76. Methods. All methods for measuring light intensity, which have been at all satisfactory, are based upon the fact that silver salts blacken in the light. The first photographic method was proposed by Bunsen and Roscoe in 1862; this has been taken up by Wiesner and variously modified. After considerable experiment by the writer, however, it seemed desirable to abandon all methods which require the use of “normal paper” and “normal black” and to develop a simpler one. As space is lacking for a satisfactory discussion of the Bunsen-Roscoe-Wiesner methods, the reader is referred to the works cited below.[[4]] Simple photometers for making light readings simultaneously or in series were constructed in 1900, and have been in constant use since that time. An automatic instrument capable of making accurate continuous records proved to be a more difficult problem. A sunshine recorder was ultimately found which yields valuable results, and very recently a recording photometer which promises to be perfectly satisfactory has been devised. Since the hourly and daily variations of sunlight in the same habitat are relatively small, automatic photometers are perhaps a convenience rather than a necessity.
The Photometer
Fig. 11. Photometer, showing front and side view.
77. Construction. The simple form of photometer shown in the illustration is a light-tight metal box with a central wheel upon which a strip of photographic paper is fastened. This wheel is revolved by the thumbscrew past an opening 6 mm. square which is closed by means of a slide working closely between two flanges. At the edge of the opening, and beneath the slide is a hollow for the reception of a permanent light standard. The disk of the thumbscrew is graduated into twenty-five parts, and these are numbered. A line just beneath the opening coincides with the successive lines on the disk, and indicates the number of the exposure. The wheel contains twenty-five hollows in which the click works, thus moving each exposure just beyond the opening. The metal case is made in two parts, so that the bottom may be readily removed, and the photographic strip placed in position. The water-photometer is similar except that the opening is always covered with a transparent strip and the whole instrument is water-tight. These instruments have been made especially for measuring light by the C. H. Stoelting Co., 31 W. Randolph street, Chicago, Ill. The price is $5.
78. Filling the photometer. The photographic paper called “solio” which is made by the Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., has proved to be much the best for photometric readings. The most convenient size is that of the 8 × 10 inch sheet, which can be obtained at any supply house in packages of a dozen sheets for 60 cents. New “emulsions,” i. e., new lots of paper, are received by the dealers every week, but each emulsion can be preserved for three to six months without harm if kept in a cool, light-tight place. Furthermore, all emulsions are made in exactly the same way, and it has been impossible to detect any difference in them. To fill the photometer, a strip exactly 6 mm. wide is cut lengthwise from the 8 × 10 sheet. This must be done in the dark room, or at night in very weak light. The strip is placed on the wheel, extreme care being taken not to touch the coated surface, and fixed in position by forcing the free ends into the slit of the wheel by a piece of cork 8–9 mm. long. The wheel is replaced in the case, turned until the zero is opposite the index line, and the instrument is ready for use.
79. Making readings. An exposure is made by moving the slide quickly in such a way as to uncover the entire opening, and the standard if the exposure is to be very short. Care must be taken not to pull the slide entirely out of the groove, as it will be impossible to replace it with sufficient quickness. The time of exposure can be determined by any watch after a little practice. It is somewhat awkward for one person to manage the slide properly when his attention is fixed upon a second hand. This is obviated by having one observer handle the watch and another the photometer, but here the reaction time is a source of considerable error. The most satisfactory method is to use a stop-watch. This can be held in the left hand and started and stopped by the index finger. The photometer is held against it in the right hand in such a way that the two movements of stopping the watch and closing the slide may be made at the same instant. The length of exposure is that necessary to bring the tint of the paper to that of the standard beside it. A second method which is equally advantageous and sometimes preferable does away with the permanent standard in the field and the need for a stop-watch. In this event, the strip is exposed until a medium color is obtained, since very light or very deep prints are harder to match. This is later compared with the multiple standard. In both cases, the date, time of day, station, number of instrument and of exposure, and the length of the latter in seconds are carefully noted. The instrument is held with the edge toward the south at the level to be read, and the opening uppermost in the usual position of the leaf. When special readings are desired, as for isophotic leaves, reflected light, etc., the position is naturally changed to correspond. In practice, it is made an invariable rule to move the strip for the next exposure as soon as the slide is closed. Otherwise double exposures are liable to occur. When a strip is completely exposed it is removed in the dark, and a new one put in place. The former is carefully labeled and dated on the back, and put away in a light-tight box in a cool place.
Fig. 12. Dawson-Lander sun recorder.
80. The Dawson-Lander sun recorder. “The instrument consists of a small outer cylinder of copper which revolves with the sun, and through the side of which is cut a narrow slit to allow the sunshine to impinge on a strip of sensitive paper, wound round a drum which fits closely inside the outer cylinder, but is held by a pin so that it can not rotate. By means of a screw fixed to the lid of the outer cylinder, the drum holding the sensitive paper is made to travel endwise down the outer tube, one-eighth of an inch daily, so that a fresh portion of the sensitive surface is brought into position to receive the record.” The instrument is driven by an eight-day clock placed in the base below the drum. The slit is covered by means of a flattened funnel-shaped hood, and the photographic strip is protected from rain by a perfectly transparent sheet of celluloid. The detailed structure of the instrument is shown in figure 12. This instrument may be obtained from Lander and Smith, Canterbury, England, for $35.