Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours (1664) Part 2

4. Secondly, For these and the like Considerations, _Pyrophilus_, I must desire that you would look upon this little Treatise, not as a Discourse written Princ.i.p.ally to maintain any of the fore-mention'd Theories, Exclusively to all others, or subst.i.tute a New one of my Own, but as the beginning of a History of Colours, upon which, when you and your Ingenious friends shall have Enrich'd it, a Solid Theory may be safely built. But yet because this History is not meant barely for a Register of the things recorded in it, but for an _Apparatus_ to a sound and comprehensitive Hypothesis, I thought fit, so to temper the whole Discourse, as to make it as conducible, as conveniently I can to that End, and therefore I have not scrupled to let you see that I was willing, as to save you the labour of Cultivating some Theories that I thought would never enable you to reach the Ends you aim at, so to contract your Enquiries into a Narrow compa.s.s, for both which purposes I thought it requisite to do these two things, the _One_, to set down some Experiments which by the help of the Reflections and Insinuations that attend them, may a.s.sist you to discover the Infirmness and Insufficiency both of the common Peripatetick Doctrine, and of the now more applauded Theory of the _Chymists_ about Colour, because those two Doctrines having Possess'd themselves, the one of the most part of the Schools, and the other of the Esteem of the Generality ef Physicians and other Learned Men, whose Professions and Ways of Study do not exact that they should Scrupulously examine the very First and Simplest Principles of Nature, I fear'd it would be to little purpose, without doing something to discover the Insufficiency of these Hypotheses, that I should, (which was the _Other_ thing I thought requisite for me to do) set down among my other Experiments those in the greatest Number, that may let you see, that, till I shall be Better Inform'd, I encline to take Colour to be a Modification of Light, and would invite you chiefly to Cultivate that Hypothesis, and Improve it to the making out of the Generation of Particular Colours, as I have Endeavour'd to apply it to the Explication of Whiteness and Blackness.

5. Thirdly. But, _Pyrophilus_, though this be at present the Hypothesis I preferr, yet I propose it but in a General Sense, teaching only that the Beams of Light, Modify'd by the Bodies whence they are sent (Reflected or Refracted) to the Eye, produce there that Kind of Sensation, Men commonly call Colour; But whether I think this Modification of the Light to be perform'd by Mixing it with Shades, or by Varying the Proportion of the Progress and Rotation of the _Cartesian Globuli Caelestes_, or by some other way which I am not now to mention, I pretend not here to Declare. Much less do I pretend to Determine, or scarce so much as to Hope to know all that were requisite to be Known, to give You, or even my Self, a perfect account of the Theory of Vision and Colours, for in Order to such an undertaking I would first Know what Light is, and if it be a Body (as a Body or the Motion of a Body it seems to be) what Kind of Corpuscles for Size and Shape it consists of, with what Swiftness they move Forwards, and Whirl about their own Centres. Then I would Know the Nature of Refraction, which I take to be one of the Abstrusest things (not to explicate Plausibly, but to explicate Satisfactorily) that I have met with in Physicks; I would further Know what Kind and what Degree of Commixture of Darkness or Shades is made by Refractions or Reflections, or both, in the Superficial particles of those Bodies, that being s.h.i.+n'd upon, constantly exhibit the one, for Instance, a Blew, the other a Yellow, the third a Red Colour; I would further Know why this Contemperation of Light and Shade, that is made, for Example, by the Skin of a Ripe Cherry, should exhibit a Red, and not a Green, and the Leaf of the same Tree should exhibit a Green rather than a Red; and indeed, Lastly, why since the Light that is Modify'd into these Colours consists but of Corpuscles moved against the _Retina_ or Pith of the Optick Nerve, it should there not barely give a Stroak, but produce a Colour, whereas a Needle wounding likewise the Eye, would not produce Colour but Pain. These, and perhaps other things I should think requisite to be Known, before I should judge my Self to have fully Comprehended the True and Whole Nature of Colours; and therefore, though by making the Experiments and Reflections deliver'd in this Paper, I have endeavour'd somewhat to Lessen my Ignorance in this Matter, and think it far more Desireable to discover a Little, than to discover Nothing, yet I pretend but to make it Probable by the Experiments I mention, that some Colours may be Plausibly enough Explicated in the General by the Doctrine here propos'd; For whensoever I would Descend to the Minute and Accurate Explication of Particulars, I find my Self very Sensible of the great Obscurity of things, without excepting those which we never see but when they are Enlightned, and confess with _Scaliger_[5], _Latet natura haec_, (says he, Speaking of that of Colour) _& sicut aliarum rerum species in profundissima caligine inscitiae humanae._

[5] Exercitat. 325 Parag. 4

_THE_ _EXPERIMENTAL HISTORY_ _OF COLOURS._

PART. II.

_Of the Nature of Whiteness and_ _Blackness._

CHAP. I.

1. Though after what I have acknowledged, _Pyrophilus_, of the Abstruse Nature of Colours in _particular_, you will easily believe, that I pretend not to give you a Satisfactory account of Whiteness and Blackness; Yet not wholly to frustrate your Expectation of my offering something by way of Specimen towards the Explication of some Colours in particular, I shall make choice of These as the most Simple Ones, (and by reason of their mutual Opposition the Least hardly explicable) about which to present you my Thoughts, upon condition you will take them at most to be my Conjectures, not my Opinions.

2. When I apply'd my Self to consider, how the cause of Whiteness might be explan'd by Intelligible and Mechanical Principles, I remembred not to have met with any thing among the Antient _Corpuscularian_ Philosophers, touching the Quality we call Whiteness, save that _Democritus_ is by _Aristotle_ said to have ascrib'd the Whiteness of Bodies to their Smoothness, and on the contrary their Blackness to their Asperity.[6] But though about the Latter of those Qualities his Opinion be allowable, as we shall see anon, yet that he heeds a Favourable Interpretation in what is Deliver'd concerning the First, (at least if his Doctrine be not Mis-represented in this point, as it has been in many others) we shall quickly have Occasion to manifest. But amongst the _Moderns_, the most Learned _Ga.s.sendus_ in his Ingenious Epistle publish'd in the Year 1642.

_De apparente Magnitudine solis humilis & sublimis_, reviving the _Atomical_ Philosophy, has, though but Incidentally, deliver'd something towards the Explication of Whiteness upon Mechanical Principles: And because no Man that I know of, has done so before him, I shall, to be sure to do him Right, give you his Sense in his own Words:[7] _Cogites velim_ (says he) _lucem quidem in Diaphano nullius coloris videri, sed in Opaco tamen terminante Candicare, ac tant magis, quant densior seu collectior fuerit. Deinde aquam non esse quidem coloris ex se candidi & radium tamen ex ea reflexum versus oculum candicare. Rursus c.u.m plana aquae Superficies non nisi ex una parte eam reflexionem faciat: si contigerit tamen illam in aliquot bullas intumescere, bullam unamquamque reflectionem facere, & candoris speciem creare certa Superficiei parte. Ad haec Spumam ex aqua pura non alia ratione videri candescere & albescerere quam quod sit congeries confertissima minutissimarum bullarum, quarum unaquaeque suum radium reflect.i.t, unde continens candor alborve apparet. Denique Nivem nihil aliud videri quam speciem purissimae spumae ex bullulis quam minutissimis & confertissimis cohaerentis. Sed ridiculam me exhibeam, si tales meas nugas uberius proponem._

[6] _Alb.u.m quippe & agrum, hoc quidem asperum esse dicit, hoc vero laeve.

de Sensu & Sensib. 3. 3._

[7] Epist. 2. pag. 45.

3. But though in this pa.s.sage, that very Ingenous Person has Antic.i.p.ated part of what I should say; Yet I presume you will for all that expect, that I should give you a fuller Account of that Notion of Whiteness, which I have the least Exceptions to, and of the Particulars whence I deduce it, which to do, I must mention to you the following Experiments and Observations.

Whiteness then consider'd as a Quality in the Object, seems chiefly to depend upon this, That the Superficies of the Body that is call'd White, is Asperated by almost innumerable Small Surfaces, which being of an almost Specular Nature, are also so Plac'd, that some Looking this way, and some that way, they yet Reflect the Rays of Light that fall on them, not towards one another, but outwards towards the Spectators Eye. In this Rude and General account of Whiteness, it seems that besides those Qualities, which are common to Bodies of other Colours, as for instance the Minuteness and Number of the Superficial parts, the two chief things attributed to Bodies as White are made to be, First, that its Little Protuberances and Superficial parts be of somewhat a Specular Nature, that they may as little Looking-gla.s.ses each of them Reflect the Beams it receives, (or the little Picture of the Sun made on it) without otherwise considerably Altering them; whereas in most other Colours, they are wont to be much Chang'd, by being also Refracted, or by being Return'd to the Eye, mixt with Shades or otherwise. And next, that its Superficial parts be so Situated, that they Retain not the Incident Rays of Light by Reflecting them Inwards, but Send them almost all Back, so that the Outermost Corpuscles of a White Body, having their Various Little Surfaces of a Specular Nature, a Man can from no place Behold the Body, but that there will be among those Innumerable _Superficieculae_, that Look some one way, and some another, enough of them Obverted to his Eye, to afford like a broken Looking-gla.s.s, a confused Idaea, or Representation of Light, and make such an Impression on the Organ, as that for which Men are wont to call a Body White. But this Notion will perhaps be best Explan'd by the same Experiments and Observations, on which it is Built, And therefore I shall now advance to _Them_.

4. And in the first place I consider, that the Sun and other Powerfully Lucid Bodies, are not only wont to Offend, which we call to Dazle our Eyes, but that if any Colour be to be Ascrib'd to them as they are Lucid, it seems it should be Whiteness: For the Sun at Noon-day, and in Clear weather, and when his Face is less Troubled, and as it were Stained by the Steams of Sublunary Bodies, and when his Beams have much less of the Atmosphere to Traject in their Pa.s.sage to our Eyes, appears of a Colour more approaching to White, than when nearer the Horizon, the Interposition of certain Sorts of Fumes and Vapours make him oftentimes appear either Red, or at least more Yellow. And when the Sun s.h.i.+nes upon that Natural Looking-gla.s.s, a Smooth water, that part of it, which appears to this or that particular Beholder, the most s.h.i.+n'd on, does to his Eye seem far Whiter than the rest. And here I shall add, that I have sometimes had the Opportunity to observe a thing, that may make to my present purpose, namely, that when the Sun was Veil'd over as it were, with a Thin White Cloud, and yet was too Bright to be Look'd upon Directly without Dazling, by casting my Eyes upon a Smooth water, as we sometimes do to observe Eclipses without prejudice to our Eyes, the Sun then not far from the Meridian, appear'd to me not Red, but so White, that 'twas not without some Wonder, that I made the Observation. Besides, though we in _English_ are wont to say, a thing is Red hot, as an Expression of its being Superlatively _Ignitum_, (if I may so Speak for want of a proper _English_ word) yet in the Forges of Smiths, and the Furnaces of other Artificers, by that which they call a White heat, they mean a further Degree of _Ignition_, than by that which both they and we call a Red heat.

5. Secondly, I consider, that common Experience informs us, that as much Light Over-powers the Eye, so when the Ground is covered with Snow, (a Body extremely White) those that have Weak Eyes are wont to complain of too much Light: And even those that have not, are generally Sensible of an Extraordinary measure of Light in the Air; and if they are fain to Look very long upon the Snow, find their Sight Offended by it. On which occasion we may call to mind what _Xenophon_ relates, that his _Cyrus_ marching his Army for divers days through Mountains covered with Snow, the Dazling splendor of its Whiteness prejudic'd the Sight of very many of his Souldiers, and Blinded some of them; and other Stories of that Nature be met with in Writers of good Note. And the like has been affirm'd to me by credible Persons of my own Acquaintance, and especially by one who though Skill'd in Physick and not Ancient confess'd to me when I purposely ask'd him, that not only during his stay in _Muscovy_, he found his Eyes much Impair'd, by being reduc'd frequently to Travel in the Snow, but that the Weakness of his Eyes did not Leave him when he left that Country, but has follow'd him into these Parts, and yet continues to Trouble him. And to this doth agree what I as well as others have observ'd, namely, that when I Travell'd by Night, when the Ground was all cover'd with Snow, though the Night otherwise would not have been Lightsome, yet I could very well see to Choose my way. But much more Remarkable to my present purpose is that, which I have met with in _Olaus Magnus_,[8] concerning the way of Travelling in Winter in the _Northern_ Regions, where the Days of that Season are so very Short; for after other things not needfull to be here Transcribed: _Iter_, says he, _Diurnum duo scilicet montana milliaria (quae 12 Italica sunt) consiciunt. Nocte ver sub splendissima luna, duplatum iter consumunt aut triplatum. Neque id incommode fit, c.u.m nivium reverberatione lunaris splendoris sublimes & declives campos ill.u.s.tret, ac etiam montium praecipitia ac noxias feras a lorge prospiciant evitandas_.

