The Inventor of the Fresnel Lens: Augustin-Jean Fresnel

- વિશ્વના વિજ્ઞાનીઓ

The beam of light from lighthouses on the coast is visible to ships from far away. A beam of light also spreads out from the headlights of cars and vehicles. This feat is due to the Fresnel lens contained within them. A simple lens refracts light and gathers it in one place. A concave lens spreads light in all directions, but the structure of the Fresnel lens is different. It has a pattern of ridges and grooves. Therefore, different groups of light rays behave independently. The Fresnel lens works as if it is a collection of many small lenses. Based on its ridge-and-groove pattern, rays of light pass through it and spread out.

This lens was invented by a scientist named Augustin Fresnel. He conducted deep research on the movement of light rays and made many discoveries. Augustin-Jean Fresnel was born on May 10, 1788, in the province of Broglie, France. His father was an architect. Fresnel lived in Paris his entire life. He served as a government engineer. During the reign of Napoleon, he lost his job. After that, he began research related to light. In 1818, he wrote research papers on the refraction of light. He received an award from the Paris Academy of Science. He first invented a new type of lens, which was named the Fresnel lens. Mirrors were used in lighthouses to project light far away. After Fresnel invented the lens, it became easy to spread light over long distances without mirrors. In 1819, he was appointed to the post of Commissioner of Lighthouses. In 1827, he was awarded the Rumford Medal.

Fresnel's main theory was that light rays spread like waves. By arranging mirrors and glass at various angles and performing many experiments on the reflection and refraction of light, he invented the polarized lens in addition to the Fresnel lens. The principles of diffraction he discovered are called Fresnel Diffraction. Today, his principles are used in photography and film shooting.