burning glass

American  

noun

1. a converging lens used to produce heat or ignite substances by focusing the sun's rays.

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burning glass British  

noun

1. a convex lens for concentrating the sun's rays into a small area to produce heat or fire

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Etymology

Origin of burning glass

First recorded in 1560–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burning glass

He and I know to move around them by sheer memory; the burning glass promises to singe the skin if touched.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 17, 2018

Many historians, in fact, have dismissed the story of the burning glass as a myth.

From Time Magazine Archive

The film begins with a helicoptic view, swooping over the dome of St. Peter's, then briefly darts away to Greece to catch the sun's rays igniting the traditional torch through a burning glass at Olympia.

From Time Magazine Archive

The combination acts as a gigantic burning glass which can melt 130 Ibs. of iron in an hour.

From Time Magazine Archive

As in a burning glass the aerial flame With the producing ray is still the same,10 We to love’s purest quintessence refin’d, Do both become one undivided mind.

From Thomas Stanley: His Original Lyrics, Complete, In Their Collated Readings of 1647, 1651, 1657. With an Introduction, Textual Notes, A List of Editions, An Appendis of Translation, and a Portrait. by Thomas Stanley