Which Testimony I the less Scruple to allege, because that it agrees very well with what has been Affirm'd to me by a Physician of _Mosco_, whom the Notion I have been Treating of concerning Whiteness invited me to ask whether he could not See much farther when he Travell'd by Night in _Russia_ than he could do in _England_, or elsewhere, when there was no Snow upon the Ground; For this Ingenious Person inform'd me, that he could See Things at a farr greater Distance, and with more Clearness, when he Travell'd by Night on the _Russian_ Snow, though without the a.s.sistance of Moon-s.h.i.+ne, than we in these Parts would easily be perswaded. Though it seems not unlikely to me, that the Intenseness of the Cold may contribute something to the considerableness of the Effect, by much Clearing the Air of Darkish Steams, which in these more Temperate Climates are wont to Thicken it in Snowy weather: For having purposely inquir'd of this Doctor, and consulted that Ingenious Navigator Captain _James_'s Voyage hereafter to be further mention'd, I find both their Relations agree in this, that in Dark Frosty Nights they could Discover more Stars, and See the rest Clearer than we in _England_ are wont to do.

[8] Gent. Septen. Histor. lib. 4 cap. 13.

6. I know indeed that divers Learned Men think, that Snow so strongly Affects our Eye, not by a Borrow'd, but a Native Light; But I venture to give it as a Proof, that White Bodies reflect more Light than Others, because having once purposely plac'd a parcel of Snow in a Room carefully Darkned, that no Celestial Light might come to fall upon it; neither I, nor an ingenous Person, (Skill'd in Opticks) whom I desir'd for a Witness, could find, that it had any other Light than what it receiv'd. And however, 'tis usual among those that Travel in Dark Nights, that the Guides wear something of White to be Discern'd by, there being scarce any Night so Dark, but that in the Free Air there remains some Light, though Broken and Debilitated perhaps by a thousand Reflections from the Opacous Corpuscles that Swim in the Air, and lend it to one another before it comes to arrive at the Eye.

7. Thirdly, And the better to shew that White Bodies reflect store of Light, in comparson of those that are otherwise Colour'd, I did in the Darkn'd Room, formerly mention'd, hold not far from the Hole, at which the Light was admitted, a Sheet only of White Paper, from whence casting the Sun-beams upon a White Wall, whereunto it was Obverted, it manifestly appear'd both to Me, and to the Person I took for a Witness of the Experiment, that it Reflected a far greater Light, than any of the other Colours formerly mention'd, the Light so thrown upon one Wall notably Enlightning it, and by it a good part of the Room. And yet further to show you, that White Bodies Reflect the Beams From them, and not Towards themselves, Let me add, that Ordinary Burning-gla.s.ses, such as are wont to be employ'd to light Tobacco, will not in a great while Burn, or so much as Discolour a Sheet of White Paper. Insomuch that even when I was a Boy, and Lov'd to make Tryals with Burning-gla.s.ses, I could not but wonder at this Odd _Phaenomenon_, which set me very Early upon Guessing at the Nature of Whiteness, especially because I took notice, that the Image of the Sun upon a White Paper was not so well Defin'd (the Light seeming too Diffus'd) as upon Black, and because I try'd, that Blacking over the Paper with Ink, not only the Ink would be quickly Dry'd up, but the Paper that I could not Burn before, would be quickly set on Fire. I have also try'd, that by exposing my Hand with a Thin Black Glove over it to the Warm Sun, it was thereby very quickly and considerably more Heated, than if I took off the Glove, and held my Hand Naked, or put on it another Glove of Thin but White Leather. And having thus shewn you, _Pyrophilus_, that White Bodies reflect the most Light of any, let us now proceed, to consider what is further to be taken notice of in them, in order to our present Enquiry.

8. And Fourthly, whereas among the Dispositions we attributed to White Bodies, we also intimated this, That such Bodies are apt, like _Speculums_, though but Imperfect ones, to Reflect the Light that falls on them Untroubled or Unstain'd, we shall besides other particulars to be met with in these Papers, offer you this in favour of the Conjecture; That in the Darkned Room several times mention'd in this Treatse, we try'd that the Sun-beams being cast from a Coloured Body upon a neighbouring White Wall, the Determinate Colour of the Body was from the Wall reflected to the Eye; whereas we could in divers cases manifestly Alter the Colour arriving at the Eye, by Subst.i.tuting at a convenient Distance, a (conveniently) Colour'd (and Glossy) Body instead of the White Wall. As by throwing the Beams from a Yellow Body upon a Blew, there would be Exhibited a kind of Green, as in the Experiments about Colours is more fully Declar'd.

9. I know not whether I should on this Occasion take notice, that when, as when looking upon the Calm and Smooth Surface of a River betwixt my Eye and the Sun, it appear'd to be a natural _Speculum_, wherein that Part which Reflected to my Eye the Entire and defin'd Image of the Sun, and the Beams less remote from those which exhibited That Image, appear'd indeed of a great and Whitish Brightness, but the rest Comparatively Dark enough: if afterwards the Superficies chanc'd to be a little, but not much troubled, by a gentle Breath of Wind, and thereby reduc'd into a Mult.i.tude of Small and Smooth _Speculums_, the Surface of the River would suitably to the Doctrine lately deliver'd, at a Distance appear very much of Kin to White, though it would lose that Brightness or Whiteness upon the Return of the Surface to Calmness and an Uniform Level. And I have sometimes for Tryals sake brought in by a Lenticular Gla.s.s, the Image of a River, s.h.i.+n'd upon by the Sun, into an Upper Room Darkn'd, and Distant about a Quarter of a Mile from the River, by which means the Numerous Declining Surfaces of the Water appear'd so Contracted, that upon the Body that receiv'd the Images, the whole River appear'd a very White Object at two or three paces distance.

