Optical Lenses for Glasses

The strength of your glasses or optical lenses, depends on the strength or weakness of your eyesight. Optical lenses are made up of optical elements consisting of part glass and part transparent plastic. They are put into layers to create a clear image from the rays of light that project the image or images.

The optical lens dates back as far as three thousand years ago to the oldest lens in history, the Nimrud Lens in ancient Assyria. It was believed that the lenses were used as a magnifying glass. Another possibility of use was for burning glasses which were used to start fires. Lenses were not used as seeing glasses until the invention of the spectacles in the 1280s in Italy.

Optical lenses are used today as a way to correct visual impairments through the use of contacts or eye glasses. The lenses are placed over the eyeball with the use of frames that are made to fit the face. These frames are available in different shapes and sizes. The lenses can be cut to fit into almost any frame. Contact lenses don’t use frames to hold them; instead, they are set in the eye with a solution that keeps them lubricated. Without this solution, contact lenses can easily become dry and irritate the eye.

In either form, glasses or contacts, the lenses are mostly symmetrical. Magnification is increased by layering several lenses layered together. Your visual ability dictates how many layers are required. Optical lenses of all kinds help you to see things more clearly if you have a visual impairment.