Editing Optical table (section)

{{Redirects|Air table|the collaborative software service|Airtable|the indoor game|Air hockey}}
[[Image:Laser.jpg|thumb|300px|A laser system on an optical table.]]
An '''optical table''' is a [[Vibration isolation|vibration control]] platform that is used to support systems used for [[laser]]- and [[optics]]-related experiments in [[Optical science|science]], [[Optical engineering|engineering]] and [[Optical manufacturing|manufacturing]]. The surfaces of these tables are designed to be very rigid with minimum deflection so that the alignment of optical elements remains stable over time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newport.com/Approximating-Real-World-Beam-Deflection/168089/1033/content.aspx|title=Approximating Real-World Beam Deflection|website=www.newport.com|access-date=2016-03-15}}</ref> Many optical systems require that vibration of optical elements be kept small. As a result, optical tables are typically very heavy and incorporate vibration isolation and damping features in their structure. Many use pneumatic isolators that act as mechanical [[low-pass filter]]s, reducing the ability of vibrations in the floor to cause vibrations in the tabletop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thorlabs.com/tutorials/tables.cfm |title=The need for optical tables |access-date=January 3, 2014}}</ref> Optical tables that use pneumatic isolators are sometimes called '''air tables'''.

The surface of an optical table is typically [[stainless steel]] with a rectangular grid of tapped holes in either metric or imperial units:

* metric: [[ISO metric screw thread|M6]] on a 25&nbsp;mm grid
* imperial: ¼"-20 [[Unified National Coarse|UNC]] on a 1" (25.4&nbsp;mm) grid

'''Optical breadboards''', '''benches''', and '''rails''' are simpler structures that perform a similar function to optical tables. These are used in teaching and in [[research and development]], and are also sometimes used to support permanently aligned optical systems in finished devices such as lasers.