William Henry Fox Talbot to Faraday   Late March 1832

31 Sackville St. | Thursday

Dear Sir,

I think the contrast between the Nickel & Copper solutions would be still more remarkably shown, by viewing them through what is called "Red Fire"¹. Some day I shall have the opportunity I hope of trying the experiment. These researches deserve to be multiplied, as there is evidently a connexion between Optics and Chemistry which cannot fail to throw light on the latter. Dr Brewster imagines that all simple substances have a different action on light². I think that something of the sort will be found to be true, tho not perhaps exactly that.

Dr. B. informs me of a late very curious discovery of his, of a liquid (which he does not name, but says it is a compound of only 2 elements) which has the property of absorbing partially the light of a candle so as to make the spectrum formed by candlelight to resemble the Solar Spectrum, viz. to make it appear covered with small lines or bands³. I hope he means to publish this, as being very likely to explain the nature of the Sun's light & atmosphere⁴.

Yours truly | H.F. Talbot

Endorsed by Faraday: 1832