Abstract
THE fibrils of which the artificial ‘Nylon’ fibre is composed exhibit a remarkably high double refraction. Although their diameter is only about 19 μ, they show interference colours of the third order. For the calculation of the double refraction their slightly elliptical cross-section must be taken into consideration. The large and the small diameter can easily be measured under the microscope with slightly twisted fibrils. The double refraction of the fibrils examined amounts to 0.060, the lower index n± being 1.520 and the higher index n+ about 1.580. It is surprising how closely these figures agree with those of silk fibroin1 and natural cellulose fibres2 (see table). When the fibrils are stretched they prove to be strikingly photo-elastic; the retardation may increase by 30 per cent before the fibril breaks.
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References
Ohara, K., Sci. Pap. Inst. Phys. Chem. Res. Tokio, 21, 104 (1933).
Frey-Wyssling and Wuhrmann, Helv. chim. Acta, 22, 987 (1939).
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FREY-WYSSLING, A. Optics of the Artificial Nylon Fibre. Nature 145, 821 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145821a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145821a0
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