Part 12

It has been observed by others, that transparent Substances, as Glass, Water, Air, &c. when made very thin by being blown into Bubbles, or otherwise formed into Plates, do exhibit various Colours according to their various thinness, altho' at a greater thickness they appear very clear and colourless. In the former Book I forbore to treat of these Colours, because they seemed of a more difficult Consideration, and were not necessary for establishing the Properties of Light there discoursed of. But because they may conduce to farther Discoveries for compleating the Theory of Light, especially as to the constitution of the parts of natural Bodies, on which their Colours or Transparency depend; I have here set down an account of them. To render this Discourse short and distinct, I have first described the principal of my Observations, and then consider'd and made use of them. The Observations are these.

_Obs._ 1. Compressing two Prisms hard together that their sides (which by chance were a very little convex) might somewhere touch one another: I found the place in which they touched to become absolutely transparent, as if they had there been one continued piece of Glass. For when the Light fell so obliquely on the Air, which in other places was between them, as to be all reflected; it seemed in that place of contact to be wholly transmitted, insomuch that when look'd upon, it appeared like a black or dark spot, by reason that little or no sensible Light was reflected from thence, as from other places; and when looked through it seemed (as it were) a hole in that Air which was formed into a thin Plate, by being compress'd between the Glasses. And through this hole Objects that were beyond might be seen distinctly, which could not at all be seen through other parts of the Glasses where the Air was interjacent. Although the Glasses were a little convex, yet this transparent spot was of a considerable breadth, which breadth seemed principally to proceed from the yielding inwards of the parts of the Glasses, by reason of their mutual pressure. For by pressing them very hard together it would become much broader than otherwise.

_Obs._ 2. When the Plate of Air, by turning the Prisms about their common Axis, became so little inclined to the incident Rays, that some of them began to be transmitted, there arose in it many slender Arcs of Colours which at first were shaped almost like the Conchoid, as you see them delineated in the first Figure. And by continuing the Motion of the Prisms, these Arcs increased and bended more and more about the said transparent spot, till they were compleated into Circles or Rings incompassing it, and afterwards continually grew more and more contracted.

These Arcs at their first appearance were of a violet and blue Colour, and between them were white Arcs of Circles, which presently by continuing the Motion of the Prisms became a little tinged in their inward Limbs with red and yellow, and to their outward Limbs the blue was adjacent. So that the order of these Colours from the central dark spot, was at that time white, blue, violet; black, red, orange, yellow, white, blue, violet, &c. But the yellow and red were much fainter than the blue and violet.

The Motion of the Prisms about their Axis being continued, these Colours contracted more and more, shrinking towards the whiteness on either side of it, until they totally vanished into it. And then the Circles in those parts appear'd black and white, without any other Colours intermix'd. But by farther moving the Prisms about, the Colours again emerged out of the whiteness, the violet and blue at its inward Limb, and at its outward Limb the red and yellow. So that now their order from the central Spot was white, yellow, red; black; violet, blue, white, yellow, red, &c. contrary to what it was before.

_Obs._ 3. When the Rings or some parts of them appeared only black and white, they were very distinct and well defined, and the blackness seemed as intense as that of the central Spot. Also in the Borders of the Rings, where the Colours began to emerge out of the whiteness, they were pretty distinct, which made them visible to a very great multitude. I have sometimes number'd above thirty Successions (reckoning every black and white Ring for one Succession) and seen more of them, which by reason of their smalness I could not number. But in other Positions of the Prisms, at which the Rings appeared of many Colours, I could not distinguish above eight or nine of them, and the Exterior of those were very confused and dilute.

In these two Observations to see the Rings distinct, and without any other Colour than Black and white, I found it necessary to hold my Eye at a good distance from them. For by approaching nearer, although in the same inclination of my Eye to the Plane of the Rings, there emerged a bluish Colour out of the white, which by dilating it self more and more into the black, render'd the Circles less distinct, and left the white a little tinged with red and yellow. I found also by looking through a slit or oblong hole, which was narrower than the pupil of my Eye, and held close to it parallel to the Prisms, I could see the Circles much distincter and visible to a far greater number than otherwise.

