Glass Presses
Title
Glass Presses
Subject
Polarized Light
Description
Glass, when stressed, shows the property of double refraction: light of differing polarization directions bends differently passing through the glass. When placed between crossed polarizers , bands of color may be seen, with the spacing of the bands being correlated to the amount of stress present at a particular point: small spacing indicates large stress. These devices were for stressing glass samples to demonstrate this effect.
Source
Property of the W&L Physics & Engineering Department
- Date Added
- November 14, 2011
- Tags
- Polarized Light
- Citation
- “Glass Presses,” Antique Scientific Instruments at Washington and Lee University, accessed April 27, 2024, https://physicsapparatus.omeka.net/items/show/15.