But if we drew Near it, this Whiteness appear'd to proceed from an Innumerable company of Lucid Reflections, from the several Gently wav'd Superficies of the Water, which look'd Near at hand like a Mult.i.tude of very Little, but s.h.i.+ning Scales of Fish, of which many did every moment Disappear, and as many were by the Sun, Wind and River generated anew. But though this Observation seem'd Sufficiently to discover, how the Appearing Whiteness in that case was Produc'd, yet in some other cases Water may have the Same, though not so Vivid a Colour upon other Accounts; for oftentimes it happens that the Smooth Surface of the Water does appear Bright or Whitish, by reason of the Reflection not immediatly of the Images of the Sun, but of the Brightness of the Sky; and in such cases a Convenient Wind may where it pa.s.ses along make the Surface look Black, by causing many such Furrows and Cavities, as may make the Inflected Superficies of the Water reflect the Brightness of the Sky rather Inward than Outward. And again if the Wind increase into a Storm, the Water may appear White, especially near the Sh.o.r.e and the s.h.i.+p, namely because the Rude Agitation Breaks it into Fome or Froth. So much do Whiteness and Blackness depend upon the Disposition of the Superficial parts of a Body to Reflect the Beams of Light Inward or Outward. But that as White Bodies reflect the most Light of any, so there Superficial Particles are, in the Sense newly Deliver'd, of a Specular Nature, I shall now further endeavour to shew both by the making of Specular bodies White, and the making of a White body Specular.

10. In the Fifth place then, I will inform You, that (not to repeat what _Ga.s.sendus_ observes concerning Water) I have for Curiosity sake Distill'd Quicksilver in a Cucurbit, fitted with a Capacious Gla.s.s-head, and observ'd that when the Operation was perform'd by the Degrees of Fire requisite for my purpose, there would stick to the Inside of the Alembick a mult.i.tude of Little round drops of _Mercury_. And as you know that _Mercury_ is a Specular Body, so each of these Little drops was a small round Looking-gla.s.s, and a Mult.i.tude of them lying Thick and Near one another, they did both in my Judgment, and that of those I Invited to see it, make the Gla.s.s they were fastened to, appear manifestly a White Body. And yet as I said, this Whiteness depended upon the Minuteness and Nearness of the Little Mercurial _Globuli_, the Convexity of whose Surfaces fitted them to represent in a Narrow compa.s.s a Mult.i.tude of Little Lucid Images to differingly situated Beholders. And here let me observe a thing that seems much to countenance the Notion I have been recommending: namely, that whereas divers parts of the Sky, and especially the Milky-way, do to the naked Eye appear White, (as the name it self imports) yet the Galaxie look'd upon through the Telescope, does not shew White, but appears to be made up of a Vast mult.i.tude of Little Starrs; so that a Mult.i.tude of Lucid Bodies, if they be so Small that they cannot Singly or apart be discern'd by the Eye, and if they be sufficiently Thick set by one another, may by their confus'd beams appear to the Eye One White Body. And why it is not possible, that the like may be done, when a Mult.i.tude of Bright and Little Corpuscles being crowded together, are made to send together Vivid beams to the Eye, though they s.h.i.+ne but as the Planets by a Borrow'd Light?

11. But to return to our Experiments. We may take notice, That the White of an Egg, though in part Transparent, yet by its power of Reflecting some Incident Rays of Light, is in some measure a Natural _Speculum_, being long agitated with a Whisk or Spoon, loses its Transparency, and becomes very White, by being turn'd into Froth, that is into an Aggregate of Numerous small Bubbles, whose Convex Superficies fits them to Reflect the Light every way Outwards. And 'tis worth Noting, that when Water, for instance, is Agitated into Froth, if the Bubbles be Great and Few, the Whiteness will be but Faint, because the number of _Specula_ within a Narrow compa.s.s is but Small, and they are not Thick set enough to Reflect so Many Little Images or Beams of the Lucid Body, as are requisite to produce a Vigorous sensation of Whiteness: And partly least it should be said, that the Whiteness of such Globulous Particles proceeds from the Air Included in the Froth; (which to make good, it should be prov'd that the Air it self is White) and partly to ill.u.s.trate the better the Notion we have propos'd of Whiteness, I shall add, that I purposely made this Experiment, I took a quant.i.ty Fair water, & put to it in a clear Gla.s.s phial, a convenient quant.i.ty of Oyl or Spirit of Turpentine, because that Liquor will not incorporate with Water, and yet is almost as Clear and Colourless as it; these being Gently Shaken together, the Agitation breaks the Oyl (which as I said, is Indispos'd to Mix like Wine or Milk _per minima_ with the Water) into a Mult.i.tude of Little Globes, which each of them Reflecting Outwards a Lucid Image, make the Imperfect Mixture of the two Liquors appear Whitish; but if by Vehemently Shaking the Gla.s.s for a competent time you make a further Comminution of the Oyl into far more Numerous and Smaller _Globuli_, and thereby confound it also better with the Water, the Mixture will appear of a Much greater Whiteness, and almost like Milk; whereas if the Gla.s.s be a while let alone, the Colour will by degrees Impair, as the Oyly globes grow Fewer and Bigger, and at length will quite Vanish, leaving both the Liquors Distinct and Diaphanous as before. And such a Tryal hath not ill succeeded, when insteed of the Colourless Oyl of Turpentine I took a Yellow Mixture made of a good Proportion of Crude Turpentine dissolv'd in that Liquor; and (if I mis-remember not) it also Succeeded better than one would expect, when I employ'd an Oyl brought by Filings of Copper infused in it, to a deep Green. And this (by the way) may be the Reason, why often times when the Oyls of some Spices and of Anniseeds &c. are Distilled in a Limbec with Water, the Water (as I have several times observ'd) comes over Whitish, and will perhaps continue so for a good while, because if the Fire be made too Strong, the subtile Chymical Oyl is thereby much Agitated and Broken, and Blended with the Water in such Numerous and Minute Globules, as cannot easily in a short time Emerge to the Top of the Water, and whilst they Remain in it, make it, for the Reason newly intimated, look Whitish; and perhaps upon the same Ground a cause may be rendred, why Hot water is observ'd to be usually more Opacous and Whitish, than the same Water Cold, the Agitation turning the more Spirituous or otherwise Conveniently Dispos'd Particles of the Water into Vapours, thereby Producing in the Body of the Liquor a Mult.i.tude of Small Bubbles, which interrupt the Free pa.s.sage, that the Beams of Light would else have Every way, and from the Innermost parts of the Water Reflect many of them Outwards. These and the like Examples, _Pyrophilus_, have induc'd me to Suspect, that the Superficial Particles of White bodies, may for the Most part be as well Convex as Smooth; I content my self to say _Suspect_ and _for the most part_, because it seems not Easie to prove, that when Diaphanous bodies, as we shall see by and by, are reduc'd into White Powders, each Corpuscle must needs be of a Convex Superficies, since perhaps it may Suffice that Specular Surfaces look severally ways. For (as we have seen) when a Diaphanous Body comes to be reduc'd to very Minute parts, it thereby requires a Mult.i.tude of Little Surfaces within a Narrow compa.s.s. And though each of these should not be of a Figure Convenient to Reflect a Round Image of the Sun, yet even from such an Inconveniently Figur'd body, there may be Reflected some (either Streight or Crooked) Physical Line of Light, which Line I call Physical, because it has some Breadth in it, and in which Line in many cases some Refraction of the Light falling upon the Body it depends on, may contribute to the Brightness, as if a Slender Wire, or Solid Cylinder of Gla.s.s be expos'd to the Light, you shall see in some part of it a vivid Line of Light, and if we were able to draw out and lay together a Mult.i.tude of these Little Wires or Thrids of Gla.s.s, so Slender, that the Eye could not discern a Distance betwixt the Luminous Lines, there is little doubt (as far as I can guess by a Tryal purposely made with very Slender, but far less Slender Thrids of Gla.s.s, whose Aggregate was Look'd upon one way White) but the whole Physical Superficies compos'd of them, would to the Eye appear White, and if so, it will not be always necessary that the Figure of those Corpuscles, that make a Body appear White, should be _Globulous_. And as for Snow it self, though the Learned _Ga.s.sendus_ (as we have seen above) makes it to seem nothing else but a pure Frozen Froth, consisting of exceedingly Minute and Thickset Bubbles; yet I see no necessity of Admitting that, since not only by the Variously and Curiously Figur'd Snow, that I have divers times had the Opportunity with Pleasure to observe, but also by the Common Snow, it rather doth appear both to the Naked Eye, and in a _Microscope_, often, if not most commonly, to consist princ.i.p.ally of Little Slender Icicles of several Shapes, which afford such Numerous Lines of Light, as we have been newly Speaking of.

