Hello all--I'm new to this group, but something that's been bugging me
for literally years, came up anew in the past few days talking with
some friends.

About 20 years ago in Albuquerque NM, I happened to pick an
optometrist out of the phone book to get a renewed prescription and
glasses, etc.  He turned out to be a rather old German guy, who
certainly seemed highly proficient.  When it came time to dilate my
eyes for glaucoma and a laser damage exam (I work in R&D with lasers),
he told me he was going to use a set of optics mounted in his basic
"turreted" optometry machine (I apologize for not knowing the name of
that device--) that would dilate my pupils for a few minutes, long
enough for him to do the exam.  "No drops and 2-3 hours of being blind
after I leave?", I asked; nope, none of that, the
optical/physiological effect simply fades away within a few minutes!
And indeed, they worked like a charm.  I was struck enough at the time
by how very cool this was, that I asked him about them; he said they
were from Europe and he didn't see their use much here in the US.

Ever since that exam a long time back, I've queried my various
optometrists and opthamologists over the years, and every single one
has never heard of such a thing, and they typically look at me like
I'm making it up!  But I swear this guy used this excellent technique.
Does anyone here have any knowledge of this technique for pupil
dilation "sans drops"?  Thanks--
C. Hale, Lafayette, CO