Page:Collected Physical Papers.djvu/120

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100
ELECTRO-MAGNETIC RADIATION

light. An ordinary book is thus seen to act as a perfect polariser of the electric ray; the vibrations parallel to the pages are completely absorbed, and those at right angles transmitted in a perfectly polarised condition.

The electric radiation is thus seen to be reflected, refracted and polarised just in the same way as light is reflected, refracted and polarised. The two phenomena are identical.

By pressing the key of this radiation apparatus I am able to produce ether vibrations 30,000 millions in one second. A second stop in connection with another apparatus will give rise to a different vibration. Imagine a large electric organ provided with a very large number of stops, each key giving rise to a particular ether note. Imagine the lowest key producing one vibration in a second. We should then get a gigantic ether wave 186,000 miles long. Let the next key give rise to two vibrations in a second, and let each succeeding key produce higher and higher notes. Imagine an unseen hand pressing the different keys in rapid succession. The ether notes will thus rise in frequency from one vibration in a second, to tens, to hundreds, to thousands, to hundreds of thousands, to millions, to millions of millions. While the ethereal sea in which we are all immersed is being thus agitated by these multitudinous waves, we shall remain entirely unaffected, for we possess no organs of perception to respond to these waves. As the ether note rises still higher in pitch, we shall for a brief moment perceive a sensation of warmth. As the note still rises higher, our eye will begin to be affected, a red glimmer of light will be the first to make its appearance. From this point the few colours we see