Abstract
An application of liquid crystals to astronomical adaptive optics which would produce sharpened images from optical telescopes is proposed. To measure the appropriate optical properties a method is described for determining the dispersion and thickness of a thin film based on a spectroscopic technique using Edser-Butler fringes. The application to birefringent media, in particular liquid crystals, and a method for assessing the fine structure is discussed. Results of measurements of the dispersion of liquid crystal BDH-E44 are given.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: