III. On the law of the partial polarization of light by reflexion

1830 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 69-84
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Experimental Result ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Angle Of Incidence ◽  
Physical Change ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Polarization Of Light ◽  
Partial Polarization

In the year 1815 I communicated to the Royal Society a series of experiments on the polarization of light by successive reflexions, which contain the germ of the investigations, the results of which I now propose to explain. From these experiments it appeared that a given pencil of light could be wholly polarized at any angle of incidence, provided it underwent a sufficient number of reflexions, either at angles wholly above or wholly below the maximum polarizing angle, or at angles partly above and partly below that angle; and it was scarcely possible to resist the conclusion, that the light not polarized by the first reflexion had suffered a physical change at each action of the reflecting force which brought it nearer and nearer to the state of complete polarization. This opinion, however, which I have always regarded as demonstrable, appeared in a different light to others. Guided probably by an experimental result, apparently though not really hostile to it, Dr. Young and MM. Biot, Arago, and Fresnel, have adhered to the original opinion of Malus, that the reflected and refracted pencils consist partly of light wholly polarized, and partly of light in its natural state; and more recently Mr. Herschel has given the weight of his opinion to the same view of the subject.

IX. On the laws of the polarization of light by refraction

1830 ◽  
Vol 120 ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Physical Change ◽  
General Law ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Polarization Of Light

In the autumn of 1813 I announced to the Royal Society the discovery which I had then made of the polarization of light by refraction; and in the November following I communicated an extensive series of experiments which established the general law of the phænomena. During the sixteen years which have since elapsed, the subject does not seem to have made any progress. From experiments indeed stated to have been performed at all angles of incidence with plates of glass, M. Arago announced that the quantity of light which the plate polarized by reflexion at any given angle was equal to the quantity polarized by transmission; but this result, founded upon incorrect observation, led to false views, and thus contributed to stop the progress of this branch of optics. I had shown in 1813, from incontrovertible experiments, that the action of each refracting surface in polarizing light, produced a physical change on the refracted pencil, and brought it into a state approaching more and more to that of complete polarization. But this result, which will be presently demonstrated, was opposed as hypothetical by Dr. Young and the French philosophers; and Mr. Herschel has more recently given it as his decision, that of the two contending opinions, that which was first asserted by Malus, and subsequently maintained by Biot, Arago, and Fresnel, is the most probable, —namely, that the unpolarized part of the pencil, in place of having suffered any physical change, retains the condition of common light.

scholarly journals XIV. On the absorption of gases by solids

1881 ◽  
Vol 32 (212-215) ◽  
pp. 407-408
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Hydraulic Press ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Solid Matter ◽  
Chemical Action ◽  
High Pressure And Temperature ◽  
Solid Iron ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Very High

During the progress of the investigations which I have from time to time had the honour of bringing under the notice of the Royal Society, I have again and again noticed the apparent disappearance of gases inclosed in vessels of various materials when the disappearance could not be accounted for upon the assumption of ordinary leakage. After a careful examination of the subject I found that the solids absorbed or dissolved the gases, giving rise to a striking example of the fixation of a gas in a solid without chemical action. In carrying out that most troublesome investigation, the crystalline separation of carbon from its compounds, the tubes used for experiment have been in nine cases out of ten found to be empty on opening them, and in most cases a careful testing by hydraulic press showed no leakage. The gases seemed to go through the solid iron, although it was 2 inches thick. A series of experiments with various linings were tried. The tube was electro-plated with copper, silver, and gold, but with no greater success. Siliceous linings were tried fusible enamels and glass—but still the' tubes refused to hold the contents. Out of thirty-four experiments made since my last results were published, only four contained any liquid or condensed gaseous matter after the furnacing. I became convinced that the solid matter at the very high pressure and temperature used must be pervious to gases.

scholarly journals X. On the elliptic polarization of light by reflexion from metallic surfaces

1845 ◽  
Vol 135 ◽  
pp. 269-282 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Metallic Surface ◽  
Metallic Surfaces ◽  
Elliptic Polarization ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
Comparative Results ◽  
Polarization Of Light

In a former paper, inserted in the Philosophical transactions, 1843, Part I., I detailed observations on some phenomena of elliptic polarization by reflexion from certain metallic surfaces; but with reference only to one class of comparative results. From these I have been led to pursue the subject into other relations besides those at first contemplated; but, from various causes, have only been able tat this interval to submit to the results to the Royal Society as a sequel to my former observations. The changes in the degree of ellipticity, investigated in my former paper, correspond to certain changes in the thickness of metallic films . If we now consider the case of reflexion from a simple polished metallic surface , and admit that in this case it may be supposed to take place by the penetration of the ray to a certain minute depth, or to some action of a thin transparent lamina of the metal, then, in like manner, —dependent on the law of metallic retardation, —the effect would vary with a difference in the effective thickness of the lamina, produced by changing the inclination of the incident ray; and that this is the case in general is well known, viz. that as the incidence is increased, the ellipticity increases up to a maximum, which occurs for most metals at an incidence between 70° and 80°, beyond which it decreases up to 90°.