_Obs._ 4. To observe more nicely the order of the Colours which arose out of the white Circles as the Rays became less and less inclined to the Plate of Air; I took two Object-glasses, the one a Plano-convex for a fourteen Foot Telescope, and the other a large double Convex for one of about fifty Foot; and upon this, laying the other with its plane side downwards, I pressed them slowly together, to make the Colours successively emerge in the middle of the Circles, and then slowly lifted the upper Glass from the lower to make them successively vanish again in the same place. The Colour, which by pressing the Glasses together, emerged last in the middle of the other Colours, would upon its first appearance look like a Circle of a Colour almost uniform from the circumference to the center and by compressing the Glasses still more, grow continually broader until a new Colour emerged in its center, and thereby it became a Ring encompassing that new Colour. And by compressing the Glasses still more, the diameter of this Ring would increase, and the breadth of its Orbit or Perimeter decrease until another new Colour emerged in the center of the last: And so on until a third, a fourth, a fifth, and other following new Colours successively emerged there, and became Rings encompassing the innermost Colour, the last of which was the black Spot. And, on the contrary, by lifting up the upper Glass from the lower, the diameter of the Rings would decrease, and the breadth of their Orbit increase, until their Colours reached successively to the center; and then they being of a considerable breadth, I could more easily discern and distinguish their Species than before. And by this means I observ'd their Succession and Quantity to be as followeth.

Next to the pellucid central Spot made by the contact of the Glasses succeeded blue, white, yellow, and red. The blue was so little in quantity, that I could not discern it in the Circles made by the Prisms, nor could I well distinguish any violet in it, but the yellow and red were pretty copious, and seemed about as much in extent as the white, and four or five times more than the blue. The next Circuit in order of Colours immediately encompassing these were violet, blue, green, yellow, and red: and these were all of them copious and vivid, excepting the green, which was very little in quantity, and seemed much more faint and dilute than the other Colours. Of the other four, the violet was the least in extent, and the blue less than the yellow or red. The third Circuit or Order was purple, blue, green, yellow, and red; in which the purple seemed more reddish than the violet in the former Circuit, and the green was much more conspicuous, being as brisk and copious as any of the other Colours, except the yellow, but the red began to be a little faded, inclining very much to purple. After this succeeded the fourth Circuit of green and red. The green was very copious and lively, inclining on the one side to blue, and on the other side to yellow. But in this fourth Circuit there was neither violet, blue, nor yellow, and the red was very imperfect and dirty. Also the succeeding Colours became more and more imperfect and dilute, till after three or four revolutions they ended in perfect whiteness. Their form, when the Glasses were most compress'd so as to make the black Spot appear in the center, is delineated in the second Figure; where _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_: _f_, _g_, _h_, _i_, _k_: _l_, _m_, _n_, _o_, _p_: _q_, _r_: _s_, _t_: _v_, _x_: _y_, _z_, denote the Colours reckon'd in order from the center, black, blue, white, yellow, red: violet, blue, green, yellow, red: purple, blue, green, yellow, red: green, red: greenish blue, red: greenish blue, pale red: greenish blue, reddish white.

_Obs._ 5. To determine the interval of the Glasses, or thickness of the interjacent Air, by which each Colour was produced, I measured the Diameters of the first six Rings at the most lucid part of their Orbits, and squaring them, I found their Squares to be in the arithmetical Progression of the odd Numbers, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. And since one of these Glasses was plane, and the other spherical, their Intervals at those Rings must be in the same Progression. I measured also the Diameters of the dark or faint Rings between the more lucid Colours, and found their Squares to be in the arithmetical Progression of the even Numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12. And it being very nice and difficult to take these measures exactly; I repeated them divers times at divers parts of the Glasses, that by their Agreement I might be confirmed in them. And the same method I used in determining some others of the following Observations.

_Obs._ 6. The Diameter of the sixth Ring at the most lucid part of its Orbit was 58/100 parts of an Inch, and the Diameter of the Sphere on which the double convex Object-glass was ground was about 102 Feet, and hence I gathered the thickness of the Air or Aereal Interval of the Glasses at that Ring. But some time after, suspecting that in making this Observation I had not determined the Diameter of the Sphere with sufficient accurateness, and being uncertain whether the Plano-convex Glass was truly plane, and not something concave or convex on that side which I accounted plane; and whether I had not pressed the Glasses together, as I often did, to make them touch; (For by pressing such Glasses together their parts easily yield inwards, and the Rings thereby become sensibly broader than they would be, did the Glasses keep their Figures.) I repeated the Experiment, and found the Diameter of the sixth lucid Ring about 55/100 parts of an Inch. I repeated the Experiment also with such an Object-glass of another Telescope as I had at hand. This was a double Convex ground on both sides to one and the same Sphere, and its Focus was distant from it 83-2/5 Inches. And thence, if the Sines of Incidence and Refraction of the bright yellow Light be assumed in proportion as 11 to 17, the Diameter of the Sphere to which the Glass was figured will by computation be found 182 Inches. This Glass I laid upon a flat one, so that the black Spot appeared in the middle of the Rings of Colours without any other Pressure than that of the weight of the Glass. And now measuring the Diameter of the fifth dark Circle as accurately as I could, I found it the fifth part of an Inch precisely. This Measure was taken with the points of a pair of Compasses on the upper Surface on the upper Glass, and my Eye was about eight or nine Inches distance from the Glass, almost perpendicularly over it, and the Glass was 1/6 of an Inch thick, and thence it is easy to collect that the true Diameter of the Ring between the Glasses was greater than its measur'd Diameter above the Glasses in the Proportion of 80 to 79, or thereabouts, and by consequence equal to 16/79 parts of an Inch, and its true Semi-diameter equal to 8/79 parts. Now as the Diameter of the Sphere (182 Inches) is to the Semi-diameter of this fifth dark Ring (8/79 parts of an Inch) so is this Semi-diameter to the thickness of the Air at this fifth dark Ring; which is therefore 32/567931 or 100/1774784. Parts of an Inch; and the fifth Part thereof, _viz._ the 1/88739 Part of an Inch, is the Thickness of the Air at the first of these dark Rings.

