On Oct 26, 2:04 pm, "Roger (K8RI)" wrote:
On Fri, 26 Oct 2007 09:53:04 -0700, Fred the Red Shirt
...
Surface Preparation (cleaning) is extremely important as traces
or organics (from handling( will prevent adhesion of the aluminum.

Texereau recommends final cleaning by electron bombardment
in the vacuum chamber.

Which reminded me, my friend uses that plasma for the final cleaning.
Thats a lot of electronic bombardment. :-))



How big is his vacuum chamber?

What sort of vacuum pump(s) does he use?

One large enough for a 17.5" mirror is rather non-trivial. Assuming
a 20" diameter cylindrical chamber, the top and bottom would need
to support over 3000 pounds each, if the work is done at sea level.

--

FF