Magnifying Glass Essay

2007 Words5 Pages

Introduction What advancements have been made to help the people who have vision problems, or eye disease that completely blinds or partially blinds people? There are about 285 million people that are legally blind in the world. 1.3 million are in the U.S. Ever since the magnifying glass was invented in 1250, we have developed ways to help us see better. The Magnifying glass The magnifying glass is one of the earliest devices known that is for optical uses. Ancient Egyptians used shards of crystal or diamond to view abject better. During the reign of Emperor Nero, (37 A.D - 68 A.D) was known to look through an emerald at actors that were on stage, this was so that he could get a better view of them. The first known magnifying glass to be developed …show more content…

When an object is viewed through the glass, light rays bend towards the center of the lens. When those bent rays reach the eyes, the object appears bigger and closer than the object actually is. The invention of the magnifying glasses inspired artisans to develop a pair that patients would be able to put on in front of their eyes. The first spectacles that were invented are believed to be invented between 1268 and 1289 in Italy. The small discs glass came from the idea of two glass balls, then punching out circles with cold copper pipes. Each of the pieces of glass was ground on the back surface, and then they were framed and given a handle. Glasses were formed when they had started to put a divider in between each of the glasses. Earliest documentation from Giordano DA Rivalto and Alessandro della Spina, two monks from the St. Catherine’s Monastery, back up the theory of a person of the church wanted to keep the invention of the glasses a secret so that he could make a profit. Giordano had made a mention of them on February 23 1306, in Florence Italy. "it is not yet twenty years since there was found the art of making eyeglasses which make for good vision, one of the best arts and most necessary that the world has." He used the word "Occhiale" which means eyeglasses or …show more content…

Published evidence that came from letters from the Dukes of Milan, Francesco and Galeazzo Maria Sforza, dated 1462 and 1466. Those letters have detailed information about the spectacles back to when they had been invented. Florence had been producing large amounts of convex lenses that helped people that had presbyopia, which means farsighted, and myopes, for people who were nearsighted. Florence became the biggest manufacturer of the spectacles, mostly because the spectacles where affordable, readily available, and where good made from good quality materials. The spectacle makers of Florentine had known that vision declines as a person becomes over the age of 30. The spectacle makers had developed and made spectacles for the people over the age of 30 that were stronger, and could help them see better. The dukes of Milan had ordered these Florentine prestigious glasses by the hundreds, they would give these glasses to their courtiers as gifts. Some documentation that is located only in Florence has revealed about 52 names of spectacle makers from the years 1413-1562 and their locations of their shops. The large numbers of spectacles that were going around in the northwest of Europe during the 14th century were being produced in massive quantities in the lower countries. At the start of the 15th century,

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