Before concluding, we must add a few more facts relating to the
existence of invisible rays at both ends of the spectrum. “The visible
portion of the spectrum,” says Dr. Tyndall, in one of his Royal
Institution lectures, “simply marks an interval of radiant action, the
rays existing in which bear such a relation to our visual organs, as to
be capable of exciting in them the sensation of light. Beyond this
interval, in both directions, right and left, the radiant action
continues to exercise itself, but the rays emitted are dark, in
consequence of their exerting no influence on our eye. Those that exist
beyond the red ray are capable of producing heat, while those that are
beyond the violet excite chemical action. These invisible violet rays
can be actually made perceptible to the eye, or, in other words, the
undulations or waves proceeding from this end of the spectrum can be
made to strike against certain substances and induce luminous
vibrations, so as to connect the dark space beyond the violet with a
brilliantly illuminated band. I have here a substance capable of
effecting this change. The lower half of this sheet of paper has been
moistened with a solution of sulphate of quinine, the other half being
left in its ordinary condition. I will now hold the paper in such a
manner that the line that separates the prepared half from the other
shall cut the spectrum in two halves horizontally. The upper half will
remain unaltered and may be readily compared with the lower half, upon
which you will see the spectrum prolonged beyond its ordinary limits.
The effect produced is the addition of a splendid band of fluorescent
light, which extends over a space of several inches, which but an
instant before was a dark mass. I withdraw the prepared paper, and the
light disappears; I replace it, and the light shines forth once more;
showing us in the most brilliant way that the visible limits of the
ordinary spectrum are not the limits of radiant action.
“I plunge a pencil into the solution of sulphate of quinine, and I pass
it over the paper. You see that wherever the solution falls, the light
bursts forth. The existence of these rays has been known for a long
time. Young was familiar with them, and subjected them to experiment;
but it is to Professor Stokes that we are indebted for a complete series
of researches on this subject. It was he who first made those invisible
rays visible, as we have done.”
In the same way the Professor proceeded to show that the heat rays were
invisible by passing a beam of sunlight through a solution of iodine in
spirits of wine, which, although it completely stopped all light,
allowed the heat rays to pass uninterruptedly. By collecting these
invisible rays into a focus by means of a lens, Dr. Tyndall was enabled
to ignite various combustible bodies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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