The invention of the bifocals was one of the most important inventions of the 1700s. They have changed the lives of both children and adults that have issues with their eyesight. They rid people of eyestrain and headaches. Also, bifocals rid people of the inconvenience caused by having to shift from one pair of glasses to the other. Bifocals also allowed for more types of glasses to be developed.
As Benjamin Franklin grew older, his vision worsened. He became both far-sighted and near-sighted and the constant switching of his glasses frustrated him so much that he decided to solve this problem. He invented a pair of glasses that incorporated both lenses into one frame called bifocals. “Bifocals are a type of prescription eyeglasses designed for people who need both near and farsighted vision correction. Benjamin Franklin developed the first pair of bifocals in August 1784” (Beam "What Are Bifocals?"). With these two-lense bifocals one could look through the upper half to see far away and the lower half for seeing closer things. Many historians question who invented the bifocals although, due to letters written by Benjamin Franklin to his friend George Whatley, it is a known fact that Franklin was indeed the true inventor of the bifocals (The Electric Franklin "Benjamin Franklin's Inventions").
They are generally used by people over forty years old (Heiting "Bifocals and Trifocals for Vision Over 40"). Single vision glasses and bifocals are very different types of glasses because they only help people with nearsightedness. This is why bifocals are very useful because they are two pairs of lenses within one frame. Bifocals are generally associated with adults, but there are many cases in which children too require bifo...
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Optometrists have accepted vision therapy, which is a medical treatment for optical muscle disabilities, as a feasible treatment used for eye related problems; claiming the treatment can strengthen vision and give the patient the opportunity to understand visuals quicker and clearer (Press). Vision therapy originated in the 1950s and over the past 25 years, has gained popularity, mainly because of new technological innovations in the field of treatment. Generally, vision therapy is prescribed as a measure mainly for people between the ages of 3 and 18. With the results from a comprehensive series of eye tests, the optometrist can work with the patient using special instruments—prisms, filters, occluders, and eye lenses—and strengthen the eye muscles, thus improving sight. According to optometrists in favor of vision therapy, these methods of treatment using these instruments function as safer routes to repair eye disabilities. Although vision therapy can yield favorable results, the practice as a treatment for innate eye disabilities has been in hot debate lately; as it can exceed $8000 and insurance companies do not cover the treatment. For decades, insurance companies have refused to accept vision therapy as a legitimate method for repairing eyesight (Boink). Concomitant with lack of insurance, the cost for a full treatment can exceed $8000, and doctors cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Recently, parents of children with eye related disabilities, such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (cross-eye), and doctors have attempted to cooperate with public schools to allow families access to school-funded doctors to practice vision therapy. With a tight budget, most schools cannot afford to supply vision therapy, and a...
From a young age, he was extremely smart. His intelligence is shown in his many inventions such as his experiment in electricity. One of Franklins greatest electricity experiment was the kite. The kite was made out of two strips of cedar which reached to the corners of a thin handkerchief. The kite was raised with a tail, loop and a string with a sharp pointed wire, rising a foot above the wood. When thunder clouds come over the kite, the wire will draw electric fire from the kite. Franklin found pleasure in science and wanted to educate his citizens as well as himself on electricity Another great invention that Franklin created was the lightening rod. The lightening rod was a small rod, about three to four feet which stuck out of the ground and the other side was about six to eight feet, which would be placed on the highest part of the building. When the lightening hit the rod, it would be conducted to the ground through the wire which would prevent a fire and create electricity. Through these inventions, it is shown how Benjamin Franklin proved his greatness by tampering with electricity which can be a very difficult thing to
Although hard times were many in the need for a strong new nation for the people, many of the prominent leaders still pursued inventions that benefited themselves and the people. In 1784, Benjamin Franklin developed bifocal glasses. He w...
In 1751, Franklin published some his theories on electricity. Franklin had an attraction to electricity and invented the Franklin Stove, and coordinated the kite-and-key experiment. Franklin’s most famous experiment was when he flew a kite in a thunderstorm to prove that lighting is an electrical power. Franklin continued to pursue his interests in invention by inventing the lighting rod, swim fins, bifocals, and musical instruments.
