Abstract
THE discovery of a linearly polarized component of the radiation from pulsars1 led to an attempt2 to measure the Faraday rotation of the plane of polarization as the radio waves traversed the ionized interstellar gas, in the expectation that the result could be used to find a value for the interstellar magnetic field. This first attempt, using radio waves at 151 MHz from the pulsar CP 0950, showed a surprisingly small Faