TAYLOR TROWBRIDGE Optical Properties of a Spherical Plastic

Physicist,
Electro-Optics Division,
L a b o r a t o r y Department,
N a v a l Missile Center,
Underwater Observatory NEMO
Point M u g u , Calif.
The optical effects occurring during observation from within a transparent spherical
underwater observatory are analyzed,. Quantitative results are presented for the NEMO
observatory. These results include location, size, and shape discrepancies for the entire
range of possible object locations, for the entire range of possible eye locations, and for
"best" and "worst" cases of eye orientation. Residts were obtained from ray tracing
computed in accordance with Snell's law by using an iterative numerical procedure.
The distance and size discrepancies were found to be severe; however, the distortions in
shape and the discrepancies in the subtended angles were remarkably mild. It may be
that for reasonable eye locations, observations in all directions from spherical observa-
tories will present a much more realistic scene than observations through a planar inter-
face, even for viewing normal to the planar interface.

Introduction server located anywhere inside and oriented' in any position.

s,IUBMBRSIBLES using a transparent spherical pres-
sure hull as an omnidirectional observatory are being developed.
Thus a complete description of the optical effects produced by
such a curved interface is desirable. The optical effects to be
treated here consist of differences in the size, shape, and location
of the virtual image of an object observed through the curved
interface as compared to the object observed in air. The ob-
server may perceive this virtual image to be somewhat different
than it is in actuality; however, perception is an extremely com-
plex psychological phenomenon and shall not be thoroughly
treated in this paper.
Since the observatory is omnidirectional and the observers are
free to move around inside, the optical effects should be deter-
mined for an object located anywhere outside as seen b y an ob-
Contributed by the Underwater Technology Division for publica-
tion (without presentation) in the JOURNAL OP ENGINEERING FOB
INDUSTRY. Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters, August
3, 1970. Paper No. 70-UivT-A.
A numerical ray-tracing procedure was developed to calculate
the effects, and quantitative results are displayed for the N E M O
(Naval Experimental Manned Observatory) submersible under
development at the Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory in Port
Hueneme, Calif. This submersible has an outside diameter of
5V2 ft and is composed of 2 1 / 2 -in-thick a c r y i i c plastic (poly-
methylmethacrylate) which has a refractive index of 1.49. A
refractive index of 1.33 is used for the water and a refractive index
of 1 is used for the air. The organization of the paper consists of:
(a) presentation of the theory used in calculating the position of
the image of a point object; (b) definition of the optical effects
as discrepancies in the relationship between several point objects;
(c) presentation of numerical results; and (d) discussion of the
numerical results.
Image of a Point
To find the direction of the virtual image of a point object, the
p a t h of the ray from, the object point O which passes through the
position of the observing eye E must be found. This path must

-Nomenclature-

Reo =
center-object distance AR = distance discrepancy (Rei/Reo) subtended by line || to center-
Reo =
eye-object distance D = distortion of object (S\\/S±) eye-object plane (.S\\Reo/Rei)
i?Ci =
center-image distance S\\ = size discrepancy of a line || to the S x' = discrepancy in observed angle
Rei =
eye-image distance
center-eye-object plane subtended by a line _L to center-
/ice =
center-eye distance
6 =
angle between eye-image line and S1 = size discrepancy of a line J_ to the eye-object plane (S xReo/Rei)
extension of eye-center line center-eye-object plane <j) = angle between center-eye-object
Ad = direction discrepancy iSy' = discrepancy in observed angle plane and eye-eye-object plane

