[ TERC VHS-1 Sun Photometer ] [ Manual TOC ]
1. The modern era of Sun photometry began with the development of hand-held instruments by Frederick E. Volz, who described his work in "Economical Multispectral Sun Photometer for Measurement of Aerosol Extinction from 0.44 um to 1.6 um and Precipitable Water" (Applied Optics, 13, 8, 1732-1733, 1974).
2. The use of light-emitting diodes as light detectors in an inexpensive Sun photometer was described in a peer-reviewed journal by Forrest M. Mims III in "Sun Photometer with Light-Emitting Diodes as Spectrally Selective Detectors" (Applied Optics, 31, 33, 6965-6967, 1992).
3. The TERC VHS-1 Sun Photometer is based on a design by Forrest M. Mims III published in "Science Fair: Ticket to Your Future" (Radio Shack, 30-31, 1992) and in "Engineer's Mini-Notebook: Environmental Science Projects" (Radio Shack, 37-41, 1995).
4. Many of the basic concepts described here are adapted from "How to Measure the Solar Constant" by Forrest M. Mims III (Science Probe: The Amateur Scientist's Journal, 1, 2, 93-100, 123, 1991).
5. The software that accompanies this manual and the discussion on Sun angle, air mass and local time are adapted from "How to Measure the Ozone Layer" by Forrest M. Mims III (Science Probe: The Amateur Scientist's Journal, 2, 4, 45-51, 1992). The TERC VHS-1 spreadsheet can be downloaded from: ftp://ftp.concord.org/pub/haze/vhs1-download/