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Green Bank Telescope


entropia

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On Sunday, we drove 4 hours (and 4 hours back) to visit the NRAO site in Green Bank, WV.  This is where the world largest fully steerable radio telescope is. It is located in a radio quiet zone  (34,000km2). Good thing we had the map on the phone before entering that area otherwise we would have been lost. The GBT is 100x110 and was finished in 2000. It is amazing how such a big structure can steer so smoothly (17 million pounds on 16 wheels). There is a visitor center as well and we got to see the telescope's control room. 

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Really impressive engineering. I was reading once about how the supporting framework is designed to flex so that as it moves the deformation under its own weight maintains is parabolic shape. Really impressive considering it is operating on millimetre scale waves (sub mil?) so it's shape really cannot deform at all.

Not sure on the details of this but it is a structural engineering feat of some magnitude.

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The previous telescope (300ft) actually collapsed in 1988, so I guess they wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. Also, one of the telescopes is leased to the russians. It is really an interesting place and the scenery is beautiful. 

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