12. Sixthly, If you take a Diaphanous Body, as for instance a Piece of Gla.s.s, and reduce it to Powder, the same Body, which when it was Entire, freely Transmitted the Beams of Light, acquiring by Contusion a mult.i.tude of Minute Surfaces, each of which is as it were a Little, but Imperfect _Speculum_, is qualify'd to Reflect in a Confus'd manner, so many either Beams, or Little and Singly Un.o.bservable Images of the Lucid Body, that from a Diaphanous it Degenerates into a White Body. And I remember, I have for Trials sake taken Lumps of Rock Crystal, and Heating them Red hot in a Crucible, I found according to my Expectation, that being Quench'd in Fair water, even those that remain'd in seemingly entire Lumps exchang'd their Translucency for Whiteness, the Ignition and Extinction having as it were Crack'd each Lump into a mult.i.tude of Minute Bodies, and thereby given it a great mult.i.tude of new Surfaces. And ev'n with Diaphanous Bodies, that are Colour'd, there may be this way a Greater Degree of Whiteness produced, than one would lightly think; as I remember, I have by Contusion obtain'd Whitish Powders of _Granates_, Gla.s.s of _Antimony_, and _Emeralds_ finely Beaten, and you may more easily make the Experiment, by taking Good Venereal _Vitriol_ of a Deep Blew, and comparing with some of the Entire Crystalls purposely reserv'd, some of the Subtile Powder of the same Salt, which will Comparatively exhibit a very considerable degree of Whitishness.

13. Seventhly, And as by a Change of Position in the Parts, a Body that is not White, may be made White, so by a Slight change of the Texture of its Surface, a White Body may be Depriv'd of its Whiteness. For if, (as I have try'd in Gold-smiths Shops) you take a piece of Silver that has been freshly Boyl'd, as the Artificers call it, (which is done by, first Brus.h.i.+ng, and then Decocting it with Salt and Tartar, and perhaps some other Ingredients) you shall find it to be of a Lovely White. But if you take a piece of Smooth Steel, and therewith Burnish a part of it, which may be presently done, you shall find that Part will Lose its Whiteness, and turn a _Speculum_, looking almost every where Dark, as other Looking-gla.s.ses do, which may not a little confirm our Doctrine. For by this we may guess, what it is chiefly that made the Body White before, by considering that all that was done to deprive it of that Whiteness, was only to Depress the Little Protuberances that were before on the Surface of the Silver into one Continu'd Superficies, and thereby effect this, that now the Image of the Lucid Body, and consequently a Kind of Whiteness shall appear to your Eye, but in some place of the greater Silver Looking-gla.s.s (whence the Beams reflected at an Angle Equal to that wherewith they fall on it, may reach your Eye) whilst the Asperity remain'd Undestroy'd, the Light falling on innumerable Little _Specula_ Obverted some one way, and some another, did from all Sensibly Distinguishable parts of the Superficies reflect confus'd Beams or Representations of Light to the Beholders Eye, from whence soever he chance to Look upon it. And among the Experiments annex'd to this Discourse, you will find One, wherein by the Change of Texture in Bodies, Whiteness is in a Trice both Generated and Destroy'd.

CHAP. II.

