Lawrence Sayre
(Abbe Normal)
05/22/08 05:28 AM
Re: Strange Results in Eyepiece FOV Comparisons

There is absolutely no evidence at all that anyone named Smyth was ever involved in designing a negative lens grouping for a telescope eyepiece. As you are well aware, I ran an exhaustive thread here covering this very subject perhaps a year or two ago. The only possible person to honestly credit with being first with this accomplishment is Peter Barlow. Ask Al Nagler if his negative grouping in the Nagler is a Smyth and tell us what his answer is. Actually someone who reported it here has already done just this, and his answer was that if anything the negative grouping is a "Nagler" (meaning a purely Nagler concept and invention). Patents are generally required to reference the prior works leading up to any new invention. Show me an eyepiece patent whereby the negative lens grouping honors by reference anyone named Smyth. For that matter, show us a patent for a negative grouping specifically in a telescope eyepiece by anyone named Smyth. Somehow, about 90 or so years after his life, someone twisted his camera acomplishments and equated them to eyepieces, and the misplaced credit has stuck like glue. If such a stretch is to be permitted, perhaps we should call it a Petzval (just kidding of course). Telescope eyepieces were used in conjunction with Barlows for roughly 90 years or more through which no one ever credited Smyth (the father who was a close friend and associate of Peter Barlow, or the son who made strides in camera lens technology) with this accomplishment. Although admittedly this does not always happen (witness the Masuyama), it seems that within his lifetime someone would have given Smyth (meaning either of the Smyth's) credit if any was due.

That said, I feel that to continue this discussion within the context of a thread for which it has no specific contextual relevance would be inappropriate.



CN Forums Home



Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics