Virtual reality - Wikipedia
Applications · Virtual reality is most commonly used in entertainment applications such as · In social sciences and psychology, virtual reality offers a cost- ...
Fresnel lenses
In 2013, Valve discovered and freely shared the breakthrough of low-persistence displays which make lag-free and smear-free display of VR content possible.[44] This was adopted by Oculus and was used in all their future headsets. In early 2014, Valve showed off their SteamSight prototype, the precursor to both consumer headsets released in 2016. It shared major features with the consumer headsets including separate 1K displays per eye, low persistence, positional tracking over a large area, and <anchor>Fresnel lenses</anchor>.[45][46] HTC and Valve announced the virtual reality headset HTC Vive and controllers in 2015. The set included tracking technology called Lighthouse, which utilized wall-mounted "base stations" for positional tracking using infrared light.[47][48][49]
Fresnel lens - Wikipedia
Fresnel lens - Wikipedia[Jump to content](#bodyContent)

Main menu

Main menu

move to sidebarhide

Navigation


- [Main page](/wiki/Main_Page "Visit the main page [z]")
- [Contents](/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents "Guides to browsing Wikipedia")
- [Current events](/wiki/Portal:Current_events "Articles related to current events")
- [Random article](/wiki/Special:Random "Visit a randomly selected article [x]")
- [About Wikipedia](/wiki/Wikipedia:About "Learn about Wikipedia and how it works")
- [Contact us](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us "How to contact Wikipedia")
- [Donate](https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en "Support us by donating to the Wikimedia Foundation")

Contribute


- [Help](/wiki/Help:Contents "Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia")
- [Learn to edit](/wiki/Help:Introduction "Learn how to edit Wikipedia")
- [Community portal](/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal "The hub for editors")
- [Recent changes](/wiki/Special:RecentChanges "A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]")
- [Upload file](/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard "Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia")

[![](/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png)![Wikipedia](/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg)![The Free Encyclopedia](/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg)](/wiki/Main_Page)

[Search](/wiki/Special:Search "Search Wikipedia [f]")

Search

Appearance

- [Create account](/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Fresnel+lens "You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory")
- [Log in](/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Fresnel+lens "You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]")

Personal tools

- [Create account](/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Fresnel+lens "You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory")
- [Log in](/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Fresnel+lens "You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]")

Pages for logged out editors [learn more](/wiki/Help:Introduction)

- [Contributions](/wiki/Special:MyContributions "A list of edits made from this IP address [y]")
- [Talk](/wiki/Special:MyTalk "Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]")

## Contents

move to sidebarhide

- (Top)

- [1History](#History)Toggle History subsection  - [1.1Forerunners](#Forerunners)
  - [1.2Publication and refinement](#Publication_and_refinement)
  - [1.3After Fresnel](#After_Fresnel)
- [2Design](#Design)
- [3Lighthouse lens sizes](#Lighthouse_lens_sizes)
- [4Types](#Types)
- [5Uses](#Uses)Toggle Uses subsection  - [5.1Illumination](#Illumination)
  - [5.2Imaging](#Imaging)
  - [5.3Projection](#Projection)
  - [5.4Solar power](#Solar_power)
- [6See also](#See_also)
- [7References](#References)
- [8Bibliography](#Bibliography)
- [9Further reading](#Further_reading)
- [10External links](#External_links)

Toggle the table of contents

# Fresnel lens

48 languages

- [Alemannisch](https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-Linse "Fresnel-Linse – Alemannic")
- [العربية](https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%A9_%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%84 "عدسة فرينل – Arabic")
- [Asturianu](https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_de_Fresnel "Lente de Fresnel – Asturian")
- [Башҡортса](https://ba.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B0%D2%BB%D1%8B "Френель линзаһы – Bashkir")
- [Български](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%89%D0%B0 "Френелова леща – Bulgarian")
- [Català](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent_de_Fresnel "Lent de Fresnel – Catalan")
- [Čeština](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnelova_%C4%8Do%C4%8Dka "Fresnelova čočka – Czech")
- [Dansk](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnellinse "Fresnellinse – Danish")
- [Deutsch](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-Linse "Fresnel-Linse – German")
- [Eesti](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresneli_l%C3%A4%C3%A4ts "Fresneli lääts – Estonian")
- [Español](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_de_Fresnel "Lente de Fresnel – Spanish")
- [Esperanto](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-lenso "Fresnel-lenso – Esperanto")
- [Euskara](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_leiar "Fresnel leiar – Basque")
- [فارسی](https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%B3%DB%8C_%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%84 "عدسی فرسنل – Persian")
- [Français](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentille_de_Fresnel "Lentille de Fresnel – French")
- [Galego](https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_de_Fresnel "Lente de Fresnel – Galician")
- [한국어](https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%94%84%EB%A0%88%EB%84%AC_%EB%A0%8C%EC%A6%88 "프레넬 렌즈 – Korean")
- [हिन्दी](https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AB%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2_%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%B2 "फ्रेसनेल ताल – Hindi")
- [Hrvatski](https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnelova_zrcala "Fresnelova zrcala – Croatian")
- [Bahasa Indonesia](https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensa_Fresnel "Lensa Fresnel – Indonesian")
- [Italiano](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_di_Fresnel "Lente di Fresnel – Italian")
- [עברית](https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A2%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%AA_%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%9C "עדשת פרנל – Hebrew")
- [Қазақша](https://kk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%8B "Френель линзасы – Kazakh")
- [Македонски](https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%9C%D0%B0 "Френелова леќа – Macedonian")
- [Bahasa Melayu](https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanta_Fresnel "Kanta Fresnel – Malay")
- [Монгол](https://mn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D0%BD_%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B7 "Френелийн линз – Mongolian")
- [Nederlands](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnellens "Fresnellens – Dutch")
- [日本語](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BA "フレネルレンズ – Japanese")
- [Nordfriisk](https://frr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-Lins "Fresnel-Lins – Northern Frisian")
- [Norsk bokmål](https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-linse "Fresnel-linse – Norwegian Bokmål")
- [Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча](https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_linzalari "Fresnel linzalari – Uzbek")
- [Polski](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soczewka_Fresnela "Soczewka Fresnela – Polish")
- [Português](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_de_Fresnel "Lente de Fresnel – Portuguese")
- [Русский](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F "Линза Френеля – Russian")
- [Simple English](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_lens "Fresnel lens – Simple English")
- [Slovenčina](https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnelova_%C5%A1o%C5%A1ovka "Fresnelova šošovka – Slovak")
- [Slovenščina](https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnelova_le%C4%8Da "Fresnelova leča – Slovenian")
- [Српски / srpski](https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B0 "Фреснелова сочива – Serbian")
- [Suomi](https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-linssi "Fresnel-linssi – Finnish")
- [Svenska](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel-lins "Fresnel-lins – Swedish")
- [தமிழ்](https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88 "பிரெனெல் வில்லை – Tamil")
- [ไทย](https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B9%8C%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A5 "เลนส์แฟรแนล – Thai")
- [Türkçe](https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_lens "Fresnel lens – Turkish")
- [Українська](https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B7%D0%B0_%D0%A4%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8F "Лінза Френеля – Ukrainian")
- [Tiếng Việt](https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%E1%BA%A5u_k%C3%ADnh_Fresnel "Thấu kính Fresnel – Vietnamese")
- [Winaray](https://war.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lente_Fresnel "Lente Fresnel – Waray")
- [粵語](https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8F%B2%E6%B6%85%E7%88%BE%E9%80%8F%E9%8F%A1 "菲涅爾透鏡 – Cantonese")
- [中文](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8F%B2%E6%B6%85%E8%80%B3%E9%80%8F%E9%8F%A1 "菲涅耳透鏡 – Chinese")

[Edit links](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q14672#sitelinks-wikipedia "Edit interlanguage links")

- [Article](/wiki/Fresnel_lens "View the content page [c]")
- [Talk](/wiki/Talk:Fresnel_lens "Discuss improvements to the content page [t]")

English

- [Read](/wiki/Fresnel_lens)
- [Edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit "Edit this page [e]")
- [View history](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=history "Past revisions of this page [h]")

Tools

Tools

move to sidebarhide

Actions


- [Read](/wiki/Fresnel_lens)
- [Edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit "Edit this page [e]")
- [View history](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=history)

General


- [What links here](/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Fresnel_lens "List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]")
- [Related changes](/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Fresnel_lens "Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]")
- [Upload file](/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard "Upload files [u]")
- [Special pages](/wiki/Special:SpecialPages "A list of all special pages [q]")
- [Permanent link](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&oldid=1240863921 "Permanent link to this revision of this page")
- [Page information](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=info "More information about this page")
- [Cite this page](/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Fresnel_lens&id=1240863921&wpFormIdentifier=titleform "Information on how to cite this page")
- [Get shortened URL](/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFresnel_lens)
- [Download QR code](/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFresnel_lens)
- [Wikidata item](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q14672 "Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]")

Print/export


- [Download as PDF](/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Fresnel_lens&action=show-download-screen "Download this page as a PDF file")
- [Printable version](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&printable=yes "Printable version of this page [p]")

In other projects


- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fresnel_lenses)

Appearance

move to sidebarhide

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Compact composite lens

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/MuseeMarine-phareFresnel-p1000466.jpg/220px-MuseeMarine-phareFresnel-p1000466.jpg)](/wiki/File:MuseeMarine-phareFresnel-p1000466.jpg) First-order rotating catadioptric Fresnel lens, dated 1870, displayed at the _[Musée national de la Marine](/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_national_de_la_Marine "Musée national de la Marine")_, Paris. In this case the dioptric prisms (inside the bronze rings) and catadioptric prisms (outside) are arranged to concentrate the light from the central lamp into four revolving beams, seen by sailors as four flashes per revolution. The assembly stands 2.54 metres (8.3 ft) tall and weighs about 1.5 tonnes (3,300 lb).

A **Fresnel lens** ([/ˈfreɪnɛl,-nəl/](/wiki/Help:IPA/English "Help:IPA/English") [_FRAY-nel, -⁠nəl_](/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key "Help:Pronunciation respelling key"); [/ˈfrɛnɛl,-əl/](/wiki/Help:IPA/English "Help:IPA/English") [_FREN-el, -⁠əl_](/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key "Help:Pronunciation respelling key"); or [/freɪˈnɛl/](/wiki/Help:IPA/English "Help:IPA/English") [_fray-NEL_](/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key "Help:Pronunciation respelling key")[\[1\]](#cite_note-1)) is a type of composite compact [lens](/wiki/Lens_(optics) "Lens (optics)") which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections.

The simpler [dioptric](/wiki/Dioptrics "Dioptrics") (purely [refractive](/wiki/Refraction "Refraction")) form of the lens was first proposed by [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](/wiki/Georges-Louis_Leclerc,_Comte_de_Buffon "Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon")[\[2\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-lighthouse-2), and independently reinvented by the French physicist [Augustin-Jean Fresnel](/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel "Augustin-Jean Fresnel") (1788–1827) for use in [lighthouses](/wiki/Lighthouse "Lighthouse").[\[3\]](#cite_note-3)[\[4\]](#cite_note-4) The [catadioptric](/wiki/Catadioptric_system "Catadioptric system") (combining refraction and reflection) form of the lens, entirely invented by Fresnel, has outer [prismatic](/wiki/Prism_(optics) "Prism (optics)") elements that use [total internal reflection](/wiki/Total_internal_reflection "Total internal reflection") as well as refraction to capture more oblique light from the light source and add it to the beam, making it visible at greater distances.

The design allows the construction of lenses of large [aperture](/wiki/Aperture "Aperture") and short [focal length](/wiki/Focal_length "Focal length") without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can be made much thinner than a comparable conventional lens, in some cases taking the form of a flat sheet.

Because of its use in lighthouses, it has been called "the invention that saved a million ships".[\[5\]](#cite_note-5)

## History

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: History")\]

### Forerunners

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Forerunners")\]

The first person to focus a lighthouse beam using a lens was apparently the London glass-cutter Thomas Rogers, who proposed the idea to [Trinity House](/wiki/Trinity_House "Trinity House") in 1788.[\[6\]](#cite_note-tag-prior-6) The first Rogers lenses, 53cm in diameter and 14cm thick at the center, were installed at the [Old Lower Lighthouse](/wiki/Old_Lower_Lighthouse "Old Lower Lighthouse") at [Portland Bill](/wiki/Portland_Bill "Portland Bill") in 1789. Behind each lamp was a back-coated spherical glass mirror, which reflected rear radiation back through the lamp and into the lens. Further samples were installed at [Howth Baily](/wiki/Baily_Lighthouse "Baily Lighthouse"), [North Foreland](/wiki/North_Foreland "North Foreland"), and at least four other locations by 1804. But much of the light was wasted by absorption in the glass.[\[6\]](#cite_note-tag-prior-6)[\[7\]](#cite_note-7)

In 1748, [Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon](/wiki/Georges-Louis_Leclerc,_Comte_de_Buffon "Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon") was the first to replace a convex lens with a series of concentric [annular](/wiki/Annulus_(mathematics) "Annulus (mathematics)") prisms, ground as steps in a single piece of glass,[\[2\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-lighthouse-2)to reduce weight and absorption. In 1790[\[8\]](#cite_note-condorcet-1790-8) (although secondary sources give the date as 1773[\[9\]](#cite_note-appleton-1861-9): 609  or 1788[\[10\]](#cite_note-tag-2017-10)), the [Marquis de Condorcet](/wiki/Marquis_de_Condorcet "Marquis de Condorcet") suggested that it would be easier to make the annular sections separately and assemble them on a frame; but even that was impractical at the time.[\[11\]](#cite_note-tag-fres-11)[\[12\]](#cite_note-levitt-p71-12) These designs were intended not for lighthouses,[\[2\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-lighthouse-2) but for [burning glasses](/wiki/Burning_glass "Burning glass").[\[9\]](#cite_note-appleton-1861-9): 609 [David Brewster](/wiki/David_Brewster "David Brewster"), however, proposed a system similar to Condorcet's in 1811,[\[2\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-lighthouse-2)[\[10\]](#cite_note-tag-2017-10)[\[13\]](#cite_note-ripley-dana-1879-13) and by 1820 was advocating its use in British lighthouses.[\[14\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-brewster-14)

### Publication and refinement

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: Publication and refinement")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Fresnel_lighthouse_lens_diagram.png/220px-Fresnel_lighthouse_lens_diagram.png)](/wiki/File:Fresnel_lighthouse_lens_diagram.png) Cross-section of a first-generation Fresnel lighthouse lens, with sloping mirrors _m, n_ above and below the refractive panel _RC_ (with central segment _A_). The design was later improved by replacing the mirrors with reflective prisms to reduce losses. If the cross-section in every vertical plane through the lamp _L_ is the same (cylindrical symmetry), the light is spread evenly around the horizon.

The French [Commission des Phares](/w/index.php?title=Commission_des_Phares&action=edit&redlink=1 "Commission des Phares (page does not exist)") \[ [FR](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commission_des_phares_(France) "fr:Commission des phares (France)")\] (Commission of Lighthouses) was established by Napoleon in 1811, and placed under the authority of French physicist [Augustin-Jean Fresnel](/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel "Augustin-Jean Fresnel")'s employer, the Corps of Bridges and Roads. As the members of the commission were otherwise occupied, it achieved little in its early years.[\[15\]](#cite_note-15) However, on 21 June 1819—three months after winning the physics _Grand Prix_ of the Academy of Sciences for his celebrated memoir on [diffraction](/wiki/Diffraction "Diffraction")—Fresnel was "temporarily" seconded to the commission on the recommendation of [François Arago](/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Arago "François Arago") (a member since 1813), to review possible improvements in lighthouse illumination.[\[11\]](#cite_note-tag-fres-11)[\[16\]](#cite_note-16)

By the end of August 1819, unaware of the Buffon-Condorcet-Brewster proposal,[\[11\]](#cite_note-tag-fres-11)[\[13\]](#cite_note-ripley-dana-1879-13) Fresnel made his first presentation to the commission,[\[17\]](#cite_note-17) recommending what he called _lentilles à échelons_ ('lenses by steps') to replace the reflectors then in use, which reflected only about half of the incident light.[\[18\]](#cite_note-18) Another report by Fresnel, dated 29 August 1819 (Fresnel, 1866–70, vol. 3, pp. 15–21), concerns tests on reflectors, and does not mention stepped lenses except in an unrelated sketch on the last page of the manuscript. The minutes of the meetings of the Commission go back only to 1824, when Fresnel himself took over as Secretary.[\[19\]](#cite_note-19) Thus the exact date on which Fresnel formally recommended _lentilles à échelons_ is unknown.\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\] Much to Fresnel's embarrassment, one of the assembled commissioners, [Jacques Charles](/wiki/Jacques_Charles "Jacques Charles"), recalled Buffon's suggestion.[\[20\]](#cite_note-levitt-p59-20) However, whereas Buffon's version was [biconvex](/wiki/Lens_(optics)#Types_of_simple_lenses "Lens (optics)") and in one piece,[\[21\]](#cite_note-21) Fresnel's was [plano-convex](/wiki/Lens_(optics)#Types_of_simple_lenses "Lens (optics)") and made of multiple prisms for easier construction.

With an official budget of 500 francs, Fresnel approached three manufacturers. The third, François Soleil, found a way to remove defects by reheating and remolding the glass. Arago assisted Fresnel with the design of a modified [Argand lamp](/wiki/Argand_lamp "Argand lamp") with concentric wicks (a concept that Fresnel attributed to [Count Rumford](/wiki/Benjamin_Thompson "Benjamin Thompson")[\[22\]](#cite_note-22)), and accidentally discovered that [fish glue](/wiki/Fish_glue "Fish glue") was heat-resistant, making it suitable for use in the lens. The prototype, finished in March 1820, had a square lens panel 55cm on a side, containing 97 polygonal (not annular) prisms—and so impressed the Commission that Fresnel was asked for a full eight-panel version. This model, completed a year later in spite of insufficient funding, had panels 76cm square. In a public spectacle on the evening of 13 April 1821, it was demonstrated by comparison with the most recent reflectors, which it suddenly rendered obsolete.[\[23\]](#cite_note-23)

Soon after this demonstration, Fresnel published the idea that light, including apparently [unpolarized](/wiki/Polarization_(waves) "Polarization (waves)") light, consists exclusively of [transverse waves](/wiki/Transverse_wave "Transverse wave"), and went on to consider the implications for [double refraction](/wiki/Birefringence "Birefringence") and partial reflection.[\[24\]](#cite_note-24)

Fresnel acknowledged the British lenses and Buffon's invention in a memoir read on 29 July 1822 and printed in the same year.[\[25\]](#cite_note-25) The date of that memoir may be the source of the claim that Fresnel's lighthouse advocacy began two years later than Brewster's;[\[14\]](#cite_note-chisholm-1911-brewster-14) but the text makes it clear that Fresnel's involvement began no later than 1819.[\[26\]](#cite_note-26)

Fresnel's next lens was a rotating apparatus with eight "bull's-eye" panels, made in annular arcs by [Saint-Gobain](/wiki/Saint-Gobain "Saint-Gobain"),[\[12\]](#cite_note-levitt-p71-12) giving eight rotating beams—to be seen by mariners as a periodic flash. Above and behind each main panel was a smaller, sloping bull's-eye panel of trapezoidal outline with trapezoidal elements.[\[27\]](#cite_note-gombert-2017-27) This refracted the light to a sloping plane mirror, which then reflected it horizontally, 7 degrees ahead of the main beam, increasing the duration of the flash.[\[28\]](#cite_note-28) Below the main panels were 128 small mirrors arranged in four rings, stacked like the slats of a [louver](/wiki/Louver "Louver") or [Venetian blind](/wiki/Venetian_blind "Venetian blind"). Each ring, shaped like a [frustum](/wiki/Frustum "Frustum") of a [cone](/wiki/Cone "Cone"), reflected the light to the horizon, giving a fainter steady light between the flashes. The official test, conducted on the unfinished [Arc de Triomphe](/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe "Arc de Triomphe") on 20 August 1822, was witnessed by the Commission—and by [Louis XVIII](/wiki/Louis_XVIII "Louis XVIII") and his entourage—from 32 kilometres (20 mi) away. The apparatus was stored at [Bordeaux](/wiki/Bordeaux "Bordeaux") for the winter, and then reassembled at [Cordouan Lighthouse](/wiki/Cordouan_Lighthouse "Cordouan Lighthouse") under Fresnel's supervision—in part by Fresnel's own hands. On 25 July 1823, the world's first lighthouse Fresnel lens was lit.[\[29\]](#cite_note-29) As expected, the light was visible to the horizon, more than 32 kilometres (20 mi) out.[\[30\]](#cite_note-watson-1999-30)

The day before the test of the Cordouan lens in Paris, a committee of the Academy of Sciences reported on Fresnel's memoir and supplements on double refraction—which, although less well known to modern readers than his earlier work on diffraction, struck a more decisive blow for the wave theory of light.[\[31\]](#cite_note-31) Between the test and the reassembly at Cordouan, Fresnel submitted his papers on [photoelasticity](/wiki/Photoelasticity "Photoelasticity") (16 September 1822), [elliptical](/wiki/Elliptical_polarization "Elliptical polarization") and [circular polarization](/wiki/Circular_polarization "Circular polarization") and [optical rotation](/wiki/Optical_rotation "Optical rotation") (9 December), and partial reflection and [total internal reflection](/wiki/Total_internal_reflection "Total internal reflection") (7 January 1823),[\[32\]](#cite_note-32) essentially completing his reconstruction of [physical optics](/wiki/Physical_optics "Physical optics") on the [transverse wave](/wiki/Transverse_wave "Transverse wave") hypothesis. Shortly after the Cordouan lens was lit, Fresnel started coughing up blood.[\[33\]](#cite_note-levitt-p97-33)

In May 1824,[\[13\]](#cite_note-ripley-dana-1879-13) Fresnel was promoted to Secretary of the _Commission des Phares_, becoming the first member of that body to draw a salary,[\[34\]](#cite_note-34) albeit in the concurrent role of Engineer-in-Chief.[\[35\]](#cite_note-35) Late that year, being increasingly ill, he curtailed his fundamental research and resigned his seasonal job as an examiner at the [École Polytechnique](/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique "École Polytechnique"), in order to save his remaining time and energy for his lighthouse work.[\[36\]](#cite_note-brock-1909-36)[\[37\]](#cite_note-37)

In the same year he designed the first _fixed_ lens—for spreading light evenly around the horizon while minimizing waste above or below.[\[11\]](#cite_note-tag-fres-11) Ideally the curved refracting surfaces would be segments of [toroids](/wiki/Toroid "Toroid") about a common vertical axis, so that the dioptric panel would look like a cylindrical drum. If this was supplemented by reflecting ( [catoptric](/wiki/Catoptrics "Catoptrics")) rings above and below the refracting (dioptric) parts, the entire apparatus would look like a beehive.[\[38\]](#cite_note-38) The second Fresnel lens to enter service was indeed a fixed lens, of third order, installed at Dunkirk by 1 February 1825.[\[39\]](#cite_note-39) However, due to the difficulty of fabricating large toroidal prisms, this apparatus had a 16-sided polygonal plan.[\[40\]](#cite_note-40)

In 1825 Fresnel extended his fixed-lens design by adding a rotating array outside the fixed array. Each panel of the rotating array was to refract part of the fixed light from a horizontal fan into a narrow beam.[\[11\]](#cite_note-tag-fres-11)[\[41\]](#cite_note-41)

Also in 1825, Fresnel unveiled the _Carte des Phares_ ('lighthouse map'), calling for a system of 51 lighthouses plus smaller harbor lights, in a hierarchy of lens sizes called "orders" (the first being the largest), with different characteristics to facilitate recognition: a constant light (from a fixed lens), one flash per minute (from a rotating lens with eight panels), and two per minute (16 panels).[\[42\]](#cite_note-42)

In late 1825,[\[43\]](#cite_note-43) to reduce the loss of light in the reflecting elements, Fresnel proposed to replace each mirror with a catadioptric prism, through which the light would travel by refraction through the first surface, then [total internal reflection](/wiki/Total_internal_reflection "Total internal reflection") off the second surface, then refraction through the third surface.[\[44\]](#cite_note-44) The result was the lighthouse lens as we now know it. In 1826 he assembled a small model for use on the [Canal Saint-Martin](/wiki/Canal_Saint-Martin "Canal Saint-Martin"),[\[45\]](#cite_note-musee-45) but he did not live to see a full-sized version: he died on 14 July 1827, at the age of 39.

### After Fresnel

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: After Fresnel")\]

The first stage of the development of lighthouse lenses after the death of Augustin Fresnel consisted in the implementation of his designs. This was driven in part by his younger brother Léonor—who, like Augustin, was trained as a civil engineer but, unlike Augustin, had a strong aptitude for management. Léonor entered the service of the Lighthouse Commission in 1825, and went on to succeed Augustin as Secretary.[\[46\]](#cite_note-46)

The first fixed lens to be constructed with toroidal prisms was a first-order apparatus designed by the Scottish engineer [Alan Stevenson](/wiki/Alan_Stevenson "Alan Stevenson") under the guidance of Léonor Fresnel, and fabricated by Isaac Cookson & Co. using French glass; it entered service at the [Isle of May](/wiki/Isle_of_May "Isle of May"), Scotland, on 22 September 1836.[\[47\]](#cite_note-47) The first large catadioptric lenses were made in 1842 for the lighthouses at Gravelines and [Île Vierge](/wiki/%C3%8Ele_Vierge "Île Vierge"), France; these were fixed third-order lenses whose catadioptric rings (made in segments) were one metre in diameter. Stevenson's first-order [Skerryvore](/wiki/Skerryvore "Skerryvore") lens, lit in 1844, was only partly catadioptric; it was similar to the Cordouan lens except that the lower slats were replaced by French-made catadioptric prisms, while mirrors were retained at the top. The first _fully_ catadioptric first-order lens, installed at Pointe d'Ailly in 1852, also gave eight rotating beams plus a fixed light at the bottom; but its top section had eight catadioptric panels focusing the light about 4 degrees ahead of the main beams, in order to lengthen the flashes. The first fully catadioptric lens with _purely revolving_ beams—also of first order—was installed at [Saint-Clément-des-Baleines](/wiki/Saint-Cl%C3%A9ment-des-Baleines "Saint-Clément-des-Baleines") in 1854, and marked the completion of Augustin Fresnel's original _Carte des Phares_.[\[48\]](#cite_note-48)

[Thomas Stevenson](/wiki/Thomas_Stevenson "Thomas Stevenson") (younger brother of Alan) went a step beyond Fresnel with his "holophotal" lens, which focused the light radiated by the lamp in nearly all directions, forward or backward, into a single beam.[\[49\]](#cite_note-49) The first version, described in 1849, consisted of a standard Fresnel bull's-eye lens, a paraboloidal reflector, and a rear hemispherical reflector (functionally equivalent to the Rogers mirror of 60 years earlier, except that it subtended a whole hemisphere). Light radiated into the forward hemisphere but missing the bull's-eye lens was deflected by the paraboloid into a parallel beam surrounding the bull's-eye lens, while light radiated into the backward hemisphere was reflected back through the lamp by the spherical reflector (as in Rogers' arrangement), to be collected by the forward components. The first unit was installed at North Harbour, [Peterhead](/wiki/Peterhead "Peterhead"), in August 1849. Stevenson called this version a "catadioptric holophote", although each of its elements was either purely reflective or purely refractive. In the second version of the holophote concept, the bull's-eye lens and paraboloidal reflector were replaced by a catadioptric Fresnel lens—as conceived by Fresnel, but expanded to cover the whole forward hemisphere. The third version, which Stevenson confusingly called a "dioptric holophote", was more innovative: it retained the catadioptric Fresnel lens for the front hemisphere, but replaced the rear hemispherical reflector with a hemispherical array of annular prisms, each of which used _two_ total internal reflections to turn light diverging from the center of the hemisphere back toward the center. The result was an all-glass holophote, with no losses from metallic reflections.[\[50\]](#cite_note-50)

[James Timmins Chance](/wiki/James_Timmins_Chance "James Timmins Chance") modified Thomas Stevenson's all-glass holophotal design by arranging the double-reflecting prisms about a vertical axis. The prototype was shown at the [1862 International Exhibition](/wiki/1862_International_Exhibition "1862 International Exhibition") in London. Later, to ease manufacturing, Chance divided the prisms into segments, and arranged them in a cylindrical form while retaining the property of reflecting light from a single point back to that point. Reflectors of this form, paradoxically called "dioptric mirrors", proved particularly useful for returning light from the landward side of the lamp to the seaward side.[\[51\]](#cite_note-51)

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Fresnel_Lens_at_Point_Arena_Lighthouse_Museum.jpg/220px-Fresnel_Lens_at_Point_Arena_Lighthouse_Museum.jpg)](/wiki/File:Fresnel_Lens_at_Point_Arena_Lighthouse_Museum.jpg) First-order group-flashing Fresnel lens, on display at the Point Arena Lighthouse Museum, [Point Arena Lighthouse](/wiki/Point_Arena_Light "Point Arena Light"), [Mendocino County, California](/wiki/Mendocino_County,_California "Mendocino County, California"). The three dioptric panels (inside the brass rings) and three catadioptric panels (outside) are partly split in two, giving three double-flashes per rotation.

As lighthouses proliferated, they became harder to distinguish from each other, leading to the use of colored filters, which wasted light. In 1884, [John Hopkinson](/wiki/John_Hopkinson "John Hopkinson") eliminated the need for filters by inventing the "group-flashing" lens, in which the dioptric and/or the catadioptric panels were split so as to give multiple flashes—allowing lighthouses to be identified not only by frequency of flashes, but also by multiplicity of flashes. Double-flashing lenses were installed at Tampico (Mexico) and [Little Basses](/wiki/Little_Basses_Reef_Lighthouse "Little Basses Reef Lighthouse") (Sri Lanka) in 1875, and a triple-flashing lens at [Casquets Lighthouse](/wiki/Casquets_lighthouses "Casquets lighthouses") ( [Channel Islands](/wiki/Channel_Islands "Channel Islands")) in 1876.[\[52\]](#cite_note-52) The example shown (right) is the double-flashing lens of the [Point Arena Light](/wiki/Point_Arena_Light "Point Arena Light"), which was in service from 1908 to 1977.[\[53\]](#cite_note-53)

The development of hyper-radial lenses was driven in part by the need for larger light sources, such as gas lights with multiple jets, which required a longer focal length for a given beam-width, hence a larger lens to collect a given fraction of the generated light. The first hyper-radial lens was built for the Stevensons in 1885 by [F. Barbier & Cie](/wiki/Barbier,_Benard,_et_Turenne "Barbier, Benard, et Turenne") of France, and tested at [South Foreland Lighthouse](/wiki/South_Foreland_Lighthouse "South Foreland Lighthouse") with various light sources. [Chance Brothers](/wiki/Chance_Brothers "Chance Brothers") (Hopkinson's employers) then began constructing hyper-radials, installing their first at [Bishop Rock](/wiki/Bishop_Rock,_Isles_of_Scilly "Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly") Lighthouse in 1887.[\[54\]](#cite_note-54) In the same year, Barbier installed a hyper-radial at [Tory Island](/wiki/Tory_Island "Tory Island"). But only about 30 hyper-radials went into service[\[55\]](#cite_note-tag-hyper-55) before the development of more compact bright lamps rendered such large optics unnecessary (see _[Hyperradiant Fresnel lens](/wiki/Hyperradiant_Fresnel_lens "Hyperradiant Fresnel lens")_).

Production of one-piece stepped dioptric lenses—roughly as envisaged by Buffon—became feasible in 1852, when John L. Gilliland of the [Brooklyn Flint-Glass Company](/wiki/Corning_Inc. "Corning Inc.") patented a method of making lenses from pressed and molded glass. The company made small bull's-eye lenses for use on railroads, steamboats, and docks;[\[56\]](#cite_note-tag-us-56) such lenses were common in the United States by the 1870s.[\[13\]](#cite_note-ripley-dana-1879-13): 488  In 1858 the company produced "a very small number of pressed flint-glass sixth-order lenses" for use in lighthouses—the first Fresnel lighthouse lenses made in America.[\[56\]](#cite_note-tag-us-56) By the 1950s, the substitution of plastic for glass made it economic to use Fresnel lenses as condensers in overhead projectors.[\[57\]](#cite_note-57)

## Design

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Design")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Fresnel_lens.svg/170px-Fresnel_lens.svg.png)](/wiki/File:Fresnel_lens.svg) 1: Cross-section of Buffon/Fresnel lens. 2: Cross-section of conventional [plano-convex lens](/wiki/Lens_(optics)#Types_of_simple_lenses "Lens (optics)") of equivalent power. (Buffon's version was [biconvex](/wiki/Lens_(optics)#Types_of_simple_lenses "Lens (optics)").[\[20\]](#cite_note-levitt-p59-20))[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Flat_flexible_plastic_sheet_lens.JPG/220px-Flat_flexible_plastic_sheet_lens.JPG)](/wiki/File:Flat_flexible_plastic_sheet_lens.JPG) Close-up view of a flat Fresnel lens shows concentric circles on the surface

The Fresnel lens reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. An ideal Fresnel lens would have an infinite number of sections. In each section, the overall thickness is decreased compared to an equivalent simple lens. This effectively divides the continuous surface of a standard lens into a set of surfaces of the same curvature, with stepwise discontinuities between them.

In some lenses, the curved surfaces are replaced with flat surfaces, with a different angle in each section. Such a lens can be regarded as an array of prisms arranged in a circular fashion with steeper prisms on the edges and a flat or slightly convex center. In the first (and largest) Fresnel lenses, each section was actually a separate prism. 'Single-piece' Fresnel lenses were later produced, being used for automobile headlamps, brake, parking, and turn signal lenses, and so on. In modern times, [computer-controlled milling equipment (CNC)](/wiki/CNC "CNC") or [3-D printers](/wiki/3-D_printing "3-D printing") might be used to manufacture more complex lenses.\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\]

Fresnel lens design allows a substantial reduction in thickness (and thus mass and volume of material) at the expense of reducing the imaging quality of the lens, which is why precise imaging applications such as photography usually still use larger conventional lenses.

Fresnel lenses are usually made of glass or plastic; their size varies from large (old historical lighthouses, meter size) to medium (book-reading aids, OHP viewgraph projectors) to small ( [TLR](/wiki/Twin-lens_reflex_camera "Twin-lens reflex camera")/ [SLR](/wiki/Single-lens_reflex_camera "Single-lens reflex camera") camera screens, micro-optics). In many cases they are very thin and flat, almost flexible, with thicknesses in the 1 to 5 mm (1⁄32 to 3⁄16 in) range.\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\]

Most modern Fresnel lenses consist only of refractive elements. Lighthouse lenses, however, tend to include both refracting and reflecting elements, the latter being _outside_ the metal rings seen in the photographs. While the inner elements are sections of refractive lenses, the outer elements are reflecting prisms, each of which performs two refractions and one [total internal reflection](/wiki/Total_internal_reflection "Total internal reflection"), avoiding the light loss that occurs in reflection from a silvered mirror.

## Lighthouse lens sizes

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: Lighthouse lens sizes")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Block_Island_Southeast_Light%2C_Spring_Street_and_Mohegan_Trail_at_Mohegan_Bluffs%2C_New_Shoreham%2C_Washington_County%2C_RI_HAER_RI%2C5-NESH%2C1-_%28sheet_8_of_12%29.png/170px-Block_Island_Southeast_Light%2C_Spring_Street_and_Mohegan_Trail_at_Mohegan_Bluffs%2C_New_Shoreham%2C_Washington_County%2C_RI_HAER_RI%2C5-NESH%2C1-_%28sheet_8_of_12%29.png)](/wiki/File:Block_Island_Southeast_Light,_Spring_Street_and_Mohegan_Trail_at_Mohegan_Bluffs,_New_Shoreham,_Washington_County,_RI_HAER_RI,5-NESH,1-_(sheet_8_of_12).png) Description of lens orders, from [Block Island Southeast Light](/wiki/Block_Island_Southeast_Light "Block Island Southeast Light"), Rhode Island.[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Makapuu_point_light.JPG/170px-Makapuu_point_light.JPG)](/wiki/File:Makapuu_point_light.JPG) [Makapuu Point Light](/wiki/Makapuu_Point_Light "Makapuu Point Light")Walking around a fresnel lens on display in [Chiba](/wiki/Chiba_Prefecture "Chiba Prefecture"), [Japan](/wiki/Japan "Japan").

Fresnel designed six sizes of lighthouse lenses, divided into four _orders_ based on their size and focal length.[\[58\]](#cite_note-Baiges-58) The 3rd and 4th orders were sub-divided into "large" and "small". In modern use, the orders are classified as first through sixth order. An intermediate size between third and fourth order was added later, as well as sizes above first order and below sixth.

A first-order lens has a focal length of 920 mm (36+1⁄4 in) and stands about 2.59 m (8 ft 6 in) high, and 1.8 m (6 ft) wide. The smallest (sixth) order has a focal length of 150 mm (6 in) and a height of 433 mm (17+1⁄16 in).[\[58\]](#cite_note-Baiges-58)[\[59\]](#cite_note-59)[\[60\]](#cite_note-60)

The largest Fresnel lenses are called [hyperradiant](/wiki/Hyperradiant_Fresnel_lens "Hyperradiant Fresnel lens") (or hyper-radial). One such lens was on hand when it was decided to build and outfit the [Makapuu Point Light](/wiki/Makapuu_Point_Light "Makapuu Point Light") in Hawaii. Rather than order a new lens, the huge optic construction, 3.7 metres (12 ft) tall and with over a thousand prisms, was used there.[\[61\]](#cite_note-LHF-61)

Lighthouse lens orders[\[62\]](#cite_note-62)Modern order
Fresnel order
Focal length (mm)
Height (m)
First installed
Application
Hyper-radial
1330
3.76
1887
Major "landfall" lighthouses
Mesoradial
1125
3.20
1909
Two Brazilian lighthouses
1st
1st
920
2.59
1823
Large seacoast lights
2nd
2nd
700–750
2.07
[Great Lakes](/wiki/Great_Lakes "Great Lakes") lighthouses, seacoasts, islands, sounds
3rd
3rd (large)
500
1.58
1825
Seacoast sounds, river entry, bays, channels, range lights
3+1⁄2375
1.09
4th
3rd (small)
250
0.722
Shoals, reefs, harbor lights, islands in rivers and harbors
5th
4th (large)
187.5
0.541
Breakwaters, river and channel lights, Small islands in sounds
6th
4th (small)
150
0.433
Pier and breakwater lights in harbors
7th
100–140
0.165
Used in Scotland and Canada
8th
70–75
0.0826
Used in Scotland and Canada

- [![First-order lens.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/1st_order_Fresnel_lighthouse_lens.jpg/80px-1st_order_Fresnel_lighthouse_lens.jpg)](/wiki/File:1st_order_Fresnel_lighthouse_lens.jpg "First-order lens.")

First-order lens.

- [![First-order lens (Cape Meares Lighthouse)](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Cape_Meares_Lighthouse_lens_-_Oregon.jpg/94px-Cape_Meares_Lighthouse_lens_-_Oregon.jpg)](/wiki/File:Cape_Meares_Lighthouse_lens_-_Oregon.jpg "First-order lens (Cape Meares Lighthouse)")

First-order lens ( [Cape Meares Lighthouse](/wiki/Cape_Meares_Lighthouse "Cape Meares Lighthouse"))

- [![First-order lens from Destruction Island WA, built in France 1888. Currently at Westport Maritime Museum.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/First-order_lens_from_Destruction_Island_WA.jpg/90px-First-order_lens_from_Destruction_Island_WA.jpg)](/wiki/File:First-order_lens_from_Destruction_Island_WA.jpg "First-order lens from Destruction Island WA, built in France 1888. Currently at Westport Maritime Museum.")

First-order lens from Destruction Island WA, built in France 1888. Currently at Westport Maritime Museum.

- [![Close-up of a second-order lens.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Cape_Willoughby_Lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.jpg/120px-Cape_Willoughby_Lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.jpg)](/wiki/File:Cape_Willoughby_Lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.jpg "Close-up of a second-order lens.")

Close-up of a second-order lens.

- [![Third-order lens (St. Simons Island Light).](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/St._Simons_Lighthouse%2C_close-up_of_top%2C_Georgia%2C_USA.JPG/80px-St._Simons_Lighthouse%2C_close-up_of_top%2C_Georgia%2C_USA.JPG)](/wiki/File:St._Simons_Lighthouse,_close-up_of_top,_Georgia,_USA.JPG "Third-order lens (St. Simons Island Light).")

Third-order lens ( [St. Simons Island Light](/wiki/St._Simons_Island_Light "St. Simons Island Light")).

- [![Fourth-order lens (Sekizaki Lighthouse, Oita, Japan).](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Oita_sekizaki_lighthouse_old_lense.jpg/90px-Oita_sekizaki_lighthouse_old_lense.jpg)](/wiki/File:Oita_sekizaki_lighthouse_old_lense.jpg "Fourth-order lens (Sekizaki Lighthouse, Oita, Japan).")

Fourth-order lens (Sekizaki Lighthouse, [Oita](/wiki/%C5%8Cita,_%C5%8Cita "Ōita, Ōita"), Japan).

- [![Fourth order lens from Cape Arago Lighthouse. Currently at Coos History Museum.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Fourth_order_Fresnel_Lens_originally_from_Cape_Arago_Lighthouse_OR.jpg/58px-Fourth_order_Fresnel_Lens_originally_from_Cape_Arago_Lighthouse_OR.jpg)](/wiki/File:Fourth_order_Fresnel_Lens_originally_from_Cape_Arago_Lighthouse_OR.jpg "Fourth order lens from Cape Arago Lighthouse. Currently at Coos History Museum.")

Fourth order lens from Cape Arago Lighthouse. Currently at Coos History Museum.

- [![Fifth-order lens, at Key West Lighthouse](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e1/Fifth-order_Fresnel_lens%2C_lighthouse_at_Key_West%2C_FL%2C_US.jpg/76px-Fifth-order_Fresnel_lens%2C_lighthouse_at_Key_West%2C_FL%2C_US.jpg)](/wiki/File:Fifth-order_Fresnel_lens,_lighthouse_at_Key_West,_FL,_US.jpg "Fifth-order lens, at Key West Lighthouse")

Fifth-order lens, at [Key West Lighthouse](/wiki/Key_West_Lighthouse "Key West Lighthouse")

- [![Sixth-order lens (Ponce de Leon Inlet Light)](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Ponce_de_Leon_Inlet_Lighthouse_Lens_Museum_-_Replica_6th_Order_Lens_-_March_2016_%2825919436890%29.jpg/79px-Ponce_de_Leon_Inlet_Lighthouse_Lens_Museum_-_Replica_6th_Order_Lens_-_March_2016_%2825919436890%29.jpg)](/wiki/File:Ponce_de_Leon_Inlet_Lighthouse_Lens_Museum_-_Replica_6th_Order_Lens_-_March_2016_(25919436890).jpg "Sixth-order lens (Ponce de Leon Inlet Light)")

Sixth-order lens ( [Ponce de Leon Inlet Light](/wiki/Ponce_de_Leon_Inlet_Light "Ponce de Leon Inlet Light"))

- [![Comparison of first- and fourth-order lenses (Key West Lighthouse)](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/First-_and_fourth-order_Fresnel_lenses%2C_Key_West%2C_FL%2C_US.jpg/108px-First-_and_fourth-order_Fresnel_lenses%2C_Key_West%2C_FL%2C_US.jpg)](/wiki/File:First-_and_fourth-order_Fresnel_lenses,_Key_West,_FL,_US.jpg "Comparison of first- and fourth-order lenses (Key West Lighthouse)")

Comparison of first- and fourth-order lenses (Key West Lighthouse)


## Types

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: Types")\]

There are two main types of Fresnel lens: _imaging_ and _non-imaging_. Imaging Fresnel lenses use segments with curved cross-sections and produce sharp images, while non-imaging lenses have segments with flat cross-sections, and do not produce sharp images.[\[63\]](#cite_note-63) As the number of segments increases, the two types of lens become more similar to each other. In the abstract case of an infinite number of segments, the difference between curved and flat segments disappears.

Imaging lenses can be classified as:

SphericalA spherical Fresnel lens is equivalent to a [simple](/wiki/Simple_lens "Simple lens") [spherical lens](/wiki/Spherical_lens "Spherical lens"), using ring-shaped segments that are each a portion of a sphere, that all focus light on a single point. This type of lens produces a sharp image, although not quite as clear as the equivalent simple spherical lens due to diffraction at the edges of the ridges. This type is sometimes called a [kinoform](/wiki/Kinoform "Kinoform") when the ridges are microscopic, at the wavelength scale.CylindricalA cylindrical Fresnel lens is equivalent to a simple [cylindrical lens](/wiki/Cylindrical_lens "Cylindrical lens"), using straight segments with circular cross-section, focusing light on a single line. This type produces a sharp image, although not quite as clear as the equivalent simple cylindrical lens due to diffraction at the edges of the ridges.

Non-imaging lenses can be classified as:

SpotA non-imaging spot Fresnel lens uses ring-shaped segments with cross sections that are straight lines rather than circular arcs. Such a lens can focus light on a small spot, but does not produce a sharp image. These lenses have application in solar power, such as focusing sunlight on a solar panel. Fresnel lenses may be used as components of [Köhler illumination](/wiki/K%C3%B6hler_illumination "Köhler illumination") optics resulting in very effective [nonimaging optics](/wiki/Nonimaging_optics "Nonimaging optics") Fresnel-Köhler (FK) solar concentrators.[\[64\]](#cite_note-IntroNio2e-64)LinearA non-imaging linear Fresnel lens uses straight segments whose cross sections are straight lines rather than arcs. These lenses focus light into a narrow band. They do not produce a sharp image, but can be used in solar power, such as for focusing sunlight on a pipe, to heat the water within.[\[65\]](#cite_note-65)

## Uses

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: Uses")\]

### Illumination

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=9 "Edit section: Illumination")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Inchkeith_lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.JPG/70px-Inchkeith_lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.JPG)](/wiki/File:Inchkeith_lighthouse_Fresnel_lens.JPG) [Inchkeith](/wiki/Inchkeith "Inchkeith") lighthouse lens and drive mechanism at the [National Museum of Scotland](/wiki/National_Museum_of_Scotland "National Museum of Scotland")

High-quality glass Fresnel lenses were used in lighthouses, where they were considered state of the art in the late 19th and through the middle of the 20th centuries; most lighthouses have now retired glass Fresnel lenses from service and replaced them with much less expensive and more durable [aerobeacons](/wiki/Aerobeacon "Aerobeacon"), which themselves often contain plastic Fresnel lenses.\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\] Lighthouse Fresnel lens systems typically include extra annular [prismatic](/wiki/Prism_(optics) "Prism (optics)") elements, arrayed in faceted domes above and below the central planar Fresnel, in order to catch all light emitted from the light source. The light path through these elements can include an [internal reflection](/wiki/Internal_reflection "Internal reflection"), rather than the simple [refraction](/wiki/Refraction "Refraction") in the planar Fresnel element. These lenses conferred many practical benefits upon the designers, builders, and users of lighthouses and their illumination. Among other things, smaller lenses could fit into more compact spaces. Greater light transmission over longer distances, and varied patterns, made it possible to triangulate a position.\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\]

Perhaps the most widespread use of Fresnel lenses, for a time, occurred in [automobile](/wiki/Automobile "Automobile") [headlamps](/wiki/Headlamp "Headlamp"), where they can shape the roughly parallel beam from the parabolic reflector to meet requirements for dipped and main-beam patterns, often both in the same headlamp unit (such as the European [H4](/wiki/H4_lamp "H4 lamp") design). For reasons of economy, weight, and impact resistance, newer cars have dispensed with glass Fresnel lenses, using [multifaceted reflectors](/wiki/Multifaceted_reflector "Multifaceted reflector") with plain [polycarbonate](/wiki/Polycarbonate "Polycarbonate") lenses. However, Fresnel lenses continue in wide use in automobile tail, marker, and reversing lights.

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Colortran_Fresnel.JPG/220px-Colortran_Fresnel.JPG)](/wiki/File:Colortran_Fresnel.JPG) A Fresnel lantern with the lens open to show the ridges

Glass Fresnel lenses also are used in lighting instruments for [theatre](/wiki/Theatre "Theatre") and [motion pictures](/wiki/Motion_pictures "Motion pictures") (see [Fresnel lantern](/wiki/Fresnel_lantern "Fresnel lantern")); such instruments are often called simply _Fresnels_. The entire instrument consists of a metal housing, a reflector, a lamp assembly, and a Fresnel lens. Many Fresnel instruments allow the lamp to be moved relative to the lens' [focal point](/wiki/Focus_(optics) "Focus (optics)"), to increase or decrease the size of the light beam. As a result, they are very flexible, and can often produce a beam as narrow as 7° or as wide as 70°.[\[66\]](#cite_note-66) The Fresnel lens produces a very soft-edged beam, so is often used as a wash light. A holder in front of the lens can hold a colored plastic film ( _gel_) to tint the light or wire screens or frosted plastic to diffuse it. The Fresnel lens is useful in the making of motion pictures not only because of its ability to focus the beam brighter than a typical lens, but also because the light is a relatively consistent intensity across the entire width of the beam of light.

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Optical_Landing_System%2C_night%2C_aboard_USS_Dwight_D._Eisenhower_%28CVN-69%29.jpg/220px-Optical_Landing_System%2C_night%2C_aboard_USS_Dwight_D._Eisenhower_%28CVN-69%29.jpg)](/wiki/File:Optical_Landing_System,_night,_aboard_USS_Dwight_D._Eisenhower_(CVN-69).jpg) [Optical landing system](/wiki/Optical_landing_system "Optical landing system") on US Navy aircraft carrier [USS _Dwight D. Eisenhower_](/wiki/USS_Dwight_D._Eisenhower "USS Dwight D. Eisenhower")

[Aircraft carriers](/wiki/Aircraft_carrier "Aircraft carrier") and naval air stations typically use Fresnel lenses in their [optical landing systems](/wiki/Optical_landing_system "Optical landing system"). The "meatball" light aids the pilot in maintaining proper glide slope for the landing. In the center are amber and red lights composed of Fresnel lenses. Although the lights are always on, the angle of the lens from the pilot's point of view determines the color and position of the visible light. If the lights appear above the green horizontal bar, the pilot is too high. If it is below, the pilot is too low, and if the lights are red, the pilot is very low.[\[67\]](#cite_note-67)

Fresnel lenses are also commonly used in [searchlights](/wiki/Searchlight "Searchlight"), [spotlights](/wiki/Spotlight_(theatre_lighting) "Spotlight (theatre lighting)"), and [flashlights](/wiki/Flashlight "Flashlight").

### Imaging

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=10 "Edit section: Imaging")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Magnifying-fresnel-lens.jpg/220px-Magnifying-fresnel-lens.jpg)](/wiki/File:Magnifying-fresnel-lens.jpg) A plastic Fresnel lens sold as a TV-screen enlarging device[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/SinclairFTV1fresnellens1.JPG/220px-SinclairFTV1fresnellens1.JPG)](/wiki/File:SinclairFTV1fresnellens1.JPG) The Fresnel lens used in the [Sinclair FTV1](/wiki/TV80 "TV80") portable CRT TV, which enlarges the vertical aspect of the display only

Fresnel lenses are used as simple hand-held [magnifiers](/wiki/Magnifying_glass "Magnifying glass"). They are also used to correct several visual disorders, including ocular-motility disorders such as [strabismus](/wiki/Strabismus "Strabismus").[\[68\]](#cite_note-68) Fresnel lenses have been used to increase the visual size of [CRT](/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube "Cathode ray tube") displays in pocket [televisions](/wiki/Television "Television"), notably the [Sinclair](/wiki/Sinclair_Research_Ltd. "Sinclair Research Ltd.") [TV80](/wiki/TV80 "TV80"). They are also used in [traffic lights](/wiki/Traffic_light "Traffic light").

Fresnel lenses are used in left-hand-drive European [lorries](/wiki/Lorry "Lorry") entering the UK and Republic of Ireland (and vice versa, right-hand-drive Irish and British trucks entering mainland Europe) to overcome the blind spots caused by the driver operating the lorry while sitting on the wrong side of the cab relative to the side of the road the car is on. They attach to the passenger-side window.[\[69\]](#cite_note-69)

Another automobile application of a Fresnel lens is a rear view enhancer, as the [wide view angle](/wiki/Wide-angle_lens "Wide-angle lens") of a lens attached to the rear window permits examining the scene behind a vehicle, particularly a tall or bluff-tailed one, more effectively than a [rear-view mirror](/wiki/Rear-view_mirror "Rear-view mirror") alone. Fresnel lenses have been used on rangefinding equipment and [projected map display](/wiki/Moving_map_display "Moving map display") screens.[\[70\]](#cite_note-70)

Fresnel lenses have also been used in the field of popular entertainment. The British rock artist [Peter Gabriel](/wiki/Peter_Gabriel "Peter Gabriel") made use of them in his early solo live performances to magnify the size of his head, in contrast to the rest of his body, for dramatic and comic effect. In the [Terry Gilliam](/wiki/Terry_Gilliam "Terry Gilliam") film _[Brazil](/wiki/Brazil_(1985_film) "Brazil (1985 film)")_, plastic Fresnel screens appear ostensibly as magnifiers for the small CRT monitors used throughout the offices of the Ministry of Information. However, they occasionally appear between the actors and the camera, distorting the scale and composition of the scene to humorous effect. The [Pixar](/wiki/Pixar "Pixar") movie [Wall-E](/wiki/Wall-E "Wall-E") features a Fresnel lens in the scenes where the protagonist watches the musical [Hello, Dolly!](/wiki/Hello,_Dolly!_(film) "Hello, Dolly! (film)") magnified on an [iPod](/wiki/IPod "IPod").

[Virtual reality](/wiki/Virtual_reality "Virtual reality") headsets, such as the [Meta Quest 2](/wiki/Meta_Quest_2 "Meta Quest 2") and the [HTC Vive Pro](/wiki/HTC_Vive "HTC Vive") use Fresnel lenses,[\[71\]](#cite_note-71) as they allow a thinner and lighter form factor than regular lenses.[\[72\]](#cite_note-72) Newer devices, such as the [Meta Quest Pro](/wiki/Meta_Quest_Pro "Meta Quest Pro"), have switched to a [pancake lens](/wiki/Pancake_lens "Pancake lens") design[\[73\]](#cite_note-73) due to its smaller form factor and less [chromatic aberration](/wiki/Chromatic_aberration "Chromatic aberration") than Fresnel lenses.[\[74\]](#cite_note-74)

Multi-focal Fresnel lenses are also used as a part of [retina identification](/wiki/Retinal_scan "Retinal scan") cameras, where they provide multiple in- and out-of-focus images of a fixation target inside the camera. For virtually all users, at least one of the images will be in focus, thus allowing correct eye alignment.

[Canon](/wiki/Canon_Inc. "Canon Inc.") and [Nikon](/wiki/Nikon "Nikon") have used Fresnel lenses to reduce the size of telephoto lenses. Photographic lenses that include Fresnel elements can be much shorter than corresponding conventional lens design. Nikon calls the technology _Phase Fresnel_.[\[75\]](#cite_note-75)[\[76\]](#cite_note-76) The [Polaroid SX-70](/wiki/Polaroid_SX-70 "Polaroid SX-70") camera used a Fresnel reflector as part of its viewing system. [View](/wiki/View_camera "View camera") and [large format](/wiki/Large_format "Large format") cameras can utilize a Fresnel lens in conjunction with the [ground glass](/wiki/Ground_glass "Ground glass"), to increase the perceived brightness of the image projected by a lens onto the ground glass, thus aiding in adjusting focus and composition.

### Projection

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=11 "Edit section: Projection")\]

The use of Fresnel lenses for image projection reduces image quality, so they tend to occur only where quality is not critical or where the bulk of a solid lens would be prohibitive. Cheap Fresnel lenses can be stamped or molded of transparent plastic and are used in [overhead projectors](/wiki/Overhead_projector "Overhead projector") and [projection televisions](/wiki/Projection_television "Projection television").

Fresnel lenses of different focal lengths (one [collimator](/wiki/Collimator "Collimator"), and one collector) are used in commercial and [DIY](/wiki/DIY "DIY") projection. The collimator lens has the lower focal length and is placed closer to the light source, and the collector lens, which focuses the light into the triplet lens, is placed after the projection image (an [active matrix LCD](/wiki/Active_matrix_LCD "Active matrix LCD") panel in [LCD projectors](/wiki/LCD_projector "LCD projector")). Fresnel lenses are also used as collimators in [overhead projectors](/wiki/Overhead_projector "Overhead projector").

### Solar power

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=12 "Edit section: Solar power")\]

Since plastic Fresnel lenses can be made larger than glass lenses, as well as being much cheaper and lighter, they are used to concentrate sunlight for heating in [solar cookers](/wiki/Solar_cooker "Solar cooker"), in solar forges, and in [solar collectors](/wiki/Solar_thermal_collector "Solar thermal collector") used to heat water for domestic use. They can also be used to generate steam or to power a [Stirling engine](/wiki/Stirling_engine "Stirling engine").

Fresnel lenses can concentrate sunlight onto [solar cells](/wiki/Solar_cell "Solar cell") with a ratio of almost 500:1.[\[77\]](#cite_note-77) This allows the active solar-cell surface to be reduced, lowering cost and allowing the use of more efficient cells that would otherwise be too expensive.[\[78\]](#cite_note-78) In the early 21st century, Fresnel reflectors began to be used in [concentrating solar power](/wiki/Concentrating_solar_power "Concentrating solar power") (CSP) plants to concentrate solar energy. One application was to preheat water at the coal-fired [Liddell Power Station](/wiki/Liddell_Power_Station "Liddell Power Station"), in Hunter Valley Australia.

Fresnel lenses can be used to [sinter](/wiki/Sintering "Sintering") sand, allowing [3D printing](/wiki/3D_printing "3D printing") in glass.[\[79\]](#cite_note-79)

## See also

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=13 "Edit section: See also")\]

- [Fresnel imager](/wiki/Fresnel_imager "Fresnel imager")
- [Fresnel zone plate](/wiki/Fresnel_zone_plate "Fresnel zone plate")
- [Lenticular lens](/wiki/Lenticular_lens "Lenticular lens")
- [Linear Fresnel reflector](/wiki/Linear_Fresnel_reflector "Linear Fresnel reflector")
- [Prism lighting](/wiki/Prism_lighting "Prism lighting")

## References

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=14 "Edit section: References")\]

