Foucault Test Image Analyzer
Version : 1.2
Author(s) : Dejan Vucinic dvucinic (at) users.sourceforge.net
License : GPL
Website : http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/foucault
Installs from Open Source Astronomy for Linux cd 1
Disk space required for installation is 8.81 Mb
This package requires Java installation
After the package is installed it can be accessed using the command
/opt/astro/bin/startfoucault
A shortcut will be installed in the KDE/GNOME desktop menu system,
as an entry in the Astronomy submenu
Traditionally, amateur mirror makers use a Couder screen, nimble fingers and keen eyesight to quantify the results of the Foucault test by finding the exact knife locations where a zone is equally illuminated on the opposite sides of a mirror.
In this day and age, however, sophisticated illumination detectors (i.e. digital cameras) are inexpensive and readily available, thus eliminating the dependence on a highly subjective illumination comparison with the naked eye. This program, furthermore, eliminates the need for accurate knife position measurement. Simply take a sequence of photos at pre-set knife offsets, which need not be known with great accuracy, and let the software reduce the measurements and fit the theoretical illumination curves to best match the data.