710 / MAY 1 971 Transactions of the ASME

Copyright © 1971 by ASME
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 Fig. 1 Path of a ray through the observatory w a l l ; if line i passes through
the eye position E, the virtual image w i l l lie somewhere along the dotted
extension of /

lie in the plane determined by 0, E, and the center C of the spheri-

cal observatory. Fig. 1 is drawn in this plane. The raj' passing
through the eye is found as follows. Line a is chosen to be in an
arbitral'}' direction from 0 . Its intersection (xi, j/i) with the cir-
cular plastic-water interface is calculated. Then the angle a,
between the line a and the interface normal at (xi, yi), is calcu-
lated. Snell's law of refraction gives the angle (5, which deter-
mines the direction of the refracted raj' b in the plastic. The
equation of line 6 can now be given in terms of Xi, y%, and /3, so
its intersection (xi, yi) with the circular plastic-air interface can
be found. With these values for Xi and yi, the angle y, between
the line b and interface normal at (£2, J/2), is calculated. Snell's
law of refraction then gives the angle 5, which determines the di-
rection of the refracted ray i in the air. The equation of line i
can be given in terms of x-i, yi, and S, and thus the distance be-
tween E and the line i can be found. But it is desired that i
pass through the eye location E . An iteration procedure
using the above series of calculations produces this result by vary-
ing the direction of line a until the distance between E and i
is less than some specified small value. The virtual image then
lies somewhere on the extension (dotted line in Fig. 1) of the re-
sulting line i.
To locate the virtual image point on this line, a second eye must
be considered since depth perception is determined by using two
eyes. The virtual image point is located where the extension of
the rays (i) entering each eye intersect. Fig. 2 shows three
possible locations E 2 , E 3 , and E 4 for the second eye. E y e E 2 is
located at some distance from eye E in the plane OCE and the
resulting image point is at I12. Variations in this distance be-
tween E and E2 were found from calculations to have no signifi-
cant effect on the results in this paper for distances up to values
greater than the spacing between human eyes. For up to 1 deg
separation between i and ii, no variation greater than 2 percent
was observed in any of the results. The eye locations E3 and E4
are given by rotating E and E 2 about line OC. For the second
eye at E 3 , it is obvious from Fig. 2 that the resulting image I13
must lie on the center-to-object line OC and must be independent
of the distance between E and E 3 . Since I i 2 does not necessarily
Fig. 2 Location of the virtual image of a point object; it depends upon eye
orientation
lie on OC, I12 and I J3 may be different, and in such case the optical
effects of the spherical interface will depend on the orientation of
the eyes about the observation direction. For the second eye
at E4, it can be seen from the larger-scale drawing of Fig. 3 that
the rays entering the eyes (i and u) do not intersect; and are skew
lines. Thus no actual virtual image is formed and the observer
should see double. However, for skew lines a small distance
apart the brain will perceive a single image and thus depth. I t
would most likely perceive the image to be where the distance
between the skew lines is least. From Fig. 3 it appears that this
image point will be somewhere between the images for the other
two eye orientations. Notice also that as E4 approaches E 3 or
E 2 , the minimum-distance line segment will approach the image
point location for (E, E 3 ) and (E, E 2 ), respectively. Therefore,
the extremes in the optical effects should occur when the eyes
are parallel (E and E 2 ) to and perpendicular (E and E 3 ) to the
center-object-eye plane. The optical effects were in general
found to be most severe in the parallel orientation so this is
labeled the "worst" eye orientation and the perpendiculai oiien-
tation is labeled the "best" eye orientation. Results aie pie-
sented for only these two orientations, and as previously pi oven
the results are independent of eye separation.

