This trip to Qioptiq has been a meaningful experience. It was rather interesting to me, because optics is one of my best subjects in Science.
The first thing which interested me was not the products or factory, but was the melody that rang to signal a break for the workers. I think it is a great idea, firstly because everyone loves breaks from their work, and this will keep the engineers working at Qioptiq happy. It also serves as a time for workers to refresh themselves, and this allows them to continue working effectively, as well as to prevent them from being overworked.
The first knowledge I learned was the process called "diamond turning", which is a process used to cut crystal lenses with precision, using diamond tips. This is a totally knew knowledge to me. Though I have seen cartoon characters with diamond swords(the sharpest and best swords), I never knew that diamonds could be used to cut objects, especially precision elements! Some of these optical elements which are produced by the means of diamond turning are used in telescopes, video projectors and even missile guidance systems.
Another knowledge was how the lenses are coated. In the past, I thought that the "multi-coating" that was on my spectacles were just another added layer of material on top of the lens. From the journey to Qioptiq, I found out that it is actually done in a vacuum chamber, with the coating at the bottom and the lens at the top, so the coating would be shot to the top of the chamber, and be gelled to the lens.
An interesting project idea which I thought of was to make use of the technology in airplanes, where the light is projected, and reflected onto the glass of the cockpit, and to use it in cars. We all know that there are GPS devices to guide us to where we want to go. The GPS devices can make use of this technology, and project light onto the windscreen of the car, so that drivers can see trails of light, representing the path they should take, instead of constantly turning their heads to check the screen of the GPS, or listening to the voice from the GPS(which may be slow).
After listening to Mr Ronny's story, I think what I want my life story to be more geared towards designing of products. I was never good with fancy mathematical signs, but what I hope I could do next time, is to design a product which can wow the world. Much like what Steve Jobs did with the iphone, I aspire to be like him.
