Mr. Warren de la Rue has ingeniously taken advantage of the colours produced by thin films of varnish, and actually _fixed_ the lovely iridescent colour produced in that manner on highly polished paper, which is termed "iridescent paper." A tank of warm water at 80° Fahr., about [Page 334] six inches deep, and two feet six inches square, is provided, and a highly glazed sheet of white or black paper being first wetted on a perforated metallic plate, is then sunk with the plate below its surface, care being taken to avoid air bubbles. A peculiar varnish is then allowed to trickle slowly down a sort of tongue of metal placed in the middle of one of the sides of the tank, and directly the varnish touches the surface of the water it begins to spread out in exquisitely thin films, and by watching the operation close to a window and skimming away all the imperfect films, a perfect one is at last obtained, and at that moment the paper lying on the metal plate is raised from the bottom of the tank, and the delicate film of varnish secured. When dry, the iridescent colours are apparent, and the paper is employed for many ornamental purposes. An extremely simple and pretty method of producing Newton's rings has been invented by Reade, and is called "Reade's iriscope." A plate of glass of any shape (perhaps circular is the best) is painted on one side with some quickly drying black paint or varnish, and after the other side has been cleaned, it is then rubbed over with a piece of wet soap, and this is rubbed off with a clean soft duster. A tube of about half an inch in diameter, and twelve inches long, is provided, and is held about one inch above the centre of the soaped side of the glass plate, and directly the breath is directed down the tube on the glass, an immense number of minute particles of moisture are deposited on the glass, and these by inflection decompose the light, and all the colours of the rainbow are produced. (Fig. 319.) [Illustration: Fig. 319. Reade's iriscope.] The iridescent colours seen upon the surface of _mother-of-pearl_, which Mr. Simonds' excellent commercial dictionary tells us is "the name for the iridescent shell of the pearl oyster, and other molluscs," are referrible to fine parallel lines formed by its texture, and are reproducible, according to Brewster's experiments, by taking impressions of them in soft wax. The gorgeous colours of certain shells and fish, the feathers of birds, Barton's steel buttons, are not due to any inherent _pigment_ or colouring matter that could be extracted from them, but are owing either to the peculiar fibrous, or parallel-lined, or laminated (plate-like) surfaces upon which the light falls, and being reflected in paths of different lengths, interference occurs, and coloured light is produced. [Page 335] CHAPTER XXVI. THE POLARIZATION OF LIGHT.