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Fig. 3 Exaggerated v i e w of Fig. 2 showing the details of the relations
between the lines determining the location of the image points for various
orientations of the t w o eyes
Definitions of Optical Effects
Fig. 4 illustrates the eyes lying at a distance Rce from the center
of the sphere observing the point object O which lies at a distance
Reo, and seeing the virtual image at the position I which is at a
distance Rei- For an image observed at an angle 9 from the eye-
center line CE, the discrepanC3' in direction is given by Ad and
the discrepancy in range is given by AR = Re\/R<,0.
Size and shape discrepancies can be illustrated in terms of the
ratios of distances between point objects to corresponding dis-
tances between their virtual images. In Fig. 4 consider a second
point object 0\\ at a small distance ?0| | from 0 and located on the
circle which: (a) is drawn about the sphere center; (6) lies in the
plane CEO; and (c) passes through 0 . This circle is shown in Fig.
4 and has a radius of Rco. The location of the image I j | of 0\\
can be found as was the image I of 0 , and then the distance lt\\
between I and I|j can be computed. Thus the size discrepancy
for the direction of ?o| [ can be given by S\ | = ?,-| | //o| | • In Fig. 4
consider a third point object O x at a location determined by
rotating 0 about the line CE until it is displaced by a small dis-
tance k x- Since the geometry in the new plane CEO x is identical
to that in the plane CEO, the virtual image I x of 0 x is in the same
position in C E O x as t h a t of I in CEO. Using this, the distance
lit between I and I x can be computed. The size discrepancy for
the, dhection of Z0 x can be given by £ x = U i/lo x- Any other di-
iechonin,thp lo\\loi plane (perpendicular to a sphere radius) can
be geneiated by a linear combination of the above two methods;
theiefme, the size discrepancy for any other direction will be a
compiomise between those above, and thus »S|| and $ x are the
7K / MAY 1 971
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Fig. 4 Illustration of the quantities used in defining the various optical
effects
extremes in size discrepancy in the plane perpendicular to a
sphere radius. Since S\ j and S x are extremes and are for orthog-
onal directions, the distortion which will be observed in the shape
of an object will be given by their ratio D = S^/S ±.
The optical effects defined above describe the virtual image of
an object. However, human depth perception in many cases is
based upon more than the mechanisms (eye convergence and ac-
commodation) which would give accurate depth perception of
this virtual image. Depth perception can be influenced by the
observer's previous knowledge of the object and of the sur-
roundings. Sometimes this knowledge dominates. For ex-
ample, the virtual image seen normally through a planar interface
of a denser medium is the same size as the object but closer to the
interface. However, to a diver under water looking through a
faceplate at an abalone in his hand, the abalone looks larger than
its actual size. This occurs possibly because his mind sub-
consciously ignores the divergence of the light rays from the
abalone's virtual image in preference to knowledge of his arm's
length. Since the angle subtended by the virtual image is nearly
always perceived accurately, any perceived increase in its dis-
tance produces a proportional increase in its size. The distance
to which the virtual image would be projected would tend to be
the distance of the object. If this occurs for the spherical inter-
face, the length of the lines /,-|| and U± will be perceived to have
the greater lengths lt\\' = ImReo/Rei and l;1' = ?.,-^Reo/Re\, re-
spectively. Thus the size discrepancies in the || and J. directions
would become S\\' — S\\Reo/Rei and S x ' = SxReo/ReU respec-
tively; S\i' and S x' are also equivalent to the discrepancies in the
angles subtended.
Results
Fig. 5 illustrates the location discrepancies which the N E M O
submersible will produce. The primary purpose of these graphs
is to illustrate the discrepancy in image location rather than to
supply quantitative results. Numerical results can be obtained
from Table 1 but for only a single value of eye-center distance.
The gi'aphs are presented in the eenter-e3 r e-object plane (CEO)
Transactions of the ASME
 of Fig. 4. The image (I) must also lie in this plane. Each curve
is the locus of the images of point objects lying on a circle of
radius Rco concentric with the N E M O sphere. Corresponding-
object and image points lie on the same radial line through the
center for the "best" eye orientation and lie approximately on
the same radial line for the "worst" eye orientation. Glancing
down a column of plots shows the effect of increasing eye-to-
ceuter distance Rce and the two columns of plots compare results
obtained for the "worst" and "best" eye orientations about the
observation direction.
Table 1 lists numerical values of the optical effects defined
above versus the angle 6 between the eye-center line and the eye-
image line and versus the distance Rco of the object from the
center. Values for the "worst" and "best" eye orientations are
compared. Only a distance of the eyes from the center of ij c e
= 1.5 ft is considered. This is considered to be a typical value
for Rm in N E M O .
These results can be extended to describe the virtual image of
a large object by dividing the object into small parts and using
the results presented above to describe each part individual^.
To use these results to find the optical effects when observing
in a given direction from a given location, one must find the line
from the center through the observer's eye, measure the angle d
between this line and the observation direction, measure the
angle <f> between the center-eye-image plane and the eye-eye-
image plane, and measure the distance Rm of the eye from the
center. The "worst" and "best" eye orientations occur at <j> =
0 and 90 deg, respectively. If the value of <j> is neither 0 nor
90 deg, some type of interpolation of the quantitative results is
necessary. Linear interpolation is assumed to be sufficiently
accurate, inasmuch as no actual virtual image is formed and the
observer should see double except when 4> = 0 or 90 deg.
To better illustrate the meaning and usefulness of the graphs
shown in Fig. 5, these graphs can be used to approximate image-

