A lens manufactured in France in 1902 is shining high atop Montauk Point Lighthouse once again. Earlier this month the U.S. Coast Guard relit the clamshell-shaped Fresnel lens, which guided mariners ...

Two historic lighthouses in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, are receiving new lighting systems. The Plum Beach Lighthouse will get a rotating LED beacon to mimic its historical appearance. An antique ...

The unique history of the Crooked River Lighthouse’s lens in Carrabelle, Florida. The Crooked River Lighthouse’s Executive Director, Steve Allen, shares with us the unique qualities of the Fresnel ...

EAST PROVIDENCE — The U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned Pomham Rocks Lighthouse in 1974. The keys were handed over to a family who would take care of the building for a time. And the antique lens that ...

The Point San Luis Lighthouse’s original 4 th order lens has been around since 1878. The light no longer shines but is now on display at the top of Point San Luis. Cleaning a 144-year-old lens takes ...

The Fresnel lens was considered breakthrough technology in its era. French physicist Augustin Fresnel began life as a slow learner. He could barely read by age 8. However, his dogged ability to solve ...

Fresnel lenses consist of interspaced, concentric steps which correspond to the surface of a conventional lens. This equates to a lens with a common focal length, equivalent to a simple lens, but at ...

The history of optics began long before Christ in the regions where ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians used to live. The Indian subcontinent, the Greek people, and the Islamic world should be ...