On March 17th, 2014 Precision Optical was proud to host filming for the hit A&E© show Storage Wars© (http://www.aetv.com/storage-wars). Storage Wars contacted Precision Optical to tap into our vast knowledge and experience as they attempted to appraise the value of a recently discovered optical instrument. The effort was fronted by VP of Sales and Marketing Paul Dimeck, and facilitated by VP of Engineering Nick Lambert. With technical support from Engineering Intern Bo Wang and Dr. Brian Monacelli from Irvine Valley College, Precision Optical provided scientific and appraisal expertise on cast member Ivy’s discovery of a KRÜSS Vernier Spectrophotometer Goniometer©.
The spectrometer is one of the most useful and powerful of all scientific instruments. Despite this design being around since
the late 19th century, it remains indispensable for education, scientific research, and the industrial assessment of materials such as optical components. A spectrometer works when prism or a diffraction grating is used to disperse (or diffract) the incident light and thus allows the resulting spectrum to be observed.
By carefully measuring the position of the diffracted light of the receiving optics with the goniometer, a tool used for measuring angles, an accurate measurement of wavelength can be made. Using knowledge that has been gathered with over a century of experience, scientists can deduce material properties, such the refractive index and the Abbe number. This is this same technology that allows the scientific community to evaluate the properties of distant planets/stars, biological samples, and chemicals.
Precision Optical has multiple high-end spectrometers and goniometers in its arsenal of advanced instrumentation, which made Precision Optical an excellent choice for A&E. This repository of optical metrology equipment allows Precision Optical to manufacture some of the most precise optical components on the planet, such as retroreflectors/cornercubes, right angle prisms, penta prisms, custom prisms, as wells as thin-film coatings and complex optical assemblies.
Precision Optical would like to thank A&E and the cast and crew of Storage Wars for this unique opportunity to help educate the general public about the optics industry and the science of light.