One of Franklin's many professions was an inventor. Instead of wanting to make a profit from his inventions, Ben shared the tools and gadgets he made to protect citizens and worshipping destinations. Some of his greatest inventions were the lightning rod, Bifocal glasses, glass harmonica, hHand paddle, the franklin stove and Franklin's electrostatic machine. The lighting rod was a metal or wire rod attached to an open part of a building or tall structure to divert lightning into the ground in attempt to prevent damage to the structure. Another popular invention of his was Franklin's bifocals were a pair of glasses with one lense for faresight vision and the other for near vision. It was very useful for people whose
A lens is an optical device that transmits or refracts light. Eyeglass lenses are glass or plastic items that are placed inside eyewear frames in order to correct the wearer’s vision. More than 80 percent of all eyeglasses worn today are plastic lenses. The glass lenses were popular in the 1945 until the plastic lens was introduced in 1952. Convex and concave lenses are known as spherical lenses. Convex lenses were the first lenses used to correct vision problems. They are used to correct hyperopia (farsighted vision). These lenses are thicker in the middle than at the edges. Concave lenses are used to correct nearsightedness. This is a condition that makes people see things that are close to them but struggle to see things far away. Concave lenses are curved inward like the inside of a spoon.
As humans age, they frequently develop a condition known as presbyopia. This condition decreases the person's ability to focus sharply on those object which are nearby and is the result of the lens of the eye hardening. In addition, astigmatism requires a person wear prescription eyeglasses and/or contact lenses. Astigmatism arises when the curvature of the eye is irregular. The eye is normally shaped liked a soccer ball or basketball. With astigmatism, it takes on a more oval shape and resembles a football. Due to the irregular curvature, the eye processes light differently and leads to blurred vision. The degree of blurriness is determined by the degree of
medical device that can be worn for correcting vision, cosmetics, or therapeutic reasons. It has been estimated that 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide, which is approximately 2% of the world’s population. Contact lenses are shaped based on the vision problem to help the eye focus light directly on the retina. There are four main reasons to wear corrective contacts:
No, not "Why am I going to class so early?" but "Why do I need these contacts?" With this project I will attempt to explain the basics of vision and corrective lenses, as I, myself, finally learn the reason for sticking my finger in my eye every morning.
Jones, R.V. "Benjamin Franklin." Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London . no. 2 (1977): 201-225. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu/stable/531827 (accessed November 21, 2013).
For all the technical changes brought about by lens technology, no technological innovation can be fully understood without examining its social implications; as such, it is critical that we also consider the cultural impacts of the lens in America. Firstly, it is worth considering the social side of the rise of institutionalized science in the late 19th century. Industrialization in the final quarter of the 1800s was accompanied by an increasing investment in both private and government-funded federal pursuits, which was inspired by an increasingly-pervasive belief that science could yield direct benefits to the public. This sentiment tied into the broader mantra of Gilded Age progressivism and inevitable progress, but it did not arise in a vacuum: rather, publicly-visible improvements derived from science were necessary as a catalyst for this explosion in popular support and increased funding for scientific pursuits. One important source of this increased scientific enthusiasm was corrective lenses. As
Galileo used this great invention to report astronomical facts such as the moon is cover with craters instead of being smooth, the Milky Way is composed of millions of stars, and Jupiter have four moons. Perhaps the most famous discovery is the Earth revolves around the Sun and the Earth is not the center of the universe (even though he was discredited at the time).
“A dispensing optician’s role entails, advising on, fits, supplying, and recommending the most appropriate spectacles after taking into account a patient’s visual, lifestyle and vocational needs”. (https://www.optical.org/en/Education/Careers/Pre-registration_home.cfm)
The creation of the first wearable pair of eyeglasses is credited to Salvino D'Armate in Italy around the year 1284 (Bellis). Despite numerous improvements made to this original model, the eyeglasses remained an elementary piece of technology that provided the sole form of vision correction at that time. This was the case century after century. Leonardo da Vinci left us with the first sketches and descriptions of contact lenses in 1508 (CLC). The credit for developing the first corneal contact lens is given to Dr. Thomas Young in 1801. He created a one quarter inch long glass tube filled with water which had a microscope lens fitted on the end (Hartstein). It wasn’t until the late 19th century, however, that the first crude, but tolerable pair of contact lenses were introduced (CLC). Since this first medieval pair, the contact lens has been improved upon time after time. From the introduction of using plastics in contact lens production to the soft, gas permeable, daily wear, disposable lens...