Augustin-Jean Fresnel -- Fresnel Lenses
A Fresnel lens ( fray-NEL or FREZ-nel) is a type of lens originally developed
by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.
This work is in the public domain
♥Augustin-Jean Fresnel, a nineteenth century physicist, the son of Jacques Fresnel
and Augustine Mériméewas was born in France on May 10, 1788.
He died of consumption at Ville-d'Avray, near Paris, on the 14th of July 1827.
He was the son of an architect,
*He may most often remembered for the invention of unique compound lenses
designed to produce parallel beams of light, which are still used widely in
lighthouses. Fresnel's early education was provided by his parents and he was
considered a slow learner, barely able to read by the age of 8. When he
was 12-years-old, however, Fresnel began formal studies at the Central
School in Caen, where he was introduced to the wonders of science and
demonstrated an aptitude in mathematics.
♥He served as an engineer. His researches in optics, continued until his
death, appear to have been begun about the year 1814, when he prepared a
paper on the aberration of light, which, however, was not published. In 1818
he read a memoir on diffraction for which in the ensuing year he received the
prize of the Académie des Sciences at Paris.
*Although he received little public recognition for his efforts during his lifetime.
♥He was in 1823 unanimously
elected a member of the academy, and in 1825 he became a member of
the Royal Society of London, which in 1827, at the time of his last illness,
awarded him the Rumford medal. In 1819 he was nominated a commissioner
of lighthouses, for which he was the first to construct compound lenses as
substitutes for mirrors.
*n the field of optics, Fresnel derived formulas to explain reflection, refraction,
double refraction, and the polarization of light reflected from a transparent
substance. Fresnel also developed a wave theory of diffraction. He created
various devices to produce interference fringes in order to demonstrate the
interference of light wavelets. Using his inventions, Fresnel was the first to
prove that the wave motion of light is transverse. He accomplished this task
by polarizing light beams in different planes and showing that the two beams
do not exhibit interference effects.
*In 1822, Fresnel invented the lens that is now used in lighthouses around the
world. The Fresnel lens appears much like a giant glass beehive with a lamp in
the center. The lens is composed of rings of glass prisms positioned above and
below the lamp to bend and concentrate the light into a bright beam. The Fresnel
lighthouse lens works so well that the light can be seen from a distance of 20 or
more miles. Before Fresnel's invention, lighthouses used mirrors to reflect light,
and could be seen only at short distances and hardly at all during foggy or stormy
days. Lighthouses equipped with Fresnel's lenses have helped save many ships from
going aground or crashing into rocky coasts.
Chart of Fresnel Lenses
|| 7' 10"
|| 6' 1"
|| 6' 1"
|| 4' 7"
|| 4' 8"
|| 3' 3"
| Third and 1/2
|| 3' 0"
|| 2' 5 1/2"
|| 2' 4"
|| 1' 8"
|| 1' 8"
|| 1' 3"
|| 1' 5"
|| 1' 0"
This image is from:
A First Order lenses is huge! It can be 12 feet tall and 7 feet in diameter.
Click image for larger view
Makapuu Point Lighthouse -- The largest lens used in the U. S. Lighthouse Service
The inside diameter is 8 3/4 feet.
--Exp. of size of first order lens--
This Sixth Order lens is the smallest of the lenses made for lighthouses. A sixth order can be as small as 1 1/2 feet tall and be seen for 5 miles.
¹A fixed Fresnel lens sends light beams in all
directions all of the time. The light does not flash.
¹A revolving Fresnel lens sends light beams (which
look like a flash) in specific directions
were classed based upon the distance of the
light source to the lens. The sizes ranged
from the largest first order to the smallest
Prior to the introduction of the Fresnel lenses, lighthouses had many individual oil lamps, as many as fifteen or twenty
at a major seacoast light. Not only did these consume a tremendous amount of oil, but they weren't all that bright,
and couldn't be seen from very far away.
First Order Fresnel Lens
Used with permission of author Gabelstaplerfahrer
Second Order Fresnel Lens
Description: The lens is 4’8" in diameter and 6’8" in height. It is larger than a
second order (4’7" by 6’1") lens, but smaller than a first order (6’1" by 7’10") lens.
Use with permission of author Cacophony
Third Order Fresnel Lens
Description: Former Fresnel Lens of Anacapa Island Lighthouse (California, USA).
Quote: "For nearly 60 years and 52 million rotations, the Fresnel lens and light
warned sailors away from Anacapa's rocky coast." - NPS.
Author National Park Service
Third and 1/2 Order Fresnel Lens
Description:This is a picture of the last fresnel lens to operate in Marblehead
Lighthouse. It is a 3 1/2 order lens. It was in operation at the lighthouse
from 1904 - 1969. It is now on display inside of the Marblehead Lighthouse
Used with permission of the Author Matt Dempsey from Lorain, Ohio, United States of America
Fourth Order Fresnel Lens
Used with permission of author Pictowrit
Fifth Order Fresnel Order Lens
English: Fresnel lens of Loschen-Lighthouse in Bremerhaven, Germany;
Used with permission of Author Hannes Grobe 06:12, 30 July 2006 (UTC)
To view more and diffrent lens visit here:
Point Arena Lighthouse
♥This info is from:
*This info is from:
Science, Optics and You
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