1. What we have Discours'd of Whiteness, may somewhat a.s.sist us to form a Notion of Blackness, those two Qualities being Contrary enough to Ill.u.s.trate each other. Yet among the Antient _Philosophers_ I find less a.s.sistance to form a Notion of Blackness than of Whiteness, only _Democritus_ in the pa.s.sage above Recited out of _Aristotle_ has given a General Hint of the Cause of this Colour, by referring the Blackness of Bodies to their Asperity. But this I call but a General Hint, because those Bodies that are Green, and Purple, and Blew, seem to be so as well as Black ones, upon the Account of their Superficial Asperity. But among the _Moderns_, the formerly mention'd _Ga.s.sendus_, perhaps invited by this Hint of _Democritus_, has Incidentally in another Epistle given us, though a very Short, yet a somewhat Clearer account of the Nature of Blackness in these words: _Existimare par est corpora suapte Natura nigra constare ex particulis, quarum Superficieculae scabrae sint, nec facile lucem extrorsum reflectant._ I wish this Ingenious Man had enlarg'd himself upon this Subject; For indeed it seems, that as that which makes a Body White, is chiefly such a Disposition of its Parts, that it Reflects (I mean without much Interruption) more of the Light that falls on it, than Bodies of any other Colour do, so that which makes a Body Black is princ.i.p.ally a Peculiar kind of Texture, chiefly of its Superficial Particle, whereby it does as it were Dead the Light that falls on it, so that very little is Reflected Outwards to the Eye.

2. And this Texture may be Explicated two, and perhaps more than two several ways, whereof the first is by Supposing in the Superficies of the Black Body a Particular kind of Asperity, whereby the Superficial Particles reflect but Few of the Incident Beams Outwards, and the rest Inwards towards the Body it self. As if for Instance, we should conceive the Surface of a Black Body to be Asperated by an almost Numberless throng of Little Cylinders, Pyramids, Cones, and other such Corpuscles, which by their being Thick Set and _Erected_, reflect the Beams of Light from one to another Inwards, and send them too and fro so often, that at length they are Lost before they can come to Rebound out again to the Eye. And this is the first of the two mention'd ways of Explicating Blackness. The other way is by Supposing the Texture of Black Bodies to be such, that either by their Yielding to the Beams of Light, or upon some other Account, they do as it were Dead the Beams of Light, and keep them from being Reflected in any Plenty, or with any Considerable Vigour of Motion, Outwards. According to this Notion it may be said, that the Corpuscles that make up the Beams of Light, whether they be Solary _Effluviums_, or Minute Particles of some aetherial Substance, Thrusting on one another from the Lucid Body, do, falling on Black Bodies, meet with such a Texture, that such Bodies receive Into themselves, and Retain almost all the Motion communicated to them by the Corpuscles that make up the Beams of Light, and consequently Reflect but Few of them, or those but Languidly, towards the Eye, it happening here almost in like manner as to a ball, which thrown against a Stone or Floor, would Rebound a great way Upwards, but Rebounds very Little or not at all, when it is thrown against Water, or Mud, or a Loose Net, because the Parts yield, and receive into themselves the Motion, on whose Account the Ball should be Reflected Outwards. But this Last way of Explicating Blackness, I shall content my Self to have Propos'd, without either Adopting it, or absolutely Rejecting it. For the Hardness of Touchstones, Black Marble and other Bodies, that being Black are Solid, seem to make it somewhat Improbable, that such Bodies should be of so Yielding a Texture, unless we should say, that some Bodies may be more Dispos'd to Yield to the Impulses of the Corpuscles of Light by reason of a Peculiar Texture, than other Bodies, that in other Tryals appear to be Softer than they. But though the Former of these two Explications of Blackness be that, by which we shall Endeavour to give an Account of it, yet as we said, we shall not Absolutely Reject this Latter, partly because they both Agree in this, that Black Bodies Reflect but Little of the Light that falls on them, and partly because it is not Impossible, that in some Cases both the Disposition of the Superficial particles, as to Figure and Position, and the Yielding of the Body, or some of its Parts, may joyntly, though not in an Equal measure concurr to the rendring of a Body Black. The Considerations that induc'd me to propose this Notion of Blackness, as I Explan'd it, are princ.i.p.ally these:

3. First, That as I lately said, Whiteness and Blackness being generally reputed to be Contrary Qualities, Whiteness depending as I said upon the Disposition of the Parts of a Body to Reflect much Light, it seems likely, that Blackness may depend upon a Contrary Disposition of the Black Bodies Surface; But upon this I shall not Insist.

4. Next then we see, that if a Body of One and the same Colour be plac'd, part in the Sun-beams, and part in the Shade, that part which is not s.h.i.+n'd on will appear more of Kin to Blackness than the other, from which more Light Rebounds to the Eye; And Dark Colours seem the Blacker, the less Light they are Look'd upon in, and we think all Things Black in the Dark, when they send no Beams to make Impressions on our Organs of Sight, so that Shadows and Darkness are near of Kin, and Shaddow we know is but a Privation of Light; and accordingly Blackness seems to proceed from the Paucity of Beams Reflected from the Black Body to the Eye, I say the Paucity of Beams, because those Bodies that we call Black, as Marble, Jeat, &c. are Short of being perfectly so, else we should not See them at all.

But though the Beams that fall on the Sides of those Erected Particles that we have been mentioning, do Few of them return Outwards, yet those that fall upon the Points of those Cylinders, Cones, or Pyramids, may thence Rebound to the Eye, though they make there but a Faint Impression, because they Arrive not there, but Mingl'd with a great Proportion of Little Shades. This may be Confirm'd by my having procur'd a Large piece of Black Marble well Polish'd, and brought to the Form of a Large Sphaerical and Concave _Speculum_; For on the Inside this Marble being well Polish'd, was a kind of Dark Looking-gla.s.s, wherein I could plainly see a Little Image of the Sun, when that s.h.i.+n'd upon it. But this Image was very far from Offending and Dazling my Eyes, as it would have done from another _Speculum_; Nor, though the _Speculum_ were Large, could I in a Long time, or in a Hot Sun set a piece of Wood on Fire, though a far less _Speculum_ of the same Form, and of a more Reflecting Matter, would have made it Flame in a Trice.

