Articles

Original Article: http://www.ece.umd.edu/~taylor/optics2.htm Some dispute exists over whether eyeglasses originated in the Far East or in the West: it appears that the eyeglasses used by the Chinese were for adornment or supposed magical powers and contained colored glass, not correcting lenses. Roger Bacon, the medieval champion of experimental science, made the first recorded reference to the magnifying properties of lenses in 1262. Eyeglasses appeared first in Florence about 1280 and their use spread rapidly. (Their invention is traditionally assigned to Alessandro di Spina). A correct explanation of their operation, however, did not appear for centuries until 1604 with the publication...

Meaning of OD and OS The first step to understanding your eyeglass prescription is knowing what "OD" and OS" mean. They are abbreviations for oculus dexter and oculus sinister, which are Latin terms for right eye and left eye. Your eyeglass prescription also may have a column labeled "OU." This is the abbreviation for the Latin term oculus uterque, which means "both eyes." Though the use of these abbreviated Latin terms is traditional for prescriptions written for eyeglasses, and eye medicines, some doctors and clinics have opted to modernize their prescriptions and use RE (right eye) and LE (left eye)...