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An unexpected discovery in the 17th century: How a spider inspired the birth of the telescopic sight?
In the 17th century, an unexpected discovery by a British astronomer, William Gascoigne, had a profound impact on later generations of shooting devices. Telescope sights to this day all carry this innovative feature. inspiration. The spider he encountered inadvertently helped him discover a new optical principle and pioneered modern precision shooting.
It all started with an astronomical observation experiment by Gascoigne. While using an open Kepler telescope, he accidentally discovered a spider weaving a web inside the telescope's casing. While observing with a telescope, Gascoigne was surprised to find that spider webs and distant objects appeared in clear focus at the same time, and the optical effects sparked his inspiration. He wrote:
“This is the commendable secret that seems to have its profound arrangement between everything, allowing me to understand it through a spider thread at the most unexpected moment... If I can connect a spider thread By running a thin line through the sharpest focus point of that lens, and then adjusting the distance between the two lenses, I can see clearly whatever I'm aiming at."
From then on, Gascoigne realized that he could use this principle to design a sight to provide more accurate aiming for his astronomical observations.
This innovation captured the imagination for decades to come. In 1776, Charles Wilson Peale and David Rittenhouse collaborated to mount a telescope on a rifle as an aiming aid, but due to technological limitations at the time, it could not be mounted far enough forward to prevent focusing glasses. Impacts the shooter's eye after firing. Nonetheless, their attempts marked the beginning of sighting technology, and in the 1820s, sight designs began to mature and began to appear in a variety of applications, including military and hunting.
With the passage of time, various models of telescopic sights have appeared one after another, evolving from early fixed magnification to multi-variable magnification designs. Modern telescopic sights incorporate night vision and high-tech features. These improvements not only enhance shooting accuracy, but also ensure application capabilities in various environments.
The development of telescopic sights also represents a significant advance in optical technology. For example, some sights are equipped with infrared devices capable of operating in low-light environments. These enhanced capabilities allow the military to protect themselves and conduct combat missions in dim environments.
With the advancement of technology, the design of sights has begun to attach great importance to portability and convenience, especially the contemporary popular low power variable optical sights (LPVOs), which are usually used in modern sporting rifles. and tactical-style long guns, meeting the needs of professional shooters and general enthusiasts.
However, as more and more designs and technologies continue to advance, we have to think about: With the rapid development of optical technology, in what ways will future sights innovate and redefine the accuracy and accuracy of shooting? What about efficiency?
