Spectral charts. 19th-century charts of prismatic spectra for various media. These experiments were carried out by British mathematician Baden Powell (1796-1860). Down left is the angle of deviation,from 15 to 34 degrees. The materials are: caissia oil,carbon disulphide,aragonite,calcite,flint glass,topaz,rock salt,creosote,anise oil,crown glass,quartz,sassafras oil,turpentine,sulphuric acid,nitric acid,hydrochloric acid,soda,potassium,pyroligneous acid,alcohol,and water. These charts are from a collection of Powell's works on optics: 'A general and elementary view of the undulatory theory,as applied to the dispersion of light' (1841) |