fresnel

[fruh-nel, French frey-nel]

noun

a unit of frequency, equal to 1012 cycles per second.

Origin of fresnel

First recorded in 1935–40; named after Augustin Jean Fresnel

Fresnel

[fruh-nel; French frey-nel]

noun

Augustin Jean,1788–1827, French physicist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fresnel

Historical Examples of fresnel

Fresnel dipped a hand into his pocket, and fetched thence a key.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
Fresnel, Oppert, and Thomas, were included in the same disaster.
A History of Art in Chalda & Assyria, v. 1
Georges Perrot
The light-house has since been rebuilt, and shows a Fresnel light.
Cape Cod
Henry D. Thoreau
Fresnel therefore adopted the ingenious device proposed by Condorcet, that of constructing a lens of a number of distinct pieces.
Smeaton and Lighthouses
John Smeaton
But for lenses the burner has seventeen films of flame, and is said to possess six times the power of the Fresnel lamp.
Smeaton and Lighthouses
John Smeaton

British Dictionary definitions for fresnel

fresnel

noun

a unit of frequency equivalent to 10 12 hertz

Word Origin for fresnel

C20: named after Augustin Jean Fresnel (1788–1827), French physicist

Fresnel

noun

Augustin Jean (oɡystɛ̃ ʒɑ̃). 1788–1827, French physicist: worked on the interference of light, contributing to the wave theory of light

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

fresnel in Science

Fresnel

[frā-nĕl′]Augustin Jean 1788-1827

French physicist whose investigations of the interference, diffraction, and polarization of light helped establish the theory that light moves in a wavelike motion. Fresnel also made great contributions to the field of optics, including the development of a compound lens for use in lighthouses.