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Electric Double-Refraction In Carbon Disulphide At Low Potentials, Gustaf W. Elmen

University Studies (University of Nebraska) (1888–1984)

When light polarized at an angle of forty-five degrees to the lines of force is passed through certain dielectrics, between two parallel electrodes, they become double-refracting. The difference of phase, delta, between the two components of light at right angles and parallel to the lines of force, as represented by Kerr and verified by later investigators, is

δ = ± BP²l/a²

where B is the electro-optic constant, depending on, the dielectric, I the length, and a the distance between the plate' electrodes in centimeters, and P the difference of potential between the electrodes in C.G.S. units.

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