The Pockels Cell shutter by itself would not be sufficient to exclude light
altogether so a mechanical "capping" shutter was also used in cameras that used
such shutters or with Kerr Cells used as shutters.
Andy
There are a lot of photos on the web of atomic explosions taken with
Edgerton's "mechanical shutter" camera, and even photos of the device
itself. But, I can't find any web sites that state exactly what kind
of shutter it was. The links that come closest to indicating that they
might describe it turn out to be blank -- i.e., I get the 404 not found
message. (Is this Homeland Security in action?) The troublesome
phrase is "mechanical shutter," which I would not apply to a Pockel (or
Kerr) cell device which depends on the imposition of an electrical
field. The lag time between event and exposure (i.e. 10ms, 20ms, etc.)
would not be difficult to achieve, even with a mechanical shutter, it
seems to me, but the subsequent exposure times with the intensity of
the nuclear blast would be a challenge. My Q- clearance lasted only for
one summer in 1966, and I didn't have "need to know" even then, so I
can't be more definitive than this.
Roger
Roger Eichhorn
eichhorn@xxxxxx
