Joseph Von Faunhofer Research Paper

Joseph Von Fraunhofer was born March 6, 1787 in Bavaria. He was born to parents that were both glassmakers by trade. His mother came from a long line of glassmakers and his father, as well as grandfather were both master artisans in glassmaking (Kennelly). Some say that this is why Fraunhofer had such a knack for optics, as he was surrounded by them from day 1. Unfortunately, before age twelve both of his parents had passed away leaving him orphaned. In 1799, Fraunhofer moved in with Philipp Anton Weichselberger to apprentice for the court mirror maker/glass cutter. Weichselberger was, however, against Fraunhofer going to school or even reading. In the middle of July in 1801, Weichselberger’s house collapsed, but luckily both he and Fraunhofer survived. This accident caught the attention of Prince Elector Maximilian Joseph IV who appointed Fraunhofer to Joseph von Utzschneider. Since this opportunity, Fraunhofer had the chance to go to school and read where he was taught how to lens-grind (Kennelly). This new skill got him the job of an optician at a renowned workshop and eventually, at age 22, the head of the glass factory itself. It was his job to improve both the materials and the techniques that went into the glassmaking; a job which he excelled in.

This is where he noticed different spectral lines between the light emitted from the candle and the light emitted from the sun. This discovery led to his invention, the spectroscope. This new instrument allowed him to investigate the spectral lines of many light sources. These lines of absorption (the dark lines) became known as Fraunhofer lines. His knowledge on light diffraction of many types of glass was nearly unparalleled and helped him to build some of the most innovative refractive lensing technology of its