-12 -10 -8 -6

Fig. 5 Discrepancies in image location; consider a circle which is concentric w i t h the spherical observatory and has a radius of RCoJ as a point ob-
ject moves along this circle, its image describes a curve in a figure; corresponding object and image points lie on the same radial line through the
center for the "best" eye orientation and approximately on the same radial line for the ""v w o r s t " eye orientation

Journal of Engineering for industry MAY 1 971 / 713

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 R =1.5 feet
ce
"Worst" eye orientation

6 -
4
"co = 1000 ,^5=
'80/

2
/40 /° ' 5 * J
air
0 - c- eyes JL

-2 - v^-plas c /(&

-4
R = 2.5 feet
ce
"Worit" eye orientation
wafer
' 1 ! _J .1... 1 1
-12 -10 -8 -2 0
Feel

Fig. 5 (cont'd.)

location discrepancies as shown by the following example in
which (j> is neither 0 nor 90 deg. The most typical situation for
an observer in N E M O is as follows: The observer is facing a di-
rection called "forward" and his eyes are at the center of the
sphere. Displace him 3/-i ft backward, SU ft to the side, and then
1 ft up, in which case R<.e is approximately 1.5 ft. If he is now
looking "forward," one finds t h a t 6 = 121 deg and 4> = 53 deg.
If, for this example, a virtual image appears at a fixed distance,
the real problem becomes t h a t of locating t h e object whose image
appears at the fixed distance for an eye orientation (j> = 53 deg
The following steps are outlined for solving the problem under
consideration. First locate the two graphs for-ffiCB = 1.5 ft given
in Fig. 5 for the "worst" and "best" eye orientations. On each
of these graphs draw a line from the eye position at an angle 6 =
121 deg from the positive abscissa. Then choose a distance, say
6 ft from the eye position, for the virtual image. Using the scale
on a graph, mark the image position at a distance of 6 ft along
each line drawn at d = 121 deg. On each graph the curve which

714 / MAY 1 971 Transactions of the ASME

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 Table 1 O p t i c a l effects observed f r o m the N E M O s u b m e r s i b l e b y eyes at a distance
of RCe = 1.5 f i f r o m the center
Object at a distance of RCi 3 ft from the center

Angle Range Direction Distortion S i z e d i s c r e p a n c y II & J. Subtended angle d i s c r e p -

to discrepancy discrepancy t o t h e CEO p l a n e a n c y u & j . t o CEO p l a n e
image AR A0° D Sa S± Sj| S^
fl° w o r s t bes t worst best worst best worst best worst best worst best worst best

0 0.93 0 93 0 07 0.07 1.00 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.96 0 96 1.04 1.04 1 04 1.04
20 0.93 0.93 0 71 0.71 1.00 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.96 0 96 1.03 1.04 1 04 1.04
40 0.92 0.94 1 31 1.31 0.99 1.00 0.94 0.96 0.95 0 96 1.02 1.03 1 03 1.03
60 0.92 0.94 1 66 1.66 0.99 1.00 0.93 0.96 0.94 0 96 1.01 1.02 1 02 1.02
80 0.93 0.95 1 65 1.65 1.00 1.00 0.94 0.96 0.94 0 96 1.01 1.01 1 01 1.01
100 0.94 0.96 1 35 1.35 1.01 1.00 0.95 0.96 0.94 0 96 1.00 1.00 1 00 1.00
120 0.96 0.97 0 93 0.93 1.01 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.95 0 96 1.00 0.99 0 99 0.99
140 0.97 0.97 0 55 0.55 1.00 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.96 0 96 0.99 0.99 0 99 0.99
160 0.97 0.98 0 25 0.25 1.00 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.96 0 96 0.99 0.99 0 99 0.99
180 0.98 0.98 0 01 0.01 1.00 1.00 0.96 0.96 0.96 0 96 0.99 0.99 0 99 0.99

