History
Scattered evidence exists for use of visual aid devices in Greek and Roman times, most prominently the use of an emerald by emperor Nero as mentioned by Pliny the Elder.[24]
The use of a convex lens to form an enlarged/magnified image was most likely described in Ptolemy's Optics (which however only survives in a poor Arabic translation). Ptolemy's description of lenses was commented upon and improved by Ibn Sahl (10th century) and most notably by Alhazen (Book of Optics, ca. 1021). Latin translations of Ptolemy's Optics and of Alhazen became available in Europe in the 12th century, coinciding with the development of "reading stones".
Robert Grosseteste's treatise De iride ("On the Rainbow"), written between 1220 and 1235, mentions using optics to "read the smallest letters at incredible distances".[25] A few years later in 1262, Roger Bacon is also known to have written on the magnifying properties of lenses.[26][27] The development of the first eyeglasses took place in Northern Italy in the second half of the 13th century.[28]
Independently of the development of optical lenses, some cultures developed "sunglasses" for eye protection, without any corrective properties.[29] Thus, flat panes of smoky quartz, were used in 12th-century China.[a] Similarly, the Inuit have used snow goggles for eye protection.
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