Gadgets and Gizmos

 by: Kelham Regress

Binoculars

Binoculars are actually two telescopes placed side by side

so a viewer can see through them with both eyes. Unlike

monoculars which is one small telescope and can only been

seen through using one eye. The advantages of using

binoculars over monoculars are:

1. Both eyes can see comfortably through both lenses

with having to squint one eye to see.

2. Binoculars provide three dimensional images that

have more depth. Two views are drawn together to make one

total picture and allow the viewer to see things at some

distances up close and personal.

3. Binoculars are just more comfortable to look through

and hold steady because both hands are usually used.

Binoculars come in the convenient hand-held sizes which

make them very easy to take with you wherever you go.

However, binoculars can also come in very large sizes but

those are usually used by more professional viewers and

need to be steadied by being placed on a tripod for support.

Most binoculars are used to view objects at very far

distances and have to be focused for the viewer to see

things clearly. Focus adjustments on each set of binoculars

are different, some binocular lenses can be focused

independently while others can be focused at the same time

by turning a little wheel in between the telescopes. Many

viewers using prescription glasses do not need them to see

through most telescopes and can see more comfortably by

taking off their glasses.

Numbers are used to describe the telescopic strength of the

binoculars. The first number gives the power of the

magnification and the second number tells the diameter of

the objective lens in millimeters which measures its light

gathering strength. For instance, a pair of binoculars that

reads 7x50 can magnify things seven times stronger than

they actually are with a 50mm objective lens.

Viewers can use a pair of binoculars for bird watching,

star gazing, observing far off animals, spotting ships at

sea, watching a concert, or enjoying a sports game from a

"nosebleed seat." They can be used while hiking, camping,

boating and hunting. One fascinating use of binoculars is

looking at the night sky. They enable the user to spot far

more stars, comets, galaxies, and nebulae far better than

with the naked eye. For example, galactic clouds and star

clusters look dim when viewed by the naked eye, but with

binoculars they are much clearer. Unlike the inverted view

a telescope provides, binoculars show the world right-side

up, just as a person would see things normally.

Furthermore, binoculars with a wide field of view allow a

user to observe a wide area, making it easier to observe

star clusters, comets, and galactic clouds. Binoculars are

easy to operate and allow viewers to concentrate fully on

looking up into the sky.