Object at a distance of R co - 5 ft from the center

0 0.74 0.74 0 19 0.19 1.00 1.00 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.82 1.11 1.11 1 11 1.11
20 0.73 0 74 1 91 1.91 1.00 1.00 0.80 0.81 0.80 0.81 1.10 1.10 1 10 1.10
40 0.71 0 74 3 63 3.63 0.99 1.00 0.76 0.81 0.77 0.80 1.07 1.09 1 08 1.08
60 0.70 0 75 4 86 4.86 0.98 1.00 0.72 0.79 0.74 0.79 1.04 1.06 I 06 1.06
80 0.70 0 77 5 25 5.25 1.00 1.00 0.72 0.79 0.72 0.79 1.02 1.02 1 02 1.02
100 0.73 0 79 4 70 4.70 1.03 1.00 0.74 0.79 0.73 0.79 1.01 0.99 0 99 0.99
120 0.78 0 82 3 53 3.53 1.03 1.00 0.78 0.79 0.75 0.79 1.00 0.97 0 97 0.97
140 0.82 0 84 2 24 2.24 1.02 1.00 0.80 0.80 0.79 0.80 0.97 0.96 0 96 0.96
160 0.85 0 85 1 07 1.07 1.00 1.00 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.81 0.96 0.95 0 95 0.95
180 0.86 0 86 0 05 0.05 1.00 1.00 0.82 0.82 0.82 0 82 0.95 0.95 0 95 0.95

Object a t a d i s t a n c e of R 7 ft from the

0 0.63 0.63 0.23 0.23 1.00 1.00 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 1.13 1.13 1 13 1.13
20 0.62 0.63 2.24 2.24 1.00 1.00 0.69 0.70 0.69 0.70 1.12 1.12 1 12 1.12
40 0.59 0.63 4.30 4.30 1.00 1.00 0.65 0.69 0.65 0.69 1.10 1.10 1 10 1.10
60 0.57 0.64 5.87 5.87 0.99 1.00 0.60 0.68 0.61 0.68 1.05 1.07 1 07 1.07
80 0.57 0.65 6.52 6.52 1.00 1.00 0.59 0.67 0.59 0.67 1.02 1.03 1 03 1.03
100 0.61 0.68 6.03 6.03 1.03 1.00 0.62 0.67 0.60 0.67 1.02 0.99 0 99 0.99
120 0.66 0.71 4.70 4.70 1.04 1.00 0.66 0.68 0.63 0.68 1.00 0.96 0 96 0.96
140 0.71 0.73 3.07 3.07 1.03 1.00 0.69 0.69 0.67 0.69 0.97 0.94 0 94 0.94
160 0.75 0.75 1.49 1.49 1.01 1.00 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.94 0.93 0 93 0.93
180 0.76 0.76 0.07 0.07 1.00 1.00 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.93 0.93 0 93 0.93

Object at a dista 10 ft from the center

0 0.51 0.52 0 25 0.25 1.00 1.00 0.59 0 59 0.59 0.59 1.14 1.14 1 14 1 14
20 0.50 0.51 2 45 2.45 1.00 1.00 0.58 0 58 0.57 0.58 1.14 1.14 1 13 1 13
40 0.48 0.51 4 73 4.73 1.01 1.00 0.54 0 57 0.53 0.57 1.12 1.12 1 11 1 11
60 0.46 0.52 6 53 6.53 0.99 1.00 0.49 0 56 0.49 0.56 1.07 1.08 1 08 1 08
80 0.45 0.53 7 39 7.39 1.00 1.00 0.46 0 55 0.47 0.55 1.03 1.03 1 03 1 03
100 0.48 0.56 7 07 7.07 1.03 1.00 0.49 0 55 0.47 0.55 1.02 0.99 0 99 0 99
120 0.53 0.59 5 60 5.60 1.05 1.00 0.53 0 56 0.51 0.56 1.00 0.95 0 95 0 95
140 0.59 0.62 3 74 3.74 1.03 1.00 0.57 0 57 0.55 0.57 0.96 0.93 0 93 0 93
160 0.63 0.63 1 84 1.84 1.01 1.00 0. 58 0 58 0.58 0.58 0.93 0.92 0 92 0 92
180 0.64 0.64 0 09 0.09 1.00 1.00 0.59 0 59 0.59 0.59 0.92 0.92 0 92 0 92