XVI. The Bakerian Lecture.— On the radiation of heat from the moon, the law of its absorption by our atmosphere, and of its variation in amount with her phases

1873 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 587-627 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Radiant Heat ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Short Series ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law

In the years 1869 and 1870 I communicated to the Royal Society the results of a series of experiments made with the view of determining, if possible, the amount of radiant heat coming to the earth from the moon in various conditions of phase, and the nature of that heat as regards the average refrangibility of the rays. Though more successful than I had at first been led to expect, the imperfect accordance between many of the observations still left much to be desired, and the novelty and importance of the subject appeared sufficient to render it advisable to pursue the investigation with greater care and closer attention to details than had hitherto been deemed necessary. Since the conclusion of the series of observations which form the subject of the second paper above referred to, nothing (with the exception of a short series of observations in August and October 1870, of which mention is made towards the end of this paper) was done towards pursuing the subject till the spring of the following year (1871), when the series of observations which form the subject of the present paper were commenced, the same apparatus (only slightly modified) being used and the same method of observation adopted; but, with the view of obtaining an approximate value of the absorption of the moon’s heat in its passage through our atmosphere, and of rendering possible the satisfactory comparison of observations made at different zenith-distances of the moon, the observations were in many cases carried on at intervals at all possible zenith- distances on the same night, and the most favourable opportunities for observing the moon at very different zenith-distances in various conditions of the atmosphere were not lost.

scholarly journals XV. On a new case of the interference of light

1848 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 213-226
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Single Case ◽  
The State ◽  
The Subject

(1.) In the state of advance at which the theory of light has now arrived, a single case of interference directly explicable by the ordinary principles of undulations, even though occurring under new conditions, could hardly be deemed of sufficient importance to form the subject of a separate communication to the Royal Society. But in the present instance though the case presented, in its more general features, is easily accounted for on the acknowledged doctrine of interference and retardation, yet it offers many particulars in its details , in reference to which such explanation is, at least, not equally obvious: while some points require for their elucidation investigations of a more extended character.

scholarly journals XIII. Additional experiments on the muriatic and oxymuriatic acids

1812 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
The Other ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Acid Gas ◽  
Original Volume ◽  
Muriatic Acid ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One

The experiments, which form the subject of the following pages, are intended as supplementary to a more extensive series, which the Royal Society did me the honour to insert in their Transactions for the year 1800. Of the general accu­racy of those experiments, I have since had no reason to doubt; and their results, indeed, are coincident with those of subsequent writers of the highest authority in chemistry. My attention has been again drawn to the subject by the impor­tant controversy which has lately been carried on between Mr. Murray and Mr. John Davy respecting the nature of mu­riatic and oxymuriatic acids; and I have been induced, by some hints which the discussion has suggested, not only to repeat the principal experiments described in my memoir, but to institute others, with the advantage of a more perfect appa­ratus than I then possessed, and of greater experience in the management of these delicate processes. This repetition of my former labours has discovered to me an instance, in which I have failed in drawing the proper con­clusion from facts. In two comparative experiments on the electrization of equal quantities of muriatic acid gas, the one of which was dried by muriate of lime, and the other was in its natural state, I found a difference of not more than one percent , in the hydrogen evolved, relatively to the original bulk of the gas. Yet, notwithstanding these results, I have expressed myself inclined to believe that some water is abstracted by that deliquescent salt; and this belief was confirmed, seve­ral years afterwards, by the event of an experiment in which muriatic acid gas, dried by muriate of lime, gave only 1/35 its bulk of hydrogen, a proportion much below the usual ave­rage. The question, however, was too interesting to be left in any degree of uncertainty; and I have, therefore, made several fresh experiments with the view to its decision. In the course of these I have found, that though differences in the results are produced by causes apparently trivial, some of which I shall afterwards point out, yet that under equal circumstances, precisely the same relative proportion of hy­drogene gas is obtained from muriatic acid gas, whether ex­posed or not to muriate of lime; and that its greatest amount does not exceed 1/16 or 1/14 the original volume of the acid gas.

scholarly journals On a new detonating compound: in a letter from Sir Humphry Davy, LL. D. F. R. S. to the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K. B. P. R. S

1832 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 441-442
Keyword(s):  
Weak Solution ◽  
Oily Substance ◽  
The State ◽  
Present Account ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Humphry Davy ◽  
The Right ◽  
Explosive Detonation

The present account is intended as a caution to others against the dangerous effects of the very explosive detonation, by which the author has himself been a sufferer. His attention was first directed to the subject by a letter received from France, mentioning that about twelve months since, a compound had been discovered of azote with chlorine, which appears in the form of an oil heavier than water, and which explodes, by a gentle heat, with all the violence of the fulminating metals. The letter adds, that this discovery cost the operator an eye and a finger. Since the letter contained no account of the mode of preparing the compound, and as none could be found in any of the French journals, Sir Humphry Davy pursued a hint given him by Mr. Children, who informed him that his friend Mr. Burton had, in the month of July last, observed the formation of a volatile oily substance in a solution of nitrate of ammonia, exposed to chlorine in the state of gas. In repeating the experiment, the author perceived first an oily film on the surface of the fluid, which gradually collected into small globules, and fell to the bottom. One of these globules being taken out while floating on the surface of the water, and slightly warmed, exploded with brilliant light, but with­ out any violence of detonation. In a series of experiments carried on jointly with Mr. Children and Mr. Warburton, other ammoniacal solutions were substituted, and it was found that the same product was obtained by means of oxalate of ammonia, or by a weak solution of pure ammonia. The first instance that occurred of violent explosion, was in their endea­vours to form larger quantities in a Wolfe’s apparatus, by a series of bottles containing the different solutions.

scholarly journals XIV. Experimental Researches on the Production of Silicon from Paracyanogen

1844 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-246
Author(s):  
Samuel M. Brown
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Experimental Researches

In a Memoir on the Preparation of Paracyanogen submitted to the Royal Society some weeks ago, I laid down the proposition, that two equal and similar molecules may enter into the state of chemical union, the combination produced being indissoluble by every known agent of analysis; and I endeavoured to establish this proposition partly on certain abstract physical considerations, and partly by a series of experiments on the production of paracyanogen by the decomposition of the bicyanide of mercury under pressure and at high temperatures.

scholarly journals XV. Account of the earthquake felt in various parts of England, November 18, 1795; with some observations thereon

1796 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 353-381 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Royal Society ◽  
The State ◽  
General Idea ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Material Information

Having been desired by the President of the Royal Society to draw up, from various letters transmitted to him and to the Society, and from such other authentic information as I might be able to procure, an account of the earthquake which was felt in most of the midland counties of England, on Wednesday, November 18, 1795, I beg leave to lay before the Society the following account thereof; which, however imperfect it may be, contains all the material information I have been able to obtain upon the subject. The earthquake happened, as is already said, on Wednesday, November 18, about eleven o'clock at night. The state of the weather, and other circumstances previous to it, are described in some of the letters hereafter noticed. Before I proceed to take notice of them, I shall endeavour to give a general idea of its extent.

scholarly journals On the parallax of the fixed stars

1833 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 65-66
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Present Communication ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

Dr. Brinkley, of the Observatory of Dublin, having noticed for several years past a periodical deviation of several fixed stars from their mean places, strongly indicating the existence in them of annual parallax, the author was induced to institute a series of observations upon the subject, the results of which are submitted to the Royal Society in the present communication. Being unable to devote the mural circle, erected at the Royal Observatory in 1812, entirely to this investigation, the Astronomer Royal employed two ten-feet telescopes, fixed to stone piers, and directed to the particular stars whose parallax was suspected, and furnished with micrometers for the purpose of comparing them with other stars passing through the same field. The question of parallax is, theoretically speaking, rather curious than important; but with regard to the state of practical astronomy the case is very different, and, as far as relates to the natural history of the sidereal system, it is a subject of interest to ascertain whether the distances of the nearest fixed stars can be numerically expressed from satisfactory data, or whether it be so immeasurably great as to exceed all human powers either to conceive or determine. The principal stars observed by Dr. Brinkley were, α Lyræ, α Aquilæ, α Cygni.

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