Abstract
IT has been known for many years that dental enamel is birefringent; and its optical properties have been studied intensively by W. J. Schmidt and his pupils1. In a recent paper2, I have shown by X-ray examination that an enamel prism contains a multitude of regularly arranged crystallites of apatite, and have worked out in detail the orientation of these crystallites for human deciduous enamel. It was therefore felt to be of interest to determine whether the optical and X-ray results could be correlated.
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References
For a survey of this work, see Harders-Steinhäuser, M., Kolloid Z. 83, 86 (1938).
Thewlis, J., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, in the Press.
Fresnel, A., Ann. Chim. Phys., A (2), 17, 167 (1821).
Schulz, H., "Wien-Harms Handb. exp. Physik", Leipzig, 18, 540 (1928).
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THEWLIS, J. Optical Properties of Dental Enamel. Nature 143, 682–683 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143682b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143682b0
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