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It sounds like the Fresnel lens was an engineering breakthrough rather than scientific.
by tomjakubowski 7y ago
It sounds like the Fresnel lens was an engineering breakthrough rather than scientific.
- dreamcompiler 7y agoExactly. You said it more succinctly than I did.
- BurningFrog 7y agoWas it an engineering breakthrough in the sense that people had realized it was a desirable design before, but didn't know how to make it before Fresnel (I assume) figured that out?
- flomo 7y agoGood question. When you tour these old lighthouses, the gigantic glass lenses are certainly impressive in their construction. The technology may be well understood today, but I doubt you could procure such a thing. (Well maybe if you're the NRO.)
- ChuckMcM 7y agoYeah, pretty much. That said the ability to shape glass like that was pretty cool. In theory, you can keep making the rings smaller and smaller (and the lens thinner and lighter) until you hit the wavelength of the light you're trying to focus.