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Re: Curvature of Space



Faraday (1845) used three solenoids and a battery of Daniel cells to
discovery the eponymous effect - which you can demonstrate with
a long tube of distilled water in a solenoid. The polarization rotation
effect is rather meager however.
By contrast, a thin film of a ferromagnet like iron, nickel can completely
rotate the polarization sense in a 20 micron film.

Thirty years later Kerr found birefringence in an electrically stressed
material like glass or nitrobenzene. This results in elliptical polarization.

By 1898, Voigt had discovered the analogous, magneto-optical effect in vapors
but it is a feeble effect. 12 years later Cotton & Mouton demonstrated the
same effect in liquids.

But I alluded in an earlier post to Kerr's magneto optical effect from the
polished pole piece of an electromagnet. The plane of plane polarized light
is thereby rotated. It is also a small effect.

Whatcott

At 12:09 2/23/98 EST, Paul Camp wrote:
I believe an effect on the polarization of light was observed by
Faraday (I think). I dunno about deflection though.

On Thu, 19 Feb 1998, Joseph Bellina wrote:

The question I was asked, would light also be deviated by a strong
electric field, and if it would has anyone ever tried to observe the
effect.

It should be deviated by the energy associated with the electric field.
Probably not a very large effect, however, unless the field is very strong
and/or occupies a large volume of space. I'd be surprised if anyone has
actually observed such an effect but much more surprised if it didn't
exist.
....
A. John Mallinckrodt