The lens is a simple optical device that transmits and refracts light. The oldest known lens is the Nimrud Lens from ancient Assyria around 3,000 years old. While its initial uses are debated, lenses were primarily used to harness sunlight for combustion until the 12th century when they began to be used more as visual aids for research and magnification. Over the next millennium, the use of lenses as tools to enhance vision became more widespread, demonstrating how technologies can evolve beyond their original purposes.

1. The lens, a simple optical device with axial
symmetry which transmits and refracts light.
While its modern use is well documented, its
origins are rather obscure.

2. The Nimrud Lens, the oldest known lens, is
roughly 3,000 years old. It was found in an
Assyrian palace (modern day Iraq) in 1850.

3. There is some debate as to its function.
Most assert it was used to aide in intricate
tablet carvings.

4. In 1999, Italian scientist Giovanni Pettinato
proposed that it may have been the first
telescope, explaining the Assyrians’
apparent knowledge of Saturn’s rings.

5. The first explicit documentation of the lens
as a corrective or magnifying tool date back
to emperor Nero and his use of an emerald
to view the gladitorial games.

6. However, most documented instances of
lenses until the 1100s suggest the technology
was used primarily to harness the suns rays as
a way to create combustion.

7. Throughout the next millenium the use of the
lens as a visual enhancement device won over
as its ability to aid in research became more
apparent, and other methods of creating
combustion were determined more efficient.

8. Conclusion
While the initial uses are ambiguous, the
evolution of how the lens is used today is
clearly an example of the unintended
consequences of technology.
While the Assyrians who crafted the Nimrud
Lens out of crystal rock were certainly aware
of its ability to manipulate light, and may have
known of its magnifying capabilities, they most
likely did not predict that it would become a
device that now makes life livable for a large
percentage of the world’s population.