Часто в фильмах о войне можно наблюдать, как из the trench for the enemy the serviceman observes through a cunning device. The "eyes" of this device rise above the parapet, the observer is located below, inaccessible to the bullets of enemy snipers. The name of this telescope is the periscope. Who invented it and is it possible to make a periscope with your own hands?
Invention
The word "periscope" loosely translated fromOld Hellenic sounds like “I look around”. A prototype of this device has been known since the 15th century, and it was invented, as often happens, not at all for what it is now used for - observing the enemy during hostilities.
The simplest periscope was made by Christian pilgrims with their own hands, fixing two pieces of a mirror on a stick at an angle of 45 °.
This simple device was applied toto be able to see over the heads of the crowd at the festival in Aachen. For the time being, the invention was given the modest role of a fun toy, but already in the 17th century the situation changed.
Application
Humanity is fighting its entire historyof existence. Moreover, the leap in the development of lethal devices that kill at a distance, from the point of view of world history, occurred almost instantaneously. In place of the spears and sling came bows and crossbows. The arrows began to reach the enemy at unprecedented distances, the power of the shot and the accuracy of the shooters were constantly growing.
Неудивительно, что кустари вскоре задались the question of how to make a periscope that allows you to monitor the movements of the enemy, while remaining invulnerable. In the 17th century, the periscope began to be used during the siege of fortresses to monitor besiegers, without risking being hit by an arrow or crossbow bolt.
А в середине 19-го века, когда во многих States began to undertake massive attempts to build underwater vessels, the periscope almost immediately became their integral part. His device could not be better suited for spying on ordinary surface vessels. Moreover, the observation could be conducted covertly, without rising to the surface, and this is the most important requirement in the conduct of hostilities.
Homemade Periscope
The simplest periscope do it yourselfnot at all difficult. In order to acquire a means of covert surveillance, you need to stock up on two small mirrors. You can buy a tidy cosmetic mirror, or you can cut out two rectangular mirrors with a glass cutter (who has such skills).
The next thing you need is a case.Here the fantasy is not limited to any framework. Any elongated object of sufficiently hard, but processable material. Even the box, narrow and long, from under sweets will approach.
The periscope drawing is shown in the figure. The transformation of the gear box into a means of espionage is as follows:
- At the top and bottom of the case, viewing holes are cut from opposite sides, as shown in the diagram.
- The mirrors are mounted inside the body at an angle45 ° to the vertical axis. The mounting of the mirrors should provide the possibility of their adjustment, it will have to be done later and to ensure that the objects of observation are visible in the periscope, and not the inside of the device.
One option is to do a periscope withadjustable mirrors, shown in the additional diagram. The mirror is glued to the base of multi-layer plywood, along its edges in 3 points there are adjustment bolts. To ensure that the mirror always occupies a stable position, a compressed spring is inserted between the mounting plate and the base.
We complicate the design
The simplest homemade periscope will not allowconsider in detail the object located in the distance. It would be tempting to combine the possibilities of a periscope and a telescope. The periscope production variant with the function of approaching distant objects is shown in the diagram.
The basis is the same simplest periscopebut two new elements are added to it: a lens and an eyepiece taken from a finished telescope. Having a little understanding of the fundamentals of optics, having familiarized with the options for making self-made telescopes-refractors, the lenses for the lens can be selected by yourself.
Assembling a periscope with your own hands based on detailsfinished telescope, you must ensure strict implementation of one rule (circled in red frame). The final distance between the lens and the eyepiece should be exactly the same as that of the telescope, taken as a basis.
It is necessary to take care of the possibility of adjusting (leveling) the focal length to adjust the sharpness of the instrument. In the diagram, the eyepiece is inserted into a special eyepiece tube.
