Mechanical supports for mirrors and other optical components and substrates to maintain their initial undeformed shape is a common engineering problem. Ideally a mirror or similar substrate can be supported on three points if the mirror or substrate is stiff enough. However in many cases, the deflections are too large and more support is required. One of the earliest areas where this problem arose was for the mirrors in early telescopes. Irishman Howard Grubb came up with a novel solution by supporting the mirror on a set of levers known as a whiffletree. For a historical bio of Howard Grubb see Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers or the Museum Victoria (Australia) bio or a history of the Armagh Observatory and Grubb’s telescope.