5. And on this Occasion we may as well in Reference to something formerly deliver'd concerning Whiteness, as in Reference to what has been newly said, Subjoyn what we further observ'd touching the Differing Reflections of Light from White and Black Marble, namely, that having taking a pretty Large Mortar of White Marble, New and Polish'd in the Inside, and Expos'd it to the Sun, we found that it Reflected a great deal of Glaring Light, but so Dispers'd, that we could not make the Reflected Beams concurr in any such Conspicuous _Focus_, as that newly taken notice of in the Black Marble, though perhaps there may enough of them be made to meet near the Bottom, to make some Kind of _Focus_, especially since by holding in the Night-time a Candle at a convenient Distance, we were able to procure a Concourse of some, though not many of the Reflected Beams, at about two Inches distant from the Bottom of the Mortar: But we found the Heat even of the Sunbeams so Dispersedly Reflected to be very Languid, even in Comparison of the Black Marbles _Focus_. And the Little Picture of the Sun, that appear'd upon the White Marble as a _Speculum_, was but very Faint and exceeding ill Defin'd. Secondly, That taking two pieces of Plain and Polish'd Surfaces, and casting on them Successively the Beams of the Same Candle, In such manner, as that the Neighbouring Superficies being Shaded by an Opacous and Perforated Body, the Incident Beams were permitted to pa.s.s but through a Round Hole of about Half an Inch Diameter, the Circle of Light that appear'd on the White Marble was in Comparison very Bright, but very ill Defin'd; whereas that on the Black Marble was far less Luminous, but much more precisely Defin'd.

6. Thirdly, When you Look upon a piece of Linnen that has Small Holes in it, those Holes appear very Black, and Men are often deceiv'd in taking Holes for Spots of Ink; And Painters to represent Holes, make use of Black, the Reason of which seems to be, that the Beams that fall on those Holes, fall into them So Deep, that none of them is Reflected back to the Eye. And in narrow Wells part of the Mouth seems Black, because the Incident Beams are Reflected Downwards from one side to another, till they can no more Rebound to the Eye.

We may consider too, that if Differing parts of the same piece of Black Velvet be stroak'd Opposite ways, the piece of Velvet will appear of two Distinct kinds of Blackness, the one far Darker than the other, of which Disparity the Reason Seems to be, that in the Less obscure part of the Velvet, the Little Silken Piles whereof 'tis made up, being Inclin'd, there is a Greater part of each of them Obverted to the Eye, whereas in the other part the Piles of Silk being more Erected, there are far Fewer Beams Reflected Outwards from the Lateral parts of each Pile, So that most of those that Rebound to the Eye, come from the Tops of the Piles, which make but a small part of the whole Superficies, that may be cover'd by the piece of Velvet. Which Explication I propose, not that I think the Blackness of the Velvet proceeds from the Cause a.s.sign'd, since each Single Pile of Silk is Black by reason of its Texture, in what Position soever you Look upon it; But that the Greater Blackness of one of these Tuffts seems to proceed from the Greater Paucity of Beams Reflected from it, and that from the Fewness of those Parts of a Surface that Reflect Beams, and the Mult.i.tude of those Shaded Parts that Reflect none. And I remember, that I have oftentimes observ'd, that the Position of Particular Bodies far greater than Piles of Silk in reference to the Eye, may notwithstanding their having each of them a Colour of its own, make one part of their Aggregate appear far Darker than the other; For I have near Great Towns often taken notice, that a Cart-load of Carrots pack'd up, appear'd of a much Darker Colour when Look'd upon, where the Points of the Carrots were Obverted to the Eye, than where the Sides of them were so.

7. Fourthly, In a Darkned Room, I purposely observ'd, that if the Sun-beams, which came in at the Hole were receiv'd upon White or any other Colour, and directed to a Convenient place of the Room, they would Manifestly, though not all Equally, Encrease the Light of that Part; whereas if we Subst.i.tuted, either a piece of Black Cloth or Black Velvet, it would so Dead the Incident Beams, that the place (newly mention'd) whereto I Obverted the Black Body, would be Less Enlightned than it was before, when it received its Light but from the Weak and Oblique Reflections of the Floor and Walls of a pretty Large Room, through which the Beams that came in at the Hole were Confusedly and Brokenly Dispers'd.

8. Fifthly, And to shew that the Beams that fall on Black Bodies, as they do not Rebound Outwards to the Eye, so they are Reflected towards the Body it self, as the Nature of those Erected Particles to which we have imputed Blackness, requires, we will add an Experiment that will also confirm our Doctrine touching Whiteness; Namely, that we took a Broad and Large Tile, and having Whitened over one half of the Superficies of it, and Black'd the other, we expos'd it to the Summer Sun; And having let it lye there a convenient time (for the Difference is more Apparent, if it have not lain there too long) we found, as we expected, that whilst the Whited part of the Tile remained Cool enough, the Black'd part of the same Tile was grown not only Sensible, but very Hot, (sometimes to a strong Degree.) And to satisfie some of our Friends the more, we have sometimes left upon the Surface of the Tile, besides the White and Black parts thereof, a part that Retain'd the native Red of the Tile it self, and Exposing them to the Sun, we observ'd this Last mention'd to have Contracted a Heat in comparison of the White, but a Heat Inferiour to that of the Black, of which the Reason seems to be, that the Superficial Particles of Black Bodies, being, as we said, more Erected, than those of White or Red ones, the Corpuscles of Light falling on their sides, being for the most part Reflected Inwards from one Particle to another, and thereby engag'd as it were and kept from Rebounding Upwards, they communicate their brisk Motion, wherewith they were impell'd against the Black Body, (upon whose account had they fallen upon a White Body, they would have been Reflected Outwards) to the Small parts of the Black Body, and thereby Produce in those Small parts such an Agitation, as (when we feel it) we are wont to call Heat. I have been lately inform'd, that an Observation near of Kin to Ours, has been made by some Learned Men in _France_ and _Italy_, by long Exposing to a very Hot Sun, two pieces of Marble, the one White, the other Black; But though the Observation be worthy of them, and may confirm the same Truth with Our Experiment, yet besides that our Tryal needs not the Summer, nor any Great Heat to succeed, It seems to have this Advantage above the other, that whereas Bodies more Solid, and of a Closer Texture, though they use to be more Slowly Heated, are wont to receive a Greater Degree of Heat from the Sun or Fire, than (_Caeteris paribus_) Bodies of a Slightest Texture; I have found by the Information of Stone-cutters, and by other ways of Enquiry, that Black Marble is much Solider and Harder than White, so that possibly the Difference betwixt the Degrees of Heat they receive from the Sunbeams will by many be ascrib'd to the Difference of their Texture, rather than to that of their Colour, though I think our Experiment will make it Probable enough that the greater part of that Difference may well be ascrib'd to that Disposition of Parts, which makes the one Reflect the Sunbeams Inward; and the other Outwards. And with this Doctrine accords very well, that Rooms hung with Black, are not only Darker than else they would be, but are wont to be Warmer too; Insomuch that I have known a great Lady, whose Const.i.tution was somewhat Tender, complain that she was wont to catch Cold, when she went out into the Air, after having made any long Visits to Persons, whose Rooms were hung with Black. And this is not the only Lady I have heard complain of the Warmth of such Rooms, which though perhaps it may be partly imputed to the _Effluvia_ of those Materials wherewith the hangings were Dy'd, yet probably the Warmth of such Rooms depends chiefly upon the same Cause that the Darkness does; As (not to repeat what I formerly Noted touching my Gloves,) to satisfie some Curious Persons of that s.e.x, I have convinc'd them, by Tryall, that of two Pieces of Silken Stuff given me by themselves, and expos'd in their Presence, to the same Window, s.h.i.+n'd on by that Sun, the White was _considerably_ Heated, when the Black was not so much as _Sensibly_ so.