The same Experiment I repeated with another double convex Object-glass ground on both sides to one and the same Sphere. Its Focus was distant from it 168-1/2 Inches, and therefore the Diameter of that Sphere was 184 Inches. This Glass being laid upon the same plain Glass, the Diameter of the fifth of the dark Rings, when the black Spot in their Center appear'd plainly without pressing the Glasses, was by the measure of the Compasses upon the upper Glass 121/600 Parts of an Inch, and by consequence between the Glasses it was 1222/6000: For the upper Glass was 1/8 of an Inch thick, and my Eye was distant from it 8 Inches. And a third proportional to half this from the Diameter of the Sphere is 5/88850 Parts of an Inch. This is therefore the Thickness of the Air at this Ring, and a fifth Part thereof, _viz._ the 1/88850th Part of an Inch is the Thickness thereof at the first of the Rings, as above.

I tried the same Thing, by laying these Object-glasses upon flat Pieces of a broken Looking-glass, and found the same Measures of the Rings: Which makes me rely upon them till they can be determin'd more accurately by Glasses ground to larger Spheres, though in such Glasses greater care must be taken of a true Plane.

These Dimensions were taken, when my Eye was placed almost perpendicularly over the Glasses, being about an Inch, or an Inch and a quarter, distant from the incident Rays, and eight Inches distant from the Glass; so that the Rays were inclined to the Glass in an Angle of about four Degrees. Whence by the following Observation you will understand, that had the Rays been perpendicular to the Glasses, the Thickness of the Air at these Rings would have been less in the Proportion of the Radius to the Secant of four Degrees, that is, of 10000 to 10024. Let the Thicknesses found be therefore diminish'd in this Proportion, and they will become 1/88952 and 1/89063, or (to use the nearest round Number) the 1/89000th Part of an Inch. This is the Thickness of the Air at the darkest Part of the first dark Ring made by perpendicular Rays; and half this Thickness multiplied by the Progression, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, &c. gives the Thicknesses of the Air at the most luminous Parts of all the brightest Rings, _viz._ 1/178000, 3/178000, 5/178000, 7/178000, &c. their arithmetical Means 2/178000, 4/178000, 6/178000, &c. being its Thicknesses at the darkest Parts of all the dark ones.

_Obs._ 7. The Rings were least, when my Eye was placed perpendicularly over the Glasses in the Axis of the Rings: And when I view'd them obliquely they became bigger, continually swelling as I removed my Eye farther from the Axis. And partly by measuring the Diameter of the same Circle at several Obliquities of my Eye, partly by other Means, as also by making use of the two Prisms for very great Obliquities, I found its Diameter, and consequently the Thickness of the Air at its Perimeter in all those Obliquities to be very nearly in the Proportions express'd in this Table.

+--------------------+----------+---------- Angle of Incidence |Angle of Refraction |Diameter |Thickness on | into | of the | of the the Air. | the Air. | Ring. | Air. -------------------+--------------------+----------+---------- Deg. Min. | | | | | | 00 00 | 00 00 | 10 | 10 | | | 06 26 | 10 00 | 10-1/13 | 10-2/13 | | | 12 45 | 20 00 | 10-1/3 | 10-2/3 | | | 18 49 | 30 00 | 10-3/4 | 11-1/2 | | | 24 30 | 40 00 | 11-2/5 | 13 | | | 29 37 | 50 00 | 12-1/2 | 15-1/2 | | | 33 58 | 60 00 | 14 | 20 | | | 35 47 | 65 00 | 15-1/4 | 23-1/4 | | | 37 19 | 70 00 | 16-4/5 | 28-1/4 | | | 38 33 | 75 00 | 19-1/4 | 37 | | | 39 27 | 80 00 | 22-6/7 | 52-1/4 | | | 40 00 | 85 00 | 29 | 84-1/12 | | | 40 11 | 90 00 | 35 | 122-1/2 -------------------+--------------------+----------+----------

In the two first Columns are express'd the Obliquities of the incident and emergent Rays to the Plate of the Air, that is, their Angles of Incidence and Refraction. In the third Column the Diameter of any colour'd Ring at those Obliquities is expressed in Parts, of which ten constitute that Diameter when the Rays are perpendicular. And in the fourth Column the Thickness of the Air at the Circumference of that Ring is expressed in Parts, of which also ten constitute its Thickness when the Rays are perpendicular.

