Unpublished paper, 'Ocular spectres and structures as mutual exponents' by James Jago

Description

Jago states that for want of a methodical elimination of ocular spectres from one another, physiological optics remain without any real foundation; he describes how 'even when we have followed the rays of light through all the refracting media of the eye, we cannot safely assert what sensations belong to them until we have detected everything connected with the percipient membrane which may obstruct the action of light on it, or which may originate sensations as of light through other sorts of impulses'. Jago aims to determine the conditions which render objects existing upon or within the eye visible by their shadows, and to identify the lenticular structure in which any shadow or 'diffractive image' resides. He describes optical effects of the eyelashes, eyelids and conjunctival fluids, the optical structure of the crystalline lens, the structure of the vitreous body derived from optical phenomena and the optical anatomy of the retina.

Followed by two letters from Jago to the Royal Society, dated 10 February 1855 and 27 March 1855, addressing corrections to the paper.

Subject: Physiology / Optometry

Received 26 December 1854. Communicated by W J [William Jory] Henwood.

Whilst the Royal Society declined to publish this paper in full, an abstract of the paper was published in volume 7 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'Ocular spectres and structures as mutual exponents'.

Reference number

AP/36/24

Earliest possible date

1854

Physical description

Ink on paper

Page extent

85 pages

Format

Manuscript