen. The undisturbed light is partially blocked by a knife edge. The light that is deflected toward or away from the knife edge produces a shadow pattern depending upon whether it was previously blocked or unblocked. This shadow pattern is a light-intensity representation of the expansions (low density regions) and compressions (high density regions) which characterize the flow.
Schlieren displays
The schlieren effect is often used in video projector technologies. The basic idea is some device, such as a liquid crystal light valve, is used to produce schlieren distortions in a controlled manner and these are projected on a screen to produce the desired image. Projection display systems such as the now-obsolete Eidophor and Talaria have used variations of this approach as far back as 1940.[5]
See also
- Background-oriented schlieren technique
- Laser schlieren deflectometry
- Mach–Zehnder interferometer
- Moire deflectometry
- Schlieren imaging
- Schlieren photography
- Shadowgraph
- Synthetic schlieren
References
- ^ Hooke, R. (1665), "Of a New Property in the Air", Micrographia, Observation LVIII, pp. 217–219, London.
- ^ Toepler, A. (1864), Beobachtungen nach einer neuen optischen Methode, Maximillan Cohen und Sohn, Bonn.
- S2CID 4288641.
- ISBN 978-3540661559
- ISBN 978-0-470-51803-8