The development of optical glass and the development of optical instruments are inseparable. The new reform of the optical system often puts forward new requirements to the optical glass, thus promoting the development of optical glass, also, the success of new varieties of glass also often in turn promote the development of optical instruments.
The earliest people used to make optical materials optical parts is natural crystal, crystal lens for allegedly ancient Assyrian, in ancient times Chinese is the application of natural tourmaline (Chajing) and Huang Shuijing. Archaeologists have proved that in Egypt and in us (the Warring States period) three thousand years ago, people have been able to make glass. But the glass, as the glasses and the mirror, began in Venice in thirteenth Century. Engels in "natural dialectics" in this has given a high evaluation, think this is one of the excellent invention. Then due to the development of astronomers and navigation, Galileo, Newton, Descartes also made of glass telescope and microscope. Starting in sixteenth Century, glass has become the main material for the manufacture of optical components.
In seventeenth Century, the optical system of the optical system to eliminate the problem of the center of the instrument. At this time due to the improvement of the glass composition, the introduction of lead oxide in the glass, Hull only in 1729 won the first of achromatic lens, since then, the optical glass can be divided into crown and flint glass two categories.
In 1768, the south of the south of France was the first to use a clay bar to make a homogeneous optical glass, which began to establish an independent optical glass manufacturing industry. In the middle of the nineteenth Century, several developed countries have successively established their own optical glass factories, such as France, La - mans (1872), the British company money, company (1848), Germany (1848) Schott company etc..
Nineteenth Century optical instrument has a great development. On the eve of the first World War, Germany, in order to rapidly develop military optical instruments, required to break the limitations of optical glass varieties. At this time, the famous physicist a member to participate in the work of Xiao special factory. He added new oxides such as BaO, B2O3, ZnO, P2O3, and so on to the glass, and studied its influence on the optical constants of the glass. On this basis, the development of the barium crown, boron, zinc and other types of crown crown glass, also began the trial of the special relative partial dispersion of flint glass. In this period, the variety of optical glass has been greatly extended, so there is a more complete camera and microscope objective in the optical instrument.
Until 1930s, most of the work was carried out on the basis of the special factory. In 1934 to obtain a series of serious injustice glass, such as Germany, SK-16 (620/603) and SK-18 (639/555) etc.. So far, it can be considered as a stage of the development of optical glass.
Before and after the two World War, with the development of all kinds of optical instruments such as aerial photography, ultraviolet and infrared spectrum instruments, advanced photographic objective lens, optical glass. At this time, the optical glass accordingly has a new development. In 1942, the United States and the Soviet Union after Murray (Morey) and German scientists have scattered and rare earth oxides into the glass, thereby expanding the variety of glass, a series of high refractive index and low dispersion optical glass, such as LaK, LaF, CTK, and the Soviet Union have with other varieties of series. At the same time, also studied the low refractive index dispersion glass and optical glass and a series of fluoride titanium silicate system, such as the Soviet Union successfully with -9, successfully with -12, German F-16 and other varieties.
Due to a variety of new varieties of optical glass more or less in the processing or use of performance defects, so the expansion of optical glass field at the same time in the study, according to the physical and chemical and physical properties to improve new varieties of optical glass. As well as the production process carried out a lot of work.
Looking at the history of the development process, we can predict the future direction of the development of optical glass:
Glass with special high refractive index;
Glass with special relative partial dispersion;
Development of infrared and ultraviolet optical glass;
The glass replaced some unhealthy ingredients such as toxic radioactive THO2, BcO, Sb2O3 etc.;
Improve the chemical stability of the glass;
The glass to improve transparency and prevent radiation colored glass;
The improvement process, reduce the price of new varieties of glass.