Other

University of Tennessee Research Foundation

United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation

Alvin J Sanders

Stephen W Allison

Dennis Duncan Earl

Michael R Cates

William E Deeds

Mark Edward Rupright

Jonathan W Campbell

David L Lehner

William S Key

Larry L Smalley

Molly C Smith, Legal Representative

A method and system for determining range to a target are provided. A beam of electromagnetic energy is transmitted through an aperture in an opaque screen such that a portion of the beam passes through the aperture to generate a region of diffraction that varies as a function of distance from the aperture. An imaging system is focused on a target plane in the region of diffraction with the generated image being compared to known diffraction patterns. Each known diffraction pattern has a unique value associated therewith that is indicative of a distance from the aperture. A match between the generated image and at least one of the known diffraction patterns is indicative of a distance between the aperture and target plane.

Laser fresnel distance measuring system and method

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making absolute distance or ranging measurements using Fresnel diffraction. The invention employs a source of electromagnetic radiation having a known wavelength or wavelength distribution, which sends a beam of electromagnetic radiation through a screen at least partially opaque at the wavelength. The screen has an aperture sized so as to produce a Fresnel diffraction pattern. A portion of the beam travels through the aperture to a detector spaced some distance from the screen. The detector detects the central intensity of the beam as well as a set of intensities displaced from a center of the aperture. The distance from the source to the target can then be calculated based upon the known wavelength, aperture radius, and beam intensity.

Method and apparatus for making absolute range measurements

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making absolute distance or ranging measurements using Fresnel diffraction. The invention employs a source of electromagnetic radiation having a known wavelength or wavelength distribution, which sends a beam of electromagnetic radiation through an object which causes it to be split (hereinafter referred to as a 'beamsplitter'), and then to a target. The beam is reflected from the target onto a screen containing an aperture spaced a known distance from the beamsplitter. The aperture is sized so as to produce a Fresnel diffraction pattern. A portion of the beam travels through the aperture to a detector, spaced a known distance from the screen. The detector detects the central intensity of the beam. The distance from the object which causes the beam to be split to the target can then be calculated based upon the known wavelength, aperture radius, beam intensity, and distance from the detector to the screen. Several apparatus embodiments are disclosed for practicing the method embodiments of the present invention.

An apparatus and method for use thereof in the creating of a nanogravity environment substantially throughout a working volume sufficient for performing a desired operation and existing for a length of time sufficient for performing the desired operation are disclosed. Involved in the creation of the nanogravity environment are the use of an apparatus in which the mass density of the walls are distributed (either directly or by the attachment of compensating masses) so that the surface density of the mass is directly proportional to the electric charge density along the walls which would be sufficient to neutralize the interior electric field, the orbiting of the apparatus around a planetary mass, and the minimization of disruptive accelerations on the apparatus by the selective transfer of the momentum of solar photons to the apparatus.

Method for producing extreme microgravity in extended volumes

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Knoxville, TN, United States of America

Alvin J Sanders