0 >jec t at a distance ° f R
co - 20 ft f •om the center

0 0.33 0.33 0 27 0.27 1.00 1.00 0.38 0 38 0.3S 0.38 1.15 1.15 1 15 1 15
20 0.32 0.33 2 66 2.66 1.01 1.00 0.37 0 37 0.36 0.37 1. 16 1. 15 1 15 1 15
40 0.30 0.32 5 16 5.16 1.03 1.01 0.34 0 37 0.33 0.36 1.16 1.13 1 13 1 13
60 0.27 0.32 7 22 7.22 1.01 1.01 0.30 0 35 0.30 0.35 1.10 1.09 1 09 1 09
80 0.27 0.33 8 34 8.34 1.00 1.00 0.28 0 34 0.28 0.34 1.03 1.04 1 04 1 04
100 0.29 0.35 8 13 8.13 1.04 1.00 0.29 0 34 0.28 0.34 1.02 0.99 0 99 0 99
120 0.33 0.37 6 69 6.69 1.07 1.00 0.33 0 35 0.31 0.35 1.01 0.95 0 94 0 94
140 0.37 0.40 4 60 4.60 1.05 1.00 0.36 0 36 0.34 0.36 0.96 0.92 0 92 0 92
160 0.41 0.41 2 31 2.31 1.02 1.00 0.37 0 37 0.37 0.37 0.92 0.90 0 90 0 90
180 0.42 0.42 0 12 0.12 1.00 1.00 0.38 0 38 0.38 0.38 0.90 0.90 0 90 0 90

Object at a distance of Rc 30 ft from the center

0 0.24 0.24 0.27 0.27 1.00 1.00 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.16
20 0.23 0.24 2.72 2.72 1.02 1.00 0.27 0.28 0.27 0.27 1.17 1.16 1.15 1.15
40 0.21 0.24 5.29 5.29 1.04 1.01 0.25 0.27 0.24 0.27 1.17 1.14 1.13 1.13
60 0.20 0.24 7.44 7.44 1.02 1.01 0.22 0.26 0.21 0.26 1.11 1.10 1.09 1..09
80 0.20 0.24 8.65 8.65 1.00 1.00 0.20 0.25 0.20 0.25 1.03 1.04 1.04 1.04
100 0.20 0.25 8.50 8.50 1.04 1.00 0.21 0.25 0.20 0.25 1.02 0.99 0.99 0.99
120 0.24 0.27 7.07 7.07 1.08 1.00 0.24 0.26 0.22 0.26 1.01 0.94 0.94 0.94
140 0.27 0.29 4.90 4.90 1.06 1.00 0.26 0.27 0.25 0.27 0.96 0.91 0.91 0.91
160 0.30 0.31 2.47 2.47 1.02 1.00 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.27 0.91 0.90 0.89 o!89
180 0.31 0.31 0.12 0.12 1.00 1.00 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.89 0.89 0.89 0.89

