On the various forces of nature and their relations to each otherFaraday, Michael
Science
On the various forces of nature and their relations to each other
Faraday, Michael
Physics
in his hand, you have those different colours, pink, and purple, and
green, coming and going most beautifully--not that the mica is more
transparent than the glass, but because of the different manner in
which its particles are arranged by the force of cohesion.
[Illustration: Fig. 20.]
Now we will see how calcareous spar acts upon this light,--that stone
which split up into rhombs, and of which you are each of you going
to take a little piece home. [The mica was removed, and a piece of
calc-spar introduced at A.] See how that turns the light round and
round, and produces these rings and that black cross (fig. 20). Look
at those colours--are they not most beautiful for you and for me?--for
I enjoy these things as much as you do. In what a wonderful manner
they open out to us the internal arrangement of the particles of this
calcareous spar by the force of cohesion.
And now I will shew you another experiment. Here is that piece of
glass which before had no action upon the light. You shall see what it
will do when we apply pressure to it. Here, then, we have our ray of
polarised light, and I will first of all shew you that the glass has no
effect upon it in its ordinary state,--when I place it in the course
of the light, the screen still remains dark. Now, Dr. Tyndall will
press that bit of glass between three little points, one point against
two, so as to bring a strain upon the parts, and you will see what a
curious effect that has. [Upon the screen two white dots gradually
appeared.] Ah! these points shew the position of the strain--in these
parts the force of cohesion is being exerted in a different degree to
what it is in the other parts, and hence it allows the light to pass
through. How beautiful that is--how it makes the light come through
some parts, and leaves it dark in others, and all because we weaken
the force of cohesion between particle and particle. Whether you have
this mechanical power of straining, or whether we take other means, we
get the same result; and, indeed, I will shew you by another experiment
that if we heat the glass in one part, it will alter its internal
structure, and produce a similar effect. Here is a piece of common
glass, and if I insert this in the path of the polarised ray, I believe
it will do nothing. There is the common glass [introducing it]--no
light passes through--the screen remains quite dark; but I am going to
warm this glass in the lamp, and you know yourselves that when you pour
warm water upon glass you put a strain upon it sufficient to break it
sometimes--something like there was in the case of the Prince Rupert’s
drops. [The glass was warmed in the spirit-lamp, and again placed
across the ray of light.] Now you see how beautifully the light goes
through those parts which are hot, making dark and light lines just
as the crystal did, and all because of the alteration I have effected
in its internal condition; for these dark and light parts are a proof
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