Schlieren System - Physics Demonstrations - Schlieren System | Physics Undergraduate Labs

Soldering guns and heat sources reach temperatures exceeding 200°C. Position the heat source securely to prevent contact with mirrors, optical mounts, or observers. Allow adequate cooling time before handling. Ensure proper ventilation when using soldering guns to avoid flux fume inhalation.

Purpose

Makes refractive index gradients in air visible using a mirror-based knife-edge technique. Students observe how temperature variations cause density changes that bend light, and can distinguish laminar from turbulent flow patterns in the thermal plume of a soldering gun.

Textbook diagrams showing the Schlieren optical setup: perspective view of light source, mirrors, and knife edge arrangement, plus two schematic cross-sections of single-mirror configurations

Figure 1: Schematic of the Schlieren system layout (from Hilton, TPT 1972). A straight-filament lamp at the focus of one mirror produces a collimated beam through the test region; a second mirror refocuses the beam onto a knife edge.

Quad Color Viewport

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High Frequency Sound Emitter

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Safety Warnings

Warning: Hot Surface Hazard

Purpose