ON THE CHANGE OF REFRANGIBILTTY OF LIGHT.
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appeared from the properties of the alcoholic solution. The alcoholic solution thus obtained remained unchanged, at least for a long time, and had the further advantage over the aqueous solution of presenting the sensitive principle more nearly in a state of isolation, though it was still contaminated by some principle which dispersed a whitish light under the influence of rays of high refrangibility.
64. The blue colouring matter may be readily extracted by cold water, but is decomposed by boiling. The blue solution dispersed an orange light like the other, but the dispersed light could not be nearly so well seen, just as would be the case were the red orange-dispersing fluid mixed with an insensible blue fluid of a much deeper colour, so that the mixture of the two would be blue. And in fact when the blue fluid was changed to red by boiling the colour became far less intense.
Archil and Litmus.
65. It is stated by Sir David Brewster that a very remarkable example of internal dispersion, which had been pointed out to him by Mr Schunck, is exhibited in an alkaline or in an alcoholic solution of a resinous powder produced from orcine by contact with the oxygen of the air. Not being able readily to procure a specimen of orcine, I tried archil, and obtained from it and litmus some very remarkable solutions.
In the fluid state in which archil is sold, the colour is much too deep for convenient optical examination. When a small quantity of archil is diluted with a great deal of water, the diluted fluid is very sensitive. It is red by transmission, or in small thicknesses purple, but exhibits by dispersive reflexion a pretty copious but rather sombre green.
66. When the fluid was examined by different methods, it was found to disperse a little red, some orange, and a great deal of green. The red dispersion was so slight, that in observing by the third method it appeared doubtful whether there was any except false dispersion. It commenced in the red, when the active and dispersed lights had the same refrangibility, or nearly so. The orange dispersion commenced about the fixed line D,