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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/24/243

Date: 14 December 1868

Description

Copy of a letter. Thanks for paper verifying John Frederick William Herschel's prediction that explanation of blue sky color carries with it that of polarization of skylight. Involves ultimate link between chemical and analytical dynamics. Notes that 'neutral points' in sky polarization have yet to be explained; offers tentative explanation based on clues in John Tyndall's work.

Reference number
HS/24/243
Earliest possible date
14 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, 14 December 1868, HS/24/243, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_24_243/copy-letter-from-sir-john-herschel-to-john-tyndall-dated-at-collingwood, accessed on 12 August 2026

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https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/hs_24_243/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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