Paper, 'On the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation of light in doubly refracting bodies' by A W Ward

Description

Ward writes: 'In repeating [Emilio] Villari’s experiment on the rotation of the plane of polarisation of light in a spinning disk of heavy glass, placed with its axis of rotation perpendicular to the lines of force in a magnetic field, it was observed that the incident plane polarised light became elliptically polarised. The elliptic polarisation was due to the centrifugal force which had the effect of stretching the glass along the radii of the disk and compressing it parallel to the axis of rotation. The strained glass in the magnetic field has, therefore, the double property of elliptically polarising plane polarised light, and at the same time rotating the plane of polarisation.'

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Magnetism / Optics

Received 13 April 1889/ 3 May 1889. Read 9 May 1889. Communicated by Joseph John Thomson.

A version of this paper was published in volume 46 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'On the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation of light in doubly refracting bodies'.

Reference number

PP/14/5

Earliest possible date

1889

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

18 pages

Format

Manuscript