And from these Measures I seem to gather this Rule: That the Thickness of the Air is proportional to the Secant of an Angle, whose Sine is a certain mean Proportional between the Sines of Incidence and Refraction. And that mean Proportional, so far as by these Measures I can determine it, is the first of an hundred and six arithmetical mean Proportionals between those Sines counted from the bigger Sine, that is, from the Sine of Refraction when the Refraction is made out of the Glass into the Plate of Air, or from the Sine of Incidence when the Refraction is made out of the Plate of Air into the Glass.

_Obs._ 8. The dark Spot in the middle of the Rings increased also by the Obliquation of the Eye, although almost insensibly. But, if instead of the Object-glasses the Prisms were made use of, its Increase was more manifest when viewed so obliquely that no Colours appear'd about it. It was least when the Rays were incident most obliquely on the interjacent Air, and as the obliquity decreased it increased more and more until the colour'd Rings appear'd, and then decreased again, but not so much as it increased before. And hence it is evident, that the Transparency was not only at the absolute Contact of the Glasses, but also where they had some little Interval. I have sometimes observed the Diameter of that Spot to be between half and two fifth parts of the Diameter of the exterior Circumference of the red in the first Circuit or Revolution of Colours when view'd almost perpendicularly; whereas when view'd obliquely it hath wholly vanish'd and become opake and white like the other parts of the Glass; whence it may be collected that the Glasses did then scarcely, or not at all, touch one another, and that their Interval at the perimeter of that Spot when view'd perpendicularly was about a fifth or sixth part of their Interval at the circumference of the said red.

_Obs._ 9. By looking through the two contiguous Object-glasses, I found that the interjacent Air exhibited Rings of Colours, as well by transmitting Light as by reflecting it. The central Spot was now white, and from it the order of the Colours were yellowish red; black, violet, blue, white, yellow, red; violet, blue, green, yellow, red, &c. But these Colours were very faint and dilute, unless when the Light was trajected very obliquely through the Glasses: For by that means they became pretty vivid. Only the first yellowish red, like the blue in the fourth Observation, was so little and faint as scarcely to be discern'd. Comparing the colour'd Rings made by Reflexion, with these made by transmission of the Light; I found that white was opposite to black, red to blue, yellow to violet, and green to a Compound of red and violet. That is, those parts of the Glass were black when looked through, which when looked upon appeared white, and on the contrary. And so those which in one case exhibited blue, did in the other case exhibit red. And the like of the other Colours. The manner you have represented in the third Figure, where AB, CD, are the Surfaces of the Glasses contiguous at E, and the black Lines between them are their Distances in arithmetical Progression, and the Colours written above are seen by reflected Light, and those below by Light transmitted (p. 209).

_Obs._ 10. Wetting the Object-glasses a little at their edges, the Water crept in slowly between them, and the Circles thereby became less and the Colours more faint: Insomuch that as the Water crept along, one half of them at which it first arrived would appear broken off from the other half, and contracted into a less Room. By measuring them I found the Proportions of their Diameters to the Diameters of the like Circles made by Air to be about seven to eight, and consequently the Intervals of the Glasses at like Circles, caused by those two Mediums Water and Air, are as about three to four. Perhaps it may be a general Rule, That if any other Medium more or less dense than Water be compress'd between the Glasses, their Intervals at the Rings caused thereby will be to their Intervals caused by interjacent Air, as the Sines are which measure the Refraction made out of that Medium into Air.

_Obs._ 11. When the Water was between the Glasses, if I pressed the upper Glass variously at its edges to make the Rings move nimbly from one place to another, a little white Spot would immediately follow the center of them, which upon creeping in of the ambient Water into that place would presently vanish. Its appearance was such as interjacent Air would have caused, and it exhibited the same Colours. But it was not air, for where any Bubbles of Air were in the Water they would not vanish. The Reflexion must have rather been caused by a subtiler Medium, which could recede through the Glasses at the creeping in of the Water.

_Obs._ 12. These Observations were made in the open Air. But farther to examine the Effects of colour'd Light falling on the Glasses, I darken'd the Room, and view'd them by Reflexion of the Colours of a Prism cast on a Sheet of white Paper, my Eye being so placed that I could see the colour'd Paper by Reflexion in the Glasses, as in a Looking-glass. And by this means the Rings became distincter and visible to a far greater number than in the open Air. I have sometimes seen more than twenty of them, whereas in the open Air I could not discern above eight or nine.