Rotary probe traversing mechanism

A simple mechanical device is presented which allows a probe to scan a plane in space without translating the probe support. The mechanism relies on the rotation of two shafts, one of which rotates the probe through space and the other controls the probe offset from the axis of rotation. The characteristic width of the area swept out is four times the characteristic width of the device. A simple ratcheting gear allows adjacent planes to be scanned for the purpose of obtaining gradients. Computerized control of the shafts rotations also allows noncircular domains to be scanned