Opticks

by Isaac Newton

Spirit of Wine has a refractive Power in a middle degree between those of Water and oily Substances, and accordingly seems to be composed of both, united by Fermentation; the Water, by means of some saline Spirits with which 'tis impregnated, dissolving the Oil, and volatizing it by the Action. For Spirit of Wine is inflamable by means of its oily Parts, and being distilled often from Salt of Tartar, grow by every distillation more and more aqueous and phlegmatick. And Chymists observe, that Vegetables (as Lavender, Rue, Marjoram, &c.) distilled per se, before fermentation yield Oils without any burning Spirits, but after fermentation yield ardent Spirits without Oils: Which shews, that their Oil is by fermentation converted into Spirit. They find also, that if Oils be poured in a small quantity upon fermentating Vegetables, they distil over after fermentation in the form of Spirits.

So then, by the foregoing Table, all Bodies seem to have their refractive Powers proportional to their Densities, (or very nearly;) excepting so far as they partake more or less of sulphureous oily Particles, and thereby have their refractive Power made greater or less. Whence it seems rational to attribute the refractive Power of all Bodies chiefly, if not wholly, to the sulphureous Parts with which they abound. For it's probable that all Bodies abound more or less with Sulphurs. And as Light congregated by a Burning-glass acts most upon sulphureous Bodies, to turn them into Fire and Flame; so, since all Action is mutual, Sulphurs ought to act most upon Light. For that the action between Light and Bodies is mutual, may appear from this Consideration; That the densest Bodies which refract and reflect Light most strongly, grow hottest in the Summer Sun, by the action of the refracted or reflected Light.

I have hitherto explain'd the power of Bodies to reflect and refract, and shew'd, that thin transparent Plates, Fibres, and Particles, do, according to their several thicknesses and densities, reflect several sorts of Rays, and thereby appear of several Colours; and by consequence that nothing more is requisite for producing all the Colours of natural Bodies, than the several sizes and densities of their transparent Particles. But whence it is that these Plates, Fibres, and Particles, do, according to their several thicknesses and densities, reflect several sorts of Rays, I have not yet explain'd. To give some insight into this matter, and make way for understanding the next part of this Book, I shall conclude this part with a few more Propositions. Those which preceded respect the nature of Bodies, these the nature of Light: For both must be understood, before the reason of their Actions upon one another can be known. And because the last Proposition depended upon the velocity of Light, I will begin with a Proposition of that kind.

Prop. XI.

Light is propagated from luminous Bodies in time, and spends about seven or eight Minutes of an Hour in passing from the Sun to the Earth.

This was observed first by Roemer, and then by others, by means of the Eclipses of the Satellites of Jupiter. For these Eclipses, when the Earth is between the Sun and Jupiter, happen about seven or eight Minutes sooner than they ought to do by the Tables, and when the Earth is beyond the Sun they happen about seven or eight Minutes later than they ought to do; the reason being, that the Light of the Satellites has farther to go in the latter case than in the former by the Diameter of the Earth's Orbit. Some inequalities of time may arise from the Excentricities of the Orbs of the Satellites; but those cannot answer in all the Satellites, and at all times to the Position and Distance of the Earth from the Sun. The mean motions of Jupiter's Satellites is also swifter in his descent from his Aphelium to his Perihelium, than in his ascent in the other half of his Orb. But this inequality has no respect to the position of the Earth, and in the three interior Satellites is insensible, as I find by computation from the Theory of their Gravity.

Prop. XII.

Every Ray of Light in its passage through any refracting Surface is put into a certain transient Constitution or State, which in the progress of the Ray returns at equal Intervals, and disposes the Ray at every return to be easily transmitted through the next refracting Surface, and between the returns to be easily reflected by it.

This is manifest by the 5th, 9th, 12th, and 15th Observations. For by those Observations it appears, that one and the same sort of Rays at equal Angles of Incidence on any thin transparent Plate, is alternately reflected and transmitted for many Successions accordingly as the thickness of the Plate increases in arithmetical Progression of the Numbers, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, &c. so that if the first Reflexion (that which makes the first or innermost of the Rings of Colours there described) be made at the thickness 1, the Rays shall be transmitted at the thicknesses 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, &c. and thereby make the central Spot and Rings of Light, which appear by transmission, and be reflected at the thickness 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, &c. and thereby make the Rings which appear by Reflexion. And this alternate Reflexion and Transmission, as I gather by the 24th Observation, continues for above an hundred vicissitudes, and by the Observations in the next part of this Book, for many thousands, being propagated from one Surface of a Glass Plate to the other, though the thickness of the Plate be a quarter of an Inch or above: So that this alternation seems to be propagated from every refracting Surface to all distances without end or limitation.

This alternate Reflexion and Refraction depends on both the Surfaces of every thin Plate, because it depends on their distance. By the 21st Observation, if either Surface of a thin Plate of Muscovy Glass be wetted, the Colours caused by the alternate Reflexion and Refraction grow faint, and therefore it depends on them both.