01. **[^](#cite_ref-1)**[J. Wells](/wiki/John_C._Wells "John C. Wells") (3 April 2008), _Longman Pronunciation Dictionary_ (3rd ed.), Pearson Longman, [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-4058-8118-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0 "Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0").
02. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-lighthouse_2-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-lighthouse_2-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-lighthouse_2-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-lighthouse_2-3)[Chisholm, Hugh](/wiki/Hugh_Chisholm "Hugh Chisholm"), ed. (1911), ["Lighthouse"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Lighthouse), _[Encyclopædia Britannica](/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition "Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition")_, vol. 16 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 627–651.
03. **[^](#cite_ref-3)**["Fresnel lens"](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fresnel%20lens), _[Merriam-Webster](/wiki/Merriam-Webster "Merriam-Webster")_, [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131217120005/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fresnel%20lens) from the original on 17 December 2013, retrieved 19 March 2013.
04. **[^](#cite_ref-4)**[Wells, John](/wiki/John_C._Wells "John C. Wells") (3 April 2008), _Longman Pronunciation Dictionary_ (3rd ed.), Pearson Longman, [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-4058-8118-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0 "Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0").
05. **[^](#cite_ref-5)**Bernhard, Adrienne (21 June 2019), ["The invention that saved a million ships"](https://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190620-the-invention-that-saved-a-million-ships), BBC, retrieved 4 August 2019.
06. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-tag-prior_6-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-tag-prior_6-1)T. Tag, ["Lens use prior to Fresnel"](http://uslhs.org/lens-use-prior-fresnel), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 12 August 2017; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170520114102/http://uslhs.org/lens-use-prior-fresnel) 20 May 2017.
07. **[^](#cite_ref-7)**Levitt, 2013, p.57.
08. **[^](#cite_ref-condorcet-1790_8-0)**N. de Condorcet, [_Éloge de M. le Comte de Buffon_](https://books.google.com/books?id=o99ZAAAAcAAJ), Paris: Chez Buisson, 1790, pp. 11–12. (This obituary also appeared in _Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences_ for 1788, printed in 1791.)
09. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-appleton-1861_9-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-appleton-1861_9-1)D. Appleton & Co., ["Sea-lights"](https://archive.org/stream/appletonsdiction02appl#page/606/mode/2up), _Dictionary of Machines, Mechanics, Engine-work, and Engineering_, 1861, vol. 2, pp. 606–618.
10. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-tag-2017_10-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-tag-2017_10-1)T. Tag, ["Chronology of Lighthouse Events"](http://uslhs.org/chronology-lighthouse-events), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 22 August 2017; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170408105558/http://uslhs.org/chronology-lighthouse-events) 8 April 2017.
11. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-tag-fres_11-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-tag-fres_11-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-tag-fres_11-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-tag-fres_11-3) [_**e**_](#cite_ref-tag-fres_11-4)T. Tag, ["The Fresnel lens"](http://uslhs.org/fresnel-lens), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 12 August 2017; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160722002916/http://uslhs.org/fresnel-lens) 22 July 2017.
12. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-levitt-p71_12-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-levitt-p71_12-1)Levitt, 2013, p.71.
13. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-ripley-dana-1879_13-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-ripley-dana-1879_13-1) [_**c**_](#cite_ref-ripley-dana-1879_13-2) [_**d**_](#cite_ref-ripley-dana-1879_13-3)G. Ripley and C.A. Dana (eds.), ["Fresnel, Augustin Jean"](https://archive.org/stream/americancyclopae07ripluoft#page/486/mode/2up), _American Cyclopædia_, 1879, vol. 7, pp. 486–489.
14. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-brewster_14-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-chisholm-1911-brewster_14-1)[Chisholm, Hugh](/wiki/Hugh_Chisholm "Hugh Chisholm"), ed. (1911), ["Brewster, Sir David"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Brewster,_Sir_David), _[Encyclopædia Britannica](/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica_Eleventh_Edition "Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition")_, vol. 4 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 513–514.
15. **[^](#cite_ref-15)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 49–50.
16. **[^](#cite_ref-16)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 51, 53; Elton, 2009, p.190; Fresnel, 1866–70, vol. 1, p.xcvii, and vol. 3, p.xxiv. ("July 21" in Levitt, 2013, p.240, is a transcription error, inconsistent with the primary source cited.)
17. **[^](#cite_ref-17)**Fresnel, 1866–70, vol. 3, pp. 5–14; on the date, see p.6n. Levitt (2013, p.58) gives the date only as August 1819.
18. **[^](#cite_ref-18)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 56, 58.
19. **[^](#cite_ref-19)**Fresnel, 1866–70, vol. 3, p.6n.
20. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-levitt-p59_20-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-levitt-p59_20-1)Levitt, 2013, p.59.
21. **[^](#cite_ref-21)**Levitt, 2013, p.59\. The biconvex shape may be inferred from Buffon's description, quoted in Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, at p.4.
22. **[^](#cite_ref-22)**Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, p.11.
23. **[^](#cite_ref-23)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 59–66. Levitt gives the size of the eight-panel version as 720 mm (28+1⁄3 in). Elton (2009, p.193) gives it as 76cm and indicates that the first panel was tested on 31 October 1820; cf. Fresnel, 1866–70, vol. 3, pp. xxxii & xxxiv, and Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, p.7.
24. **[^](#cite_ref-24)**A. Fresnel, "Note sur le calcul des teintes que la polarisation développe dans les lames cristallisées" et seq., _Annales de Chimie et de Physique_, Ser.2, vol. 17, pp. 102–111 (May 1821), 167–196 (June 1821), 312–315 ("Postscript", July 1821); reprinted in Fresnel, 1866–1870, vol. 1, pp. 609–648; translated as "On the calculation of the tints that polarization develops in crystalline plates, & postscript", [Zenodo](/wiki/Zenodo "Zenodo"): [4058004](https://zenodo.org/record/4058004) / [doi](/wiki/Doi_(identifier) "Doi (identifier)"): [10.5281/zenodo.4058004](https://doi.org/10.5281%2Fzenodo.4058004), 2021.
25. **[^](#cite_ref-25)**Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, pp. 2–4.
26. **[^](#cite_ref-26)**Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, p.1.
27. **[^](#cite_ref-gombert-2017_27-0)**D. Gombert, photograph of the [_Optique de Cordouan_](https://www.flickr.com/photos/gebete29/32970312394/in/photostream/) in the collection of the _Musée des Phares et Balises_, [Ouessant](/wiki/Ushant "Ushant"), France, 23 March 2017.
28. **[^](#cite_ref-28)**Fresnel, 1822, tr. Tag, pp. 13, 25.
29. **[^](#cite_ref-29)**Elton, 2009, p.195; Levitt, 2013, pp. 72–76.
30. **[^](#cite_ref-watson-1999_30-0)**B. Watson, ["Science Makes a Better Lighthouse Lens"](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/science-makes-a-better-lighthouse-lens-170677431/), _Smithsonian_, vol. 30 no.5 (August 1999), pp 30–31.
31. **[^](#cite_ref-31)**Buchwald, 1989, pp. 260, 288–290, 297; cf. Born & Wolf, 1999, p.xxviii.
32. **[^](#cite_ref-32)**Fresnel, 1866–1870, vol. 1, pp. 713–718, 731–751, 767–799.
33. **[^](#cite_ref-levitt-p97_33-0)**Levitt, 2013, p.97.
34. **[^](#cite_ref-34)**Levitt, 2013, p.82.
35. **[^](#cite_ref-35)**Elton, 2009, p.190.
36. **[^](#cite_ref-brock-1909_36-0)**H.M. Brock, ["Fresnel, Augustin-Jean"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel "s:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Augustin-Jean Fresnel"), _Catholic Encyclopedia_, 1907–12, vol. 6 (1909).
37. **[^](#cite_ref-37)**Young, 1855, p.399; Boutry, 1948, pp. 601–602.
38. **[^](#cite_ref-38)**Cf. Elton, 2009, p.198, Figure 12.
39. **[^](#cite_ref-39)**Levitt, 2013, p.84.
40. **[^](#cite_ref-40)**Elton, 2009, pp. 197–198.
41. **[^](#cite_ref-41)**Elton, 2009, pp. 198–199.
42. **[^](#cite_ref-42)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 82–84.
43. **[^](#cite_ref-43)**Elton, 2009, p.200.
44. **[^](#cite_ref-44)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 79–80.
45. **[^](#cite_ref-musee_45-0)**Musée national de la Marine, ["Appareil catadioptrique, Appareil du canal Saint-Martin"](http://mnm.webmuseo.com/ws/musee-national-marine/app/collection/record/9067), accessed 26 August 2017; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20170826030358/http://mnm.webmuseo.com/ws/musee-national-marine/app/collection/record/9067) 26 August 2017.
46. **[^](#cite_ref-46)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 28, 72, 99.
47. **[^](#cite_ref-47)**Elton, 2009, pp. 199, 200, 202; Levitt, 2013, pp. 104–105.
48. **[^](#cite_ref-48)**Levitt, 2013, pp. 108–110, 113–116, 122–123. Elton (2009, p.208) notes that although the Skerryvore lens was lit on 1 February 1844, the catadioptric portion was yet to be added.
49. **[^](#cite_ref-49)**Elton, 2009, pp. 209–210, 238.
50. **[^](#cite_ref-50)**Elton, 2009, pp. 210–213.
51. **[^](#cite_ref-51)**Elton, 2009, pp. 221–223.
52. **[^](#cite_ref-52)**Elton, 2009, pp. 227–230; Levitt, 2013, p.219.
53. **[^](#cite_ref-53)**Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers, Inc., ["Lighthouse History"](https://www.pointarenalighthouse.com/about/lighthouse-history/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210119171021/https://www.pointarenalighthouse.com/about/lighthouse-history/) 19 January 2021 at the [Wayback Machine](/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine"), accessed 1 March 2021.
54. **[^](#cite_ref-54)**Elton, 2009, p.233; Levitt, 2013, pp. 222–224.
55. **[^](#cite_ref-tag-hyper_55-0)**T. Tag, ["Hyper-Radial Lenses"](http://uslhs.org/hyper-radial-lenses), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 28 February 2021; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210211202401/https://uslhs.org/hyper-radial-lenses) 11 February 2021.
56. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-tag-us_56-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-tag-us_56-1)T. Tag, ["American-Made Fresnel Lenses"](http://uslhs.org/american-made-fresnel-lenses-0), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 1 March 2021; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210221163206/https://uslhs.org/american-made-fresnel-lenses-0) 21 February 2021.
57. **[^](#cite_ref-57)**A. Finstad, "New developments in audio-visual materials", _Higher Education_, vol. 8, no.15 (1 April 1952), pp. 176–178, at p.176.
58. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-Baiges_58-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-Baiges_58-1)Baiges, Mabel A. (1988), ["Fresnel Orders"](http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=/pnp/habshaer/ri/ri0300/ri0392/sheet&topImages=00008a.gif&topLinks=00008r.tif,00008a.tif)(TIFF), [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150921173248/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/displayPhoto.pl?path=%2Fpnp%2Fhabshaer%2Fri%2Fri0300%2Fri0392%2Fsheet&topImages=00008a.gif&topLinks=00008r.tif%2C00008a.tif) from the original on 21 September 2015, retrieved 9 September 2012.
59. **[^](#cite_ref-59)**["Fresnel lenses"](https://web.archive.org/web/20070927021951/http://www.marinecitymich.org/Blank%20Page.htm), archived from [the original](http://www.marinecitymich.org/Blank%20Page.htm) on 27 September 2007.
60. **[^](#cite_ref-60)**["Fresnel lenses"](http://www.michiganlights.com/fresnel.htm), Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, 31 January 2008, [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120921153832/http://www.michiganlights.com/fresnel.htm) from the original on 21 September 2012, retrieved 27 February 2021.
61. **[^](#cite_ref-LHF_61-0)**Anderson, Kraig, ["Makapu'u, HI"](http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=141), _Lighthouse Friends_, [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081005185157/http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=141) from the original on 5 October 2008, retrieved 26 February 2009.
62. **[^](#cite_ref-62)**United States Lighthouse Society, ["Fresnel Lens Orders, Sizes, Weights, Quantities and Costs"](https://uslhs.org/fresnel-lens-orders-sizes-weights-quantities-and-costs) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230627061512/https://uslhs.org/fresnel-lens-orders-sizes-weights-quantities-and-costs) 27 June 2023 at the [Wayback Machine](/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine").
63. **[^](#cite_ref-63)**R. Winston, J. C. Miñano, and P. G. Benítez, _Nonimaging Optics_, Academic Press, 2005.
64. **[^](#cite_ref-IntroNio2e_64-0)**Chaves, Julio (2015), [_Introduction to Nonimaging Optics, Second Edition_](https://books.google.com/books?id=e11ECgAAQBAJ), [CRC Press](/wiki/CRC_Press "CRC Press"), [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-1-4822-0673-9](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4822-0673-9 "Special:BookSources/978-1-4822-0673-9").
65. **[^](#cite_ref-65)**["Linear Concentrator System Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power Basics"](https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/linear-concentrator-system-concentrating-solar-thermal-power-basics). _Energy.gov_. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
66. **[^](#cite_ref-66)**Mumm, Robert C., _Photometrics Handbook_, 2nd Ed., Broadway Press, 1997, p.36.
67. **[^](#cite_ref-67)**["Fresnel Lens Optical Landing System"](https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/nnam/explore/exhibits/permanent-exhibits/mezzanine/fresnel-lens-optical-landing-system.html). _NHHC_. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
68. **[^](#cite_ref-68)**Shishavanf, Amir Asgharzadeh; Nordin, Leland; Tjossem, Paul; Abramoff, Michael D.; Toor, Fatima (2016), Engheta, Nader; Noginov, Mikhail A.; Zheludev, Nikolay I (eds.), ["PMMA-based ophthalmic contact lens for vision correction of strabismus"](https://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/9918/1/PMMA-based-ophthalmic-contact-lens-for-vision-correction-of-strabismus/10.1117/12.2237994.short?SSO=1), _Metamaterials_, Metamaterials, Metadevices, and Metasystems 2016, **9918**, Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers: 99180C, [Bibcode](/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier) "Bibcode (identifier)"): [2016SPIE.9918E..0CA](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016SPIE.9918E..0CA), [doi](/wiki/Doi_(identifier) "Doi (identifier)"): [10.1117/12.2237994](https://doi.org/10.1117%2F12.2237994), [S2CID](/wiki/S2CID_(identifier) "S2CID (identifier)") [125689110](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:125689110), retrieved 21 June 2020.
69. **[^](#cite_ref-69)**Lowe, David (3 December 2011), [_Lowe's Transport Manager's and Operator's Handbook 2012_](https://books.google.com/books?id=XG4du9fwEUYC&q=vosa%20fresnel%20lenses&pg=PA321), [Kogan Page Publishers](/wiki/Kogan_Page_Publishers "Kogan Page Publishers"), [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-7494-6410-3](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7494-6410-3 "Special:BookSources/978-0-7494-6410-3").
70. **[^](#cite_ref-70)**["Projected Map Display \[PMD\]"](https://rochesteravionicarchives.co.uk/collection/navigation-inertial/projected-map-display). _Rochester Avionic Archives_. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
71. **[^](#cite_ref-71)**Poore, Shaun (21 April 2022). ["What Tech is Inside of a VR Headset? (Quest 2 Teardown)"](https://www.shaunpoore.com/inside-a-vr-headset/). _ShaunPoore.com_. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
72. **[^](#cite_ref-72)**["How Lenses for Virtual Reality Headsets Work"](https://web.archive.org/web/20221027133146/https://vr-lens-lab.com/lenses-for-virtual-reality-headsets/). _VR Lens Lab_. 8 March 2016. Archived from [the original](https://vr-lens-lab.com/lenses-for-virtual-reality-headsets/) on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
73. **[^](#cite_ref-73)**["Introducing Meta Quest Pro, an Advanced VR Device for Collaboration and Creation"](https://www.oculus.com/blog/meta-quest-pro-price-release-date/). _www.oculus.com_. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
74. **[^](#cite_ref-74)**C, Mark (26 April 2022). ["The difference between pancakes lenses and current fresnel lenses found on VR headsets"](https://vr-expert.com/the-difference-between-pancakes-lenses-and-current-fresnel-lenses-found-on-vr-headsets/). _VR Expert \| Enterprise VR/AR Hardware Supplier_. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
75. **[^](#cite_ref-75)**Nikon Corp., ["AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR"](http://www.nikon.com/news/2015/0106_lens_02.htm), 6 January 2015, [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150215091950/http://www.nikon.com/news/2015/0106_lens_02.htm) 15 February 2015 at the [Wayback Machine](/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine").
76. **[^](#cite_ref-76)**["Phase Fresnel – The "PF" in Nikon's New 300mm f/4E PF ED VR"](http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=14218), _The Digital Picture_, [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150114054256/http://www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=14218) 14 January 2015 at the [Wayback Machine](/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine").
77. **[^](#cite_ref-77)**["Soitec's Concentrix technology"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110417051836/http://www.soitec.com/en/technologies/concentrix/), archived from [the original](http://www.soitec.com/en/technologies/concentrix/) on 17 April 2011, retrieved 3 September 2013.
78. **[^](#cite_ref-78)**["Soitec's high-performance Concentrix technology"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130923032544/http://www.soitec.com/en/technologies/concentrix/components/), archived from [the original](http://www.soitec.com/en/technologies/concentrix/components/) on 23 September 2013, retrieved 27 February 2021.
79. **[^](#cite_ref-79)**M. Margolin (24 August 2016), ["This 3D printer runs on sand and sun"](https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/this-3d-printer-runs-on-sand-and-sun), _Vice_, [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20171201182205/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/wnxpe9/this-3d-printer-runs-on-sand-and-sun) from the original on 1 December 2017, retrieved 27 February 2021.

## Bibliography

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=15 "Edit section: Bibliography")\]

- M. Born and E. Wolf, _Principles of Optics_, 7th Ed., Cambridge, 1999.
- G.-A. Boutry, 1948, "Augustin Fresnel: His time, life and work, 1788–1827", _Science Progress_, vol. 36, no. 144 (October 1948), pp. 587–604; [jstor.org/stable/43413515](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43413515).
- J. Z. Buchwald, 1989, _[The Rise of the Wave Theory of Light: Optical Theory and Experiment in the Early Nineteenth Century](https://archive.org/details/riseofwavetheory0000buch)_, University of Chicago Press, [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-226-07886-1](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-226-07886-1 "Special:BookSources/978-0-226-07886-1").
- J. Elton, 2009, "A Light to Lighten our Darkness: Lighthouse Optics and the Later Development of Fresnel's Revolutionary Refracting Lens 1780–1900", _International Journal for the History of Engineering & Technology_, vol. 79, no. 2 (July 2009), pp. 183–244; [doi](/wiki/Doi_(identifier) "Doi (identifier)"): [10.1179/175812109X449612](https://doi.org/10.1179%2F175812109X449612).
- A. Fresnel, 1822, "Mémoire sur un nouveau système d'éclairage des phares", read 29 July 1822; reprinted in Fresnel, 1866–1870, vol. 3, [pp. 97–126](https://archive.org/details/oeuvrescompltes01fresgoog/page/n182); translated by T. Tag as ["Memoir upon a new system of lighthouse illumination"](http://uslhs.org/sites/default/files/attached-files/Fresnel%27s%20Memoire%20-%20Translation.pdf), U.S. Lighthouse Society, accessed 26 August 2017; [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160819111647/http://uslhs.org/sites/default/files/attached-files/Fresnel's%20Memoire%20-%20Translation.pdf) 19 August 2016. (Cited page numbers refer to the translation.)
- A. Fresnel (ed. H. de Sénarmont, E. Verdet, and L. Fresnel), 1866–1870, _Oeuvres complètes d'Augustin Fresnel_ (3 vols.), Paris: Imprimerie Impériale; [vol. 1 (1866)](https://books.google.com/books?id=1l0_AAAAcAAJ), [vol. 2 (1868)](https://books.google.com/books?id=g6tzUG7JmoQC), [vol. 3 (1870)](https://archive.org/details/oeuvrescompltes01fresgoog).
- T. H. Levitt, 2013, _A Short Bright Flash: Augustin Fresnel and the Birth of the Modern Lighthouse_, New York: W.W. Norton, [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-393-35089-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-393-35089-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-393-35089-0").
- T. Young (ed. G. Peacock), 1855, _Miscellaneous Works of the late Thomas Young_, London: J. Murray, [vol. 1](https://books.google.com/books?id=GyzPAAAAMAAJ).

## Further reading

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=16 "Edit section: Further reading")\]

- "The Fresnel Lens", _The Keeper's Log_, Winter 1985, pp. 12–14.
- [U.S. Coast Guard](/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard "United States Coast Guard"), _Aids to Navigation_, Washington, DC: [U.S. Government Printing Office](/wiki/U.S._Government_Printing_Office "U.S. Government Printing Office"), 1945.
- U.S. Coast Guard, [_Lighthouses, Lenses, Illuminants, Engineering, & Augustin Fresnel: A Historical Bibliography on Works Published Through 2007_](https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/03/2001772523/-1/-1/0/ATON_LIGHTHOUSEBIB2007.PDF).

## External links

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&action=edit&section=17 "Edit section: External links")\]

![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Fresnel lenses](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fresnel_lenses "commons:Category:Fresnel lenses").

- [United States Lighthouse Society](https://uslhs.org/), especially " [Fresnel Lenses](https://uslhs.org/history/fresnel-lenses) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20210302174800/https://uslhs.org/history/fresnel-lenses) 2 March 2021 at the [Wayback Machine](/wiki/Wayback_Machine "Wayback Machine")".
- W. A. Britten, ["The Fresnel lens"](http://lighthousegetaway.com/lights/fresnel.html) (with photographs).
- J. Francis, ["Fresnel Lens - Maxwell Simulation"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090520054046/http://www.digitalartform.com/archives/2009/04/fresnel_lens_-.html), 13 April 2009.
- J. Hare, ["How the Fresnel lens works"](http://vega.org.uk/video/programme/226) (5-minute video), Vega Science Trust, 2008.
- T. Pepper, ["Seeing the Light: Lighthouses on the western Great Lakes"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080130074143/http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm), archived from [the original](http://www.terrypepper.com/lights/index.htm) on 30 January 2008.
- [The Fresnel Lens: the Invention That Saved 1000 Ships](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQufI-QJLZg)

- [v](/wiki/Template:Lighthouses "Template:Lighthouses")
- [t](/wiki/Template_talk:Lighthouses "Template talk:Lighthouses")
- [e](/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Lighthouses "Special:EditPage/Template:Lighthouses")

[Lighthouses](/wiki/Lighthouse "Lighthouse")

- [History of lighthouses](/wiki/History_of_lighthouses "History of lighthouses")
- [Conservation of lighthouses](/wiki/Conservation_and_restoration_of_lighthouses "Conservation and restoration of lighthouses")
- [Museums](/wiki/Lighthouse_museum "Lighthouse museum")

Types

Construction

- [Aerial](/wiki/Aerial_lighthouse "Aerial lighthouse")
- [Caisson](/wiki/Caisson_lighthouse "Caisson lighthouse")
- [Crib](/wiki/Crib_lighthouse "Crib lighthouse")
- [Integral](/wiki/Integral_lighthouse "Integral lighthouse")
- [Pile](/wiki/Pile_lighthouse "Pile lighthouse")
- [Screw-pile](/wiki/Screw-pile_lighthouse "Screw-pile lighthouse")
- [Skeletal tower](/wiki/Skeletal_tower "Skeletal tower")
- [Vessel](/wiki/Lightvessel "Lightvessel") (acting)

Navigational purpose

- [Daymark](/wiki/Daymark "Daymark")
- [Leading lights](/wiki/Leading_lights "Leading lights")
- [Sea mark](/wiki/Sea_mark "Sea mark")
- [Sector light](/wiki/Sector_light "Sector light")

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Brier_Island_Lighthouse_%283%29_-_cropped.jpg/70px-Brier_Island_Lighthouse_%283%29_-_cropped.jpg)](/wiki/File:Brier_Island_Lighthouse_(3)_-_cropped.jpg)

Fixtures

- [Aerobeacon](/wiki/Aerobeacon "Aerobeacon")
- [Argand lamp](/wiki/Argand_lamp "Argand lamp")
- [Automatic lamp changer](/wiki/Automatic_lamp_changer "Automatic lamp changer")
- [Bird-cage lantern](/wiki/Bird-cage_lantern "Bird-cage lantern")
- [Carcel lamp](/wiki/Carcel_lamp "Carcel lamp")
- [Dalén light](/wiki/Dal%C3%A9n_light "Dalén light")
- [Foghorn](/wiki/Foghorn "Foghorn")
- Fresnel lens
- [Lens lantern](/wiki/Lens_lantern "Lens lantern")
- [Lewis lamp](/wiki/Lewis_lamp "Lewis lamp")
- [Light characteristic](/wiki/Light_characteristic "Light characteristic")
- [VRB-25](/wiki/VRB-25 "VRB-25")

Maintenance

- [Keepers](/wiki/Lighthouse_keeper "Lighthouse keeper")
- [Light dues](/wiki/Light_dues "Light dues")
- [Pharologists](/wiki/Pharology "Pharology")
- [Tender](/wiki/Lighthouse_tender "Lighthouse tender")

Locations

- [Africa](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#Africa "Lists of lighthouses")
- [Antarctica](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#Antarctica "Lists of lighthouses")
- [Asia](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#Asia "Lists of lighthouses")
- [Europe](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#Europe "Lists of lighthouses")
- [North America](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#North_America "Lists of lighthouses")
- [Oceania](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#Oceania "Lists of lighthouses")
- [South America](/wiki/Lists_of_lighthouses#South_America "Lists of lighthouses")

Categories

- [Lighthouse builders](/wiki/Category:Lighthouse_builders "Category:Lighthouse builders")
- [Lighthouses by heritage register](/wiki/Category:Lighthouses_by_heritage_register "Category:Lighthouses by heritage register")
- [Lighthouses by century of completion](/wiki/Category:Lighthouses_by_century_of_completion "Category:Lighthouses by century of completion")
- [Lighthouses by year of completion](/wiki/Category:Lighthouses_by_year_of_completion "Category:Lighthouses by year of completion")

Global

organizations

- [General lighthouse authority](/wiki/General_lighthouse_authority "General lighthouse authority")
- [International Association of Lighthouse Authorities](/wiki/International_Association_of_Marine_Aids_to_Navigation_and_Lighthouse_Authorities "International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities")
- [Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society](/w/index.php?title=Amateur_Radio_Lighthouse_Society&action=edit&redlink=1 "Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (page does not exist)")
- [International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend](/wiki/International_Lighthouse_and_Lightship_Weekend "International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend")
- _[Lighthouse Digest](/wiki/Lighthouse_Digest "Lighthouse Digest")_

- ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png)[Category](/wiki/Category:Lighthouses "Category:Lighthouses")
- ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/12px-Commons-logo.svg.png)[Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Lighthouses "commons:Category:Lighthouses")
- [![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Wiktionary-logo.svg/16px-Wiktionary-logo.svg.png)](/wiki/File:Wiktionary-logo.svg "Wiktionary page")[Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lighthouse "wikt:lighthouse")
- ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/People_icon.svg/16px-People_icon.svg.png)[WikiProject](/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Lighthouses "Wikipedia:WikiProject Lighthouses")

Retrieved from " [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresnel\_lens&oldid=1240863921](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&oldid=1240863921)"

[Categories](/wiki/Help:Category "Help:Category"):

- [Lenses](/wiki/Category:Lenses "Category:Lenses")
- [Lighthouse fixtures](/wiki/Category:Lighthouse_fixtures "Category:Lighthouse fixtures")
- [Solar thermal energy](/wiki/Category:Solar_thermal_energy "Category:Solar thermal energy")
- [French inventions](/wiki/Category:French_inventions "Category:French inventions")

Hidden categories:

- [Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference](/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_articles_incorporating_a_citation_from_the_1911_Encyclopaedia_Britannica_with_Wikisource_reference "Category:Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference")
- [Webarchive template wayback links](/wiki/Category:Webarchive_template_wayback_links "Category:Webarchive template wayback links")
- [Articles with short description](/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description "Category:Articles with short description")
- [Short description matches Wikidata](/wiki/Category:Short_description_matches_Wikidata "Category:Short description matches Wikidata")
- [Articles containing French-language text](/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_French-language_text "Category:Articles containing French-language text")
- [All articles with unsourced statements](/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements "Category:All articles with unsourced statements")
- [Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023](/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_April_2023 "Category:Articles with unsourced statements from April 2023")
- [Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023](/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_March_2023 "Category:Articles with unsourced statements from March 2023")
- [Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020](/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_September_2020 "Category:Articles with unsourced statements from September 2020")
- [Commons category link is on Wikidata](/wiki/Category:Commons_category_link_is_on_Wikidata "Category:Commons category link is on Wikidata")
- [Use dmy dates from March 2020](/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_March_2020 "Category:Use dmy dates from March 2020")

- This page was last edited on 17 August 2024, at 22:05 (UTC).
- Text is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License);
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the [Terms of Use](//foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use) and [Privacy Policy](//foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the [Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.](//wikimediafoundation.org/), a non-profit organization.

- [Privacy policy](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy)
- [About Wikipedia](/wiki/Wikipedia:About)
- [Disclaimers](/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer)
- [Contact Wikipedia](//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us)
- [Code of Conduct](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct)
- [Developers](https://developer.wikimedia.org)
- [Statistics](https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org)
- [Cookie statement](https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement)
- [Mobile view](//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fresnel_lens&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile)

- [![Wikimedia Foundation](/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg)](https://wikimediafoundation.org/)
- [![Powered by MediaWiki](/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg)](https://www.mediawiki.org/)