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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to John Tyndall, dated at Collingwood

Reference number: HS/17/405a

Date: 2 December 1868

Description

Contemporary copy of the letter. Thinks John Tyndall's work on polarization will lead to remarkable discovery. Discusses production of rainbow, parallels to Isaac Newton's explanation of black spot on a soap bubble, and problems in John Tyndall's undulatory theory explanation of reflection. In John Tyndall's experiments, what are nebulous particles produced by light in gas or vapor?

Reference number
HS/17/405a
Earliest possible date
2 December 1868
Page extent
4 pages
Format
Manuscript
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Creator name

John Frederick William Herschel

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Citation

John Frederick William Herschel, Copy letter, from Sir John Herschel to John Tyndall, dated at Collingwood, 2 December 1868, HS/17/405a, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_17_405a/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-john-tyndall-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 16 May 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_17_405a/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-john-tyndall-dated-at-collingwood

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  • Herschel Letters

    This collection of nearly 10,900 letters, drafts, copies and notes is the largest repository of scientific correspondence from and to Sir John Herschel, leading figure of Victorian science.

    Dates: 1807 - 1875

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