![]() In the early 16 hundreds, the Dutch lens grinder and spectacle maker Hans Lipperhey experimented with optical lenses and found out that when a convex lens and a concave lens were arranged in a certain way along an optical axis, distant objects are shown enlarged as if they were near. However, it took until 1608 until all of this knowledge was put into practice and the first usable optical instrument was discovered, with which one could enlarge distant objects so that they appeared to be much closer to the observer than they really were. Well, it’s a long story: over 2000 years ago the ancient scholars had started to study optics and the theory of light, its propagation, and the laws of light refraction. The profession of a “spectacular maker” came into being.Įarly eyeglass frames were simply two magnifying glasses riveted together on the handles so that they could grip the nose. People who could see better were more productive in their professional lives and could participate better in daily life.įrom the beginning of the 15th century, the wearing of glasses became common. The economic benefits of glasses were quickly recognized. Many old frescoes and paintings from the 14th century show monks and scholars wearing glasses. Glasses were made in Venice as early as the 13th century. Roger Bacon has done important preliminary work and many books give him credit for inventing the magnifying glass.įrom then on, progress was made quickly. It is difficult to say who really discovered the first glasses. It was probably primarily about enabling older monks to read the scriptures again. The Franciscan monk Roger Bacon applied essential findings on physical optics and believed that spherical segments made of glass were excellent tools for the visually impaired. The Franciscan order, in particular, excelled in the spread of technology and knowledge. Monasteries maintained a lively exchange of knowledge and the work spread very quickly among the monks. It wasn’t until Vitello (1220-1280) translated Alhazen’s “Book of Optics” from Arabic to Latin that scholars in Europe became aware of it. Even though Alhazen thus laid the theoretical basis for what lenses should look like, there are no records that Alhazen has used the idea of the reading stone in practice. Among other things, he describes in his work a hemispherical glass segment (kind of a lens), with the help of which an object appears enlarged. The Arabic mathematician and astronomer Ibn al-Haytham (965-1039) – also known as Alhazen, describes the basics of geometric optics in his work “ The Book of Optics“. It was found by the English archaeologist Austen Henry Layard in 1850 during excavations in a palace in the ancient city of Nimrud which belongs to Iraq today. The purpose of the lens, which is more than 3000 years old, is not quite clear, it could have been used as a magnifying glass or burning glass or just a nice decorative object. One of the oldest known rock crystal lenses is the Nimrud lens. These lenses are embedded in the anatomically correct represented eyes of many statues of the 4th and 5th dynasties. The lenses are made of glass or polished quartz crystal and are apparently used for decorative purposes. Some of the earliest lenses can be found in old ancient Egyptian statues. Throughout history, many scholars, inventors, and other clever minds have made discoveries and inventions that have made modern binoculars possible. Let’s look at what it took to turn the first reading stones into modern hand-held glasses. So there is no single person “who invented binoculars”. ![]() Like so many things that we take for granted today, binoculars were not invented as binoculars but required many ideas, flashes of inspiration, and implementation in practical application by lots of clever people.
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