jac.photography49
The Great Light at Titanic quarter
The Great Light is one of the largest optics of its kind ever built in the world, and is around 130 years old. Weighing 10 tonnes and measuring 7 metres tall, the optic is a unique maritime heritage object with significance to Belfast's economic, maritime and industrial past. It is totally irreplaceable and is an exceptionally rare maritime artefact. It produced one of the strongest lighthouse beams ever to shine - a truly GREAT LIGHT
he huge Fresnel Hyper-Radial lenses of the Great Light served two lighthouses over approximately 127 years and were the largest lenses ever made in the world. The construction of the optic involved two of the most significant lighthouse optic manufacturers in the world – Barbier and Fenestre, and the Chance Brothers.
The Great Light’s lenses were originally made in 1887 for Tory Island Lighthouse, situated off Donegal. The glass lenses were made at the famous Saint-Gobain glass works in France, and then taken to the lighthouse optic manufacturers, Barbier and Fenestre, in Paris. Here the original optic was made with 18 lenses, 6 in each of three tiers (triform) covering 60 degrees. The lenses are called Fresnel lenses as the design was invented by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1823. Fresnel had invented a way of magnifying and refracting light into a powerful beam we now associate with lighthouses. The Fresnel lens revolutionised lighthouse technology.
The Great Light at Titanic quarter
The Great Light is one of the largest optics of its kind ever built in the world, and is around 130 years old. Weighing 10 tonnes and measuring 7 metres tall, the optic is a unique maritime heritage object with significance to Belfast's economic, maritime and industrial past. It is totally irreplaceable and is an exceptionally rare maritime artefact. It produced one of the strongest lighthouse beams ever to shine - a truly GREAT LIGHT
he huge Fresnel Hyper-Radial lenses of the Great Light served two lighthouses over approximately 127 years and were the largest lenses ever made in the world. The construction of the optic involved two of the most significant lighthouse optic manufacturers in the world – Barbier and Fenestre, and the Chance Brothers.
The Great Light’s lenses were originally made in 1887 for Tory Island Lighthouse, situated off Donegal. The glass lenses were made at the famous Saint-Gobain glass works in France, and then taken to the lighthouse optic manufacturers, Barbier and Fenestre, in Paris. Here the original optic was made with 18 lenses, 6 in each of three tiers (triform) covering 60 degrees. The lenses are called Fresnel lenses as the design was invented by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1823. Fresnel had invented a way of magnifying and refracting light into a powerful beam we now associate with lighthouses. The Fresnel lens revolutionised lighthouse technology.