Object at a distance of R 100 ft from the center

0 0.08 0.08 0.28 0.28 1.00 1.00 0.10 0.10 o.io o.io 1.16 1.16 1.16 1.16
20 0.08 0.08 2.80 2.80 1.03 1.00 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.10 1.19 1.16 1.16 1.16
40 0.07 0.08 5.47 5.47 1.06 1.01 0.09 0.09 0.08 0.09 1.21 1.15 1.13 1.13
60 0.07 0.08 7.72 7.72 1.04 1.01 0.07 0.09 0.07 0.09 1.14 1.11 1.09 1.09
80 0.06 0.08 9.07 9.07 1.00 1.00 0.07 0.09 0.07 0.09 1.04 1.04 1.04 1.04
100 0.07 0.09 9.02 9.02 1.04 1.00 0.07 0.09 0.07 0.09 1.02 0.99 0.98 0.98
120 0.08 0.09 7.61 7.61 1.09 1.00 0.08 0.09 0.07 0.09 1.02 0.94 0.94 0.94
140 0.09 0.10 5.34 5.34 1.07 1.00 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.97 0.91 0.90 0.90
160 0.11 0.11 2.72 2.72 1.02 1.00 0.10 0.10 0.09 0.10 0.91 0.89 0.89 0.89
180 0.11 0.11 0.14 0.14 1.00 1.00 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88

