Miscellaneous Papers Connected With Physical Science (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Excerpt from Miscellaneous Papers Connected With Physical Science

IT is well known that when a ray of light is incident upon certain crystals, such as Iceland spar and quartz, it is in general divided into two pencils, of which one is refracted according to the known law of the sines, while the direction of the other is determined by a new and extraordinary law, first assigned by Huygens.

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This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Miscellaneous Papers Connected With Physical Science

It is well known that when a ray of light is incident upon certain crystals, such as Iceland spar and quartz, it is in general divided into two pencils, of which one is refracted according to the known law of the sines, while the direction of the other is determined by a new and extraordinary law, first assigned by Huygens.

These laws were long supposed to apply to all doubly-refracting substances; and it was not until the subject was examined by the ablest advocate of the undulatory theory, that the problem of double refraction was solved in all its generality. Setting out from the hypothesis, that the elasticity of the vibrating medium within the crystal is unequal in three rectangular directions, Fresnel has shown that the surface of the wave is not, in general, either a sphere or spheroid, as in the Huygenian law, but a surface of the fourth order, consisting of two sheets; and that the directions of the two refracted rays are determined by tangent planes drawn to these surfaces under known conditions. Such crystals have, in general, two optic axes, and are thence denominated biaxal.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.