fresnel

[ fruh-nel, French frey-nel ]

/ frəˈnɛl, French freɪˈnɛl /

noun

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

Nearby words

Origin of fresnel

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

Definition for fresnel (2 of 2)

Fresnel

[ fruh-nel; French frey-nel ]

/ frəˈnɛl; French freɪˈnɛl /

noun

Augustin Jean,1788–1827, French physicist.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fresnel

A few months later Fresnel was dead, and Young survived him only two years.
A History of Science, Volume 3(of 5)|Henry Smith Williams
Fresnel died, in his fortieth year, a few days after receiving the medal.
Heroes of Science: Physicists|William Garnett
At the close of the congress the foreign secretaries placed a crown on the tomb of Fresnel.
The Popular Science Monthly, October, 1900|Various
Fresnel devised many improvements in which he used refracting and reflecting prisms for the outer elements.
Artificial Light|M. Luckiesh

Rumford and also Fresnel devised multiple-wick burners, thus increasing the luminous intensity.
Artificial Light|M. Luckiesh

British Dictionary definitions for fresnel (1 of 2)

fresnel

/ (ˈfreɪnɛl, French frɛnɛl) /

noun

a unit of frequency equivalent to 10 12 hertz

Word Origin for fresnel

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

British Dictionary definitions for fresnel (2 of 2)

Fresnel

/ (French frɛnɛl) /

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

Science definitions for fresnel

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.