Images(5)

polarimeter

Datecirca 1860

Inventory NumberWJ0242

ClassificationPolarimeter

Subject

Maker Henri Jean Jacques Soleil died 1879

Cultural Region

Place of Origin

Dimensionspolarimeter: 13 × 10 × 13 cm (5 1/8 × 3 15/16 × 5 1/8 in.)
box: 15 × 13.4 × 13.6 cm (5 7/8 × 5 1/4 × 5 3/8 in.)

Material

DescriptionThe instrument is made of an optical tube and a graduated circle (0-360°). The latter rotates thanks to a two-gear screw mechanism on the side of the eyepiece. A vernier gives a precision reading of the amount of degrees the optical tube was rotated. Though the crystal is in place, the polarizer appears to be missing. An arm is also present so the instrument could be fixed to an optical bench or any other stand. A wooden box was supplied to store the polarimeter when not in use.

Signedon vernier: H. Soleil / rue de l'Odéon / 21 / Paris

FunctionTo study visual sensations. When light is polarized, only wavelengths of a determined orientation are passing through. By putting a crystal, liquid or any other transparent material in between the polarized light and the observer, the orientation of the light will be changed by a certain amount of degrees. The angular measurement of the rotated polarized light provides information about the structure of the material used in the experiment.

ProvenancePsychology Department, William James Hall, Harvard University.