9. Sixthly, I remember, that Acquainting one Day a _Virtuoso_ of Unsuspected Credit, that had Visited Hot Countries, with part of what I have here Deliver'd concerning Blackness, he Related to me by way of Confirmation of it, a very notable Experiment, which he had both others make, and Made himself in a Warm Climate, namely, that having carefully Black'd over Eggs, and Expos'd them to the Hot Sun, they were thereby in no very Long time well Roasted, to which Effect I conceive the Heat of the Climate must have Concurr'd with the Disposition of the Black Surface to Reflect the Sunbeams Inward, for I remember, that having made that among other Tryals in _England_, though in Summer-time, the Eggs I Expos'd, acquir'd indeed a considerable Degree of Heat, but yet not so Intense a One, as prov'd Sufficient to Roast them.

10. Seventhly, and Lastly, Our Conjectures at the Nature of Blackness may be somewhat Confirm'd by the (formerly mention'd) Observation of the Blind _Dutch-man_, that Discerns Colours with his Fingers; for he Says, that he Feels a greater Roughness upon the Surfaces of Black Bodies, than upon those of Red, or Yellow, or Green. And I remember, that the Diligent _Bartholinus_ says,[9] that a Blind Earl of _Mansfield_ could Distinguish White from Black only by the Touch, which would Sufficiently Argue a great Disparity in the Asperities, or other Superficial Textures of Bodies of those two Colours, if the Learn'd Relator had Affirm'd the Matter upon his own Knowledge.

[9] Hist. Anatom. Cent. 3. Hist. 44.

II. These, _Pyrophilus_, are the chief things that Occurr to me at present, about the Nature of Whiteness and Blackness, which it they have Rendred it so much as Probable, that in _Most_; or at least _Many_ Cases, the Causes of these Qualities may be such as I have Adventur'd to Deliver, it is as much as I Pretend to; for till I have Opportunity to Examine the Matter by some further Tryals, I am not sure, but that in some White and Black Bodies, there may Concurr to the Colour some peculiar Texture or Disposition of the Body, whereby the Motion of the Small Corpuscles that make up the Incident Beams of Light, may be Differingly Modify'd, before they reach the Eye, especially in this, that White Bodies do not only Copiously Reflect those Incident Corpuscles Outwards, but Reflect them Briskly, and do not otherwise Alter them in the manner of their Motion. Nor shall I now stay to Enquire, whether some of those other ways, (as a Disposition to Alter the Velocity, the Rotation, or the Order and Manner of Appulse so the Eye of the Reflected Corpuscles that Compos'd the Incident Beams of Light) which we mention'd when we consider'd the Production of Colours in General, may not in some Cases be Applicable to those of White and Black Bodies: For I am yet so much a _Seeker_ in this Matter, and so little Wedded to the Opinions I have propos'd, that what I am to add shall be but the Beginning of a Collection of Experiments and Observation towards the History of Whiteness and Blackness, without at present interposing my Explications of them, that so, I may a.s.sist your Enquires without much Fore-stalling or Bia.s.sing your Judgment.

EXPERIMENT IN CONSORT, Touching Whiteness & Blackness.

EXPERIMENT I.

Having promis'd in the 114, and 115. Pages of the foregoing Discourse of Whiteness and Blackness, to shew, that those two Colours may by a change of Texture in bodies, each of them apart Diaphanous and Colourless, be at pleasure and in a trice as well Generated as Destroy'd, We shall begin with Experiments that may acquit us of that promise.

Take then what Quant.i.ty you please of Fair Water, and having Heated it, put into it as much good Common Sublimate, as it is able to Dissolve, and (to be sure of having it well glutted:) continue putting in the Sublimate, till some of it lye Untouch'd in the bottom of the Liquor, Filter this Solution through Cap-paper, to have it cleer and limpid, and into a spoonfull or two thereof, (put into a clean gla.s.s vessel,) shake about four or five drops (according as you took more or less of this Solution) of good limpid Spirits of Urine, and immediately the whole mixture will appear White like Milk, to which mixture if you presently add a convenient proportion of Rectifi'd _Aqua Fortis_ (for the number of drops is hard to determine, because of the Differing Strength of the liquor, but easily found by tryal) the Whiteness will presently disappear, and the whole mixture become Transparent, which you may, if you please, again reduce to a good degree of Whiteness (though inferiour to the first) onely by a more copious affusion of fresh Spirit of Urine. _N_. First, That it is not so necessary to employ either _Aqua Fortis_ or Spirit of Urine about this Experiment, but that we have made it with other liquors instead of these, of which perhaps more elsewhere. Secondly, That this Experiment, though not made with the same _Menstruums_, nor producing the same Colour is yet much of Kin to that other to be mentioned in this Tract among our other Experiments of Colours, about turning a Solution of Praecipitate into an Orange-colour, and the Chymical Reason being much alike in both, the annexing it to one of them may suffice FOR both.