My Magnifying Glass Is Not A Toy After All
by: Karen Funaro
For as long as I can remember I have always had a fascination with magnifying glasses. I would spend my time at my grandmother’s house playing with the mysterious object that made people’s eyes huge when held against them on a certain angle. I didn’t understand why it was important, or what it was actually used for, or its place in society was at the time. All I knew was that it came from grandma’s “junk drawer,” and since grandma’s house didn’t really have too many toys- it was pretty cool.
But I soon came to realize that “grandma’s toy” didn’t just exist at my grandma’s house. I came across magnifying glasses of all different shapes and sizes throughout my years, whether it be at the dentist, in science class, or by the huge dictionary at my all girls’ catholic high school, I found myself to be randomly around one quite frequently. And every time I saw a magnifying glass I would catch myself with the same inquiries that I had since I was a young girl- what is the importance of this silly toy, where did it come from, and why do we even need it?
To start, one of the most important things to know when it comes to discussing an object like the magnifying glass-(and probably the most devastating initially for me when doing research) is that it is not a toy at all. All of the years I spent “playing” with it, thinking that it was a useless, goofy piece of glass were actually an incorrect use of it. The magnifying glass is an object of great scientific prominence and is responsible for paving the way for major advancements in magnification to develop. Without the magnifying glass, we would not have been able to produce common every day things we sometimes take for granted such as eyeglasses and contacts lenses, and scientists would seriously be lost without microscopes. If that round glass attached to a stick wasn’t around, science would suffer and we would suffer-and I bet you never even realized that.
https://archive.org/details/0434_Prove_it_With_A_Magnifying_Glass_01_13_22_20
Dating as far back as 1000 A.D., and possibly even before, the first model of an object that resembled and acted the same way as today’s modern-day magnifying glass is known as the “reading stone.” Dr. Richard Dewry, wrote about the history of glasses, and the magnifying glass. He explained in his article, “What Man Devised That He Might See,” that a reading stone was simply a cut out of a glass sphere that when placed upon small print, enlarged the lettering so one could see them better. It was popular for monks who were trying to decipher various scriptures during that time, especially since glasses had not been invented yet, and small print was extremely common. The way this object was originally crafted is extremely interesting. Magnifying glasses of the past were made by melting pieces of glass against hot sand, and crafting the glass in order to bring about the spherical shape responsible for aiding one’s sight to see something enlarged or in closer detail. Historians also argue that the monks were not the only ones who figured out that if glass was designed in a specific way that it could be used to help enlarge print. The Egyptians are said to have discovered that an almost clear crystal called obsidian, which could be used to enhance one’s view of extremely small objects when correctly placed on the right angle on them, much like the reading stone. Although both the Egyptians and the monks are the ones who might have first discovered and had a sense of magnification, the individual famed with being the inventor of the magnifying glass itself, is scientist and philosopher named Roger Bacon back in the year 1250. A professor at the University of Oxford in England, Bacon gave lectures on the concept of “Optics” and wrote about it in part five of his famous work “Opus Majus.” In this section, he went into depth about anatomy of the brain and eye, expanding on concepts brought to light by the Muslim scientists Kindi and Alhazen. Bacon is attributed as the inventor of the magnifying glass due to the work he put together in this section of the paper, and the various experiments that he conducted, giving us a major insight on vision, refraction mirrors, and lenses and last but not least, magnification.
With Bacon’s work being published, the magnifying glass that we now know today started to develop and be used throughout the world, initially in the same way that it was originally intended- to aid individuals with their reading. Starting off as objects with wooden handles, the magnifying glass soon was expanded on to have a much more modern, sturdier look and feel, comprised of rims made of various types of metal and plastic rather than wood.
So how exactly are magnifying glasses made? It’s safe to assume that burning glass against hot sand is a thing of the past-so how exactly are these object’s designed precisely so that they have the capability to enlarge whatever they are placed near? Before this question can be answered, it is important to note what magnification is, and what it means for something to be magnified. According to Webster’s Dictionary, magnification is “the degree to which something is enlarged.” In order for a piece of glass to have that capability to enlarge something, it must be crafted in a specific manner. Modern day magnifying glasses are made of convex lenses that when one looks through them, things begin to look larger. For a lens to be convex, it must be curved outward in a spherical shape. This lens is then mounted in a frame with a handle so a person can hold it. How large something will appear when looking through a magnifying glass is determined by where a person places the instrument in relation to the user’s eye and the object being viewed, along with the total distance there is between the eye and an object.
