Improving the light

In 1822, Frenchman Augustine Fresnel surrounded a central lens with carefully placed concentric prismatic glass rings. He found that this arrangment produced a beam five times more powerful than the reflector beam of the time. Tests showed that a fresnel lens can capture an amzing 83% of the original light.

Reference:
From dusk till dawn, Gordon Reid, 1988, Macmillan

Lens display at
Ponce Inlet, Florida

http://www.lanternroom.com   

http://www.lighthousegetaway.com/lights/fresnel.html