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 passes through the image is labeled by a value of center-object
distance Rco. For these constructions R00 is found to be 10 ft for
the "best" eye orientation and 15 ft for the "worst" eye orien-
tation, respectively. Since <p = 53 deg, the eyes are oriented at
59 percent of the angular distance between "worst" orientation
(0 = 0 deg) and "best" orientation (<j> = 90 deg). Hence, by
linear interpolation, the distance Rm to the object is 12 ft. This
gives the object to be located somewhere on a 12-ft-radius circle
about the center at an angular position yet to be determined.
Recalling from Fig. 2 that for the "best" eye orientation, (E, E 3 )
with (f> = 90 deg, the image is located on the center-object line,
the position of the object on the 12-ft-radius circle can now be
determined. On the construction above for "best" eye orienta-
tion, draw a line from the center through the image point to the
12-ft-radius circle. The object is located at the intersection of
this radial line and the circle. The distance from the object to
the eye can now be measured on the completed construction and
is found to be Reo = 13 ft. The discrepancy in angle is the angle
between the eye-object line and the eye-image line (at 6 — 121
deg). From the completed construction, the discrepancy in angle
is found to be A9 = 7 deg. Thus for this example, it is approxi-
mately 13 ft to an object whose virtual image is observed at 6 ft;
the discrepancies in image location are AR = 0.46 and Ad = 7
deg.
Discussion of Results
With few exceptions, the optical effects become milder or
cease to exist: (a) as the eyes approach the center of the sphere;
(o) as the eyes approach the "best" orientation; (c) as the object
approaches the surface of the sphere; and (d) as the object ap-
proaches the eye-center line direction.
Fig. 5 graphically illustrates the location discrepancy. For an
object on the eye-center line, the simple geometrical optics theory
for spherical interfaces applies and the following results from Fig.
5 are consistent with this theory. The location discrepancy is
least severe and is independent of eye position and orientation.
For increasing object distance, the image distance approaches a
limit of about 10.5 ft from the center (of the 5.5-ft-dia N E M O )
as the object approaches infinity. For an object not on the eye-
center line, the simple geometrical optics theory does not apply.
The position discrepancy is more severe and is dependent upon
the position and orientation of the eyes. I t is most severe near
9 = 80 deg and at the greater distances of the eyes from the
center. The curves in Fig. 5 are bowed inward when the eyes
are near or closer than 0.65 ft and 0.15 ft from the wall of the
sphere for the eyes in the "worst" and "best" orientations, re-
spectively. This might be disturbing to an observer seeing an
image extending across this bowed region.
For an object on the eye-center line (0 = 0 or 180 deg), Table
1 gives all of the optical effects to be independent of eye and ob-
ject orientations and gives A0 = 0 deg 1 and D = 1.00. A slight
dependence on eye position occurs for a few of the effects, but
this occurs only because these particular effects were defined in
terms of eye position. The range and size discrepancies AR,
S\\, and Si are near unity for objects near the surface of the
sphere but become much less than unity with increasing object
distance R00- All of the above results are consistent with the
simple geometrical optics theory.
For an object not on the eye-center line, most of the optical
effects are more pronounced. Except for Ad and Sx', they all
depend on eye orientation and are nearly always more pro-
nounced for the "worst" orientation. Also, the S quantities now
depend on the orientation of the object. In addition, the op-
1
The non-zero but small values shown in the table arise from 0.5
deg and 179.5 deg being used for 0 deg and 180 deg to avoid singular-
ities in the computations.
716 / MAY 1 971
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tical effects are strongly dependent on the eye position, be-
coming much more pronounced as the eye approaches the wall of
the sphere. Tables of numerical data are included only for the
typical eye-center distance of 1.5 ft for N E M O but some results
for optical effects at other distances will be given to illustrate
the magnitude of their dependence on eye-center distance.
The directional discrepancy Ad is more severe at the greater
object ranges and at 6 = 80 to 90 deg. For the "worst" eye
orientation and for _Rco = 100 ft, the maximum value of Ad is
2.7 deg at R00 = 0.5 ft, 9.2 deg at fi00 = 1.5 ft, and 25.7 deg at
flc6 = 2.5 ft.
The range and size discrepancies AR, S\[, and S j_ are always
less than one. This implies that the virtual image of an object
is always closer and smaller than the object. They are smallest
within d = 70 to 90 deg and they decrease greatly with object
range. For the "worst" eye orientation and for R00 = 100 ft,
the minimum value for AR is 0.09 at B oe = 0.5 ft, 0.06 at S c e =
1.5 ft, and 0.01 for Rce = 2.5 ft. The corresponding values for
S| | and S x are nearly identical to these values of AR.
A very remarkable property of this observatory (NEMO) is
that the distortion D in the shape of the virtual image is very mild
for all directions and ranges of the object. I t is almost non-
existent when the eyes are in the "best" orientation. For a given
value of 6, D tends to deviate from one more at greater object
distances and greater eye distances from the center. For the
"worst" eye orientation and for Rco — 100 ft, the maximum de-
viation is 1/t percent at i? ce = 0.5 ft and 9 percent at 7JC0 = 1.5 ft.
At iJCe = 2.5 ft, D is as great as 3.26, but for this eye distance the
eye is only 0.04 ft from the wall, and this situation is not likely
to occur.
The discrepancies in the angles subtended (iS||' and Si) b y
the two directions on the object are never large. The discrepan-
cies S\ | ' and S x' have extremes greater than one and less than
one at 6 = 0 and 180 deg, respectively, and become one some-
where in between. These extremes deviate more with increasing
Ree and Rm and also approach limiting values with increasing Rao.
These limiting values appear to be 1.05 and 0.96 at Bm = 0.5 ft,
1.16 and 0.88 at floe = 1.5 ft, and 1.31 and 0.82 at # c e = 2.5 ft.
This preservation of the subtended angle may be a very signifi-
cant attribute of the N E M O observatory when compared to the
following problem for a flat interface. I n water the virtual
image is the same size as the object and is closer by a factor of
1/1.33, so the angle it subtends is greater by a factor of 1.33.
A diver observing the ocean bottom as he swims down toward it
is deceived by its virtual image being much closer than the real
bottom. If, as in the case of the abalone in his hand, he perceives
the true distance, he is deceived as to the size of the object.
There is no way in which he can perceive both aspects accurately.
However, in the spherical observatory, if he can, as with the
abalone, ignore the distance of the virtual image of the object,
he will perceive both aspects, size and distance, nearly accu'
rately. This may occur naturally if there is some reference such
as a diver or a familiar piece of equipment in the scene. Also,
by simply covering one eye, the false information supplied by the
divergence of the rays from the virtual image can be physically
•eliminated.
In conclusion, for reasonable eye locations in this spherical ob-
servatory, the subtended-angle discrepancies and the distortion
are remarkably mild for all observation directions. Although
the range discrepancy is severe, it might easily be suppressed
mentally or physically. When viewing normal to the conven-
tional planar interface, distortion is nonexistent but there is a
severe discrepancy in subtended angle. Thus for reasonable eye
locations, observations in all directions from spherical observa-
tories may present a much more realistic scene than observations
through the conventional planar interface, even for viewing nor-
mal to the planar interface.
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