| RefNo | MS/242/30 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from Augustin Jean Fresnel to Thomas Young, dated at Paris |
| Date | 19 January 1825 |
| Description | Addressed to Young as Secretary of the Royal Society.
Refers to previous letter [MS/242/29] as but the result of delirium caused by illness. Apologises for the fact the Young felt necessary to transcribe his praises for Fresnel's work included in introduction to a treatise on hieroglyphs. [Clarification: the praises in "An Account of some recent discoveries in hieroglyphical literature, and Egyptian antiquities", 1823 are in fact addressed to Champollion, recognising his first steps as decisive].
Apologises for the delay in answering, as is still not recovered. Started writing a treatise laying out his theory of the polarisation of light and the law of interference of polarised rays, which should be completed within 10 days. Iff treatise is no longer needed [for Encyclopedia Britannica] requests that Young lets him know so as to spare some heafty sending costs. The treatise will comprise the demonstration of transversal vibrations of polarised rays and the explanation of the law of interference of rays which had not been included in the annales de chimie et physiques (vol. XVII, p. 179).
Discusses the contributions to optics made by Young and himself. |
| Language | French |
| Extent | 4p |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7947 | Young; Thomas (1773 - 1829); physician, physicist and Egyptologist | 1773 - 1829 |
| NA7031 | Fresnel; Augustin Jean (1788 - 1827) | 1788 - 1827 |