JUNE , 2021
I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW By : Liese Sherwood-Fabré
The image of a magnifying glass has been tied to detective and mystery stories for several generations , with Sherlock Holmes being one of the most familiar figures . The history of optics suggests this tool , as well as the microscope , serve as fitting symbols for both the investigator as well as the forensic scientist .
References to magnifying devices , most likely using water , date back to 424 BC . The Roman invention of glass in the first century included experimentation with different shapes . The term “ lens ” derives from the Latin word “ lentil ” because the shape resembles that of the lentil bean .
While the interest and use of lenses languished in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire , the Arab mathematician Ibn al-Haytham completed a seven-volume work on optics ( written
from 1011-1021 ). His investigations with light , vision , mirrors and magnifying lenses were later translated into Latin in the 12 th or 13 th century and influenced a resurgence in the interest of lenses in Europe at that time . ( 1 )
Convex ( those thicker in the middle ) lenses appeared as eyeglasses ( consisting of two lenses with handles riveted together ) in Italy in the late 1200s and in Roger Bacon ’ s magnifying glasses in 1250 . ( 2 )
In the 1590s , Dutch spectacle makers Hans and Zacharias Jansen arranged several lenses in a tube and discovered they could increase the magnification beyond that of a single lens . Anton van Leeuwenhoek , however , saw the potential and created the first true microscope .
By the Victorian era , magnifying glasses and microscope lenses were wellmade and very precise . ( 4 ) These two devices remain as a fundamental tool for forensic scientists today ( 5 ). A major invention in the 1920s was the comparison microscope , developed by Philip Gravelle . Forensic scientist Oscar Heinrich was one of the first to use the device to compare bullets simultaneously and present this evidence in court . ( 6 )
Obtaining a clear view of the evidence and bringing it to light has always been the foundation of investigation . Devices such as the magnifying glass and microscope serve as basic tools that assist the scientist and the criminalist in bringing it all into perspective .
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