Parabolic Reflector

“In 1763, or at latest before 1777, parabolic reflectors were first used for lighthouse illumination by Mr. Hutchinson, dockmaster of Liverpool. In his work on Practica Scamanship, published in 1777, he states that the Mersey lights were fitted with reflectors formed of small fucets of silvered glass, and made, as he says “as nearly as they can be to the parabolic curve.” This is unquestionably the earliest published notice of the use of parabolic reflectors for lighthouse illumination.” —The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1910

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