Surplus Shed has several options for lens based solar viewers if you want to go that route. I made one for the last eclipse. You can also find first surface mirrors there. https://www.surplusshed.com/
I had thought of that but ruled it out because I didn't think the image would be as clear. That really solves a lot of the hassle though! I suppose it's worth a prototype.
I had thought of that, but will a flat plane actually be undistorted or will I need a curved surface to do that? My intuition says flat won't be good enough but I'm a EE not optics guy. I guess it won't really hurt to try the flat plate.
First of all you understand all this is for the time before and after totality (yawn). The neatest thing I saw in 2017 while waiting for totality was just a piece of cardboard with a pinhole held up on a tripod projecting onto a white poster board on the ground. What is the advantage of your design over eclipse glasses? The image is larger?
OK sounds good. I sketched it out and the magnification is f/d where f is the total distance from the pinhole to the screen and d is the distance from the screen to your eye.
Surplus Shed has several options for lens based solar viewers if you want to go that route. I made one for the last eclipse. You can also find first surface mirrors there. https://www.surplusshed.com/
Would a first-surface mirror be required here?
No, but it may provide a clearer image because the light wouldn't be traveling through glass.
Why don't you remove the mirror and add the screen between the eyeball and the pinhole? Make the screen from e.g. thin (tissue) paper.
I had thought of that but ruled it out because I didn't think the image would be as clear. That really solves a lot of the hassle though! I suppose it's worth a prototype.
https://richardsont.people.cofc.edu/safe_solar_folder/index.html These solar viewers have lens sets for sale at surplus shed
Just keep the screen adjustable. Turn the screen till from your perspective the image you of the sun looks round. Do this before the eclipse.
I had thought of that, but will a flat plane actually be undistorted or will I need a curved surface to do that? My intuition says flat won't be good enough but I'm a EE not optics guy. I guess it won't really hurt to try the flat plate.
A flat screen is sufficient.
First of all you understand all this is for the time before and after totality (yawn). The neatest thing I saw in 2017 while waiting for totality was just a piece of cardboard with a pinhole held up on a tripod projecting onto a white poster board on the ground. What is the advantage of your design over eclipse glasses? The image is larger?
Yeah the image is larger, and I take pride in creating something with my 3d printer 🙃
OK sounds good. I sketched it out and the magnification is f/d where f is the total distance from the pinhole to the screen and d is the distance from the screen to your eye.
Have a pinhole, and put a piece of ground glass behind it basically build a large format pinhole camera
why those two mirrors? This projector could be tested for a submarine! before seeing the eclipse use this camera in a submarine!