Faraday to Jacob Herbert   5 June 1841

Royal Institution | 5th June 1841.

Sir,

I have examined the eight Fresnel Refractors which are at present in the hands of Mr. Wilkins, and having been present at the unpacking of every one of them, carefully observed their state with reference to what appears accidental injury from the mode of packing or otherwise, and think I ought to report that state at once to you. The numbers of the refractors are those I have marked on the frame of each with a hard point; the ribs are considered as numbered from 1 to 9 from the middle rib upwards and from 1[1], 12, 13 &c to 19 from the middle rib downwards.

I have the honor to be, &c:- | (signed) M. Faraday

diagram

There are other small chips &c but as polishing powder is on and about them, they cannot be the result of accidents since the Refractors left the hands of the Workmen1.

1
This letter was noted in the Trinity House By Board Minutes, 8 June 1841, GL MS 30010/32, p.390. The Board ordered that a copy should be sent to the manufacturer, Henri Lepaute. See Bence Jones (1870a), 2: 222-4 (though he mistranscribed the name) for Faraday's account of his visit to the factory in 1845.

Bibliography

BENCE JONES, Henry (1870a): The Life and Letters of Faraday, 1st edition, 2 volumes, London.

Please cite as “Faraday1350,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday1350