The magnifying glass has stayed relatively stagnant in it’s build throughout the years,- the typical bodice attached to the lens remains today, the same way it was when originally structured. However, although that the style of a magnifying glass might still be similar to what it was when it was discovered, the functionality of this object has changed immensely. One of the main uses as previously discussed is for enlarging print. But the magnifying glass has been used in a multitude of ways, and for different things, one of them being unrelated to vision at all- to start fires. A common science experiment for little kids is to put a magnifying glass outside in the sun and hold it on an angle from which when the light hits it in a specific manner, to make flames ignite. But it’s not just this “make fire” experiment that caused the magnifying glass to grow in prominence; it was its use in the scientific world beyond this, which keeps it as relevant as it is today.
In many various scientific fields such as anatomy and biology experiments conducted, a magnifying glass is a staple material. Whether one is looking up close at a bug, or examining the insides of an animal or the leaves on a plant, the magnifying glass let’s users have a hands on experience that allows them to see what the naked eye physically cannot. The magnifying glass is also used in dentists’ offices throughout the country, allowing dentists to use mini-sized ones to investigate the surface of teeth.
But even though it is still used today in some simple cases, there is a product that developed because of the magnifying glass that are more prominent and better to use when one wants something to be magnified. The microscope is what many consider to be the “latest” version of the magnifying glass, and more commonly used today, especially when thinking about the magnifying glass’s role in scientific experiments. Two Dutch spectacle makers are the ones who developed this object with far superior capabilities for magnification than the magnifying glass in the 1590’s. Basing their design off of the magnifying glass, the first compound microscope utilized two convex lenses, one being placed on an end so people can see through it, and the other on the bottom. This simple compound microscope was further developed in the mid 1600’s by scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoeck who increased significantly the magnification capabilities. Today, microscopes that are now used are sometimes electronic, and allow man even the tiniest of things extremely close up. Many advanced versions of microscopes tend to be pricey, some costing up to $500 or more. But if it weren’t for Bacon’s original prototype of a simple hand-held piece of glass and his study of optics, scientists would not be able to have microscopes and use them in their every-day.
Glasses are the other major thing that developed out of the magnifying glass. The first glasses to ever be invented did not have lenses in them; rather they were made of quartz that people looked through in order to help them see things. They were called spectacles and the lenses were placed into bone, metal or even leather mountings, formatted to be in the shape of two small magnifying glasses with handles that rested on one’s nose. The only problem with these spectacles were that people had a hard time keeping them sturdy on their faces, as well as had an extremely difficult time keeping them on. Spectacles were a little better for people than magnifying glasses because they no longer had to hold them in order to enlarge print, but now they had to balance this thing responsible for their magnification. We have come a long way since the days of balancing spectacles on the bridge of our noses, and now have the glasses that we see every day. Glasses are constructed similarly to magnifying glasses, with the usage of a lens against a metal. Once again, the major difference however with glasses and magnifying glasses besides the obvious appearance of them, is that with glasses, just like microscopes, the zoom capabilities are determined based on what a customer needs. Advancements in optics have granted humans the capability to now decide how close up things need to be based on personal needs and demands, rather than having to just deal with how close up your magnifying glass could go.
Despite the interesting history of magnifying glass, how it is being used currently, and how it has developed into even more effective means of magnification through things such as the microscope and glasses, one final thing to think about when discussing the magnifying glass is what it represents culturally and what it means to society as a whole. Whenever you see a mystery movie or novel, it is not uncommon for an image of a magnifying glass to be shown. The same goes for when downloading an app where you search something, or even in regards to the “search bar” on your favorite website- nine times out of ten, the image of a magnifying glass is displayed or appears when hovering over a “help option” on a site. There is a reason for this phenomenon. It’s that culturally, magnifying glasses have shifted from being objects that help people see, rather they have been renowned as objects that help people discover. People who use magnifying glasses are looking to see something up close, to “discover” what they may have missed. The magnifying glass has become a powerful symbol, representing investigation, and the need to find out more and in order to gain a clearer understanding of something.
So the next time you see a magnifying, don’t just pick it up and play with it like a toy-because it is so much more than just another item in grandma’s junk drawer. It is a tool-a pioneer in itself when it comes to magnification, and a cultural symbol of discovery and research.
List Of Sources that Helped with this Research:
http://www.teagleoptometry.com/history.htm
http://www.history-of-the-microscope.org/history-of-the-microscope-who-invented-the-microscope.php
http://www.seeitbigger.com/pages/magnifying-glass-information
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/mags/ModernMechanix/6-1936/magnify.jpg
