William Nicol

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Dedication in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh
Nicol's home in Edinburgh

William Nicol (* around 1768 in Humbie , East Lothian in Scotland , † September 2, 1851 in Edinburgh ) was a British physicist and geologist .

Life

Nicol worked as a physics teacher in Edinburgh. He carried out microscopic examinations on thin sections of crystals and fossil woods as well as studies on polarized light . In 1838 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh .

In 1828 he invented the Nicolsche prism named after him , a polarization prism made from a cut calcite crystal glued together with Canada balsam . In addition, he dealt with the microscopic structure of the various types of petrified wood.

In addition to the prism, the sea ridge Dorsum Nicol on the Earth's moon and the rocky outcrops Nicol Crags in the East Antarctic Coatsland are named after him.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Albert Edward Musson, Eric Robinson: Science and technology in the Industrial Revolution. Manchester University Press, 1969, ISBN 0-7190-0370-9 , p. 122.
  2. ^ Fellows Directory. Biographical Index: Former RSE Fellows 1783–2002. (PDF file) Royal Society of Edinburgh, accessed March 25, 2020 .
  3. ↑ W. Nicol: On a method of so far increasing the divergence of the two rays in calcareous-spar that only one image may be seen at a time . In: Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal . tape 6 , 1828, pp. 83-94 .
  4. ↑ Nicol, William . In: Encyclopædia Britannica . 11th edition. tape 19 : Mun - Oddfellows . London 1911, p. 661 (English, full text [ Wikisource ]).
  5. ↑ Dorsum Nicol on The-Moon Wiki
personal data
SURNAME Nicol, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British physicist
DATE OF BIRTH around 1768
PLACE OF BIRTH Humbie , East Lothian, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH September 2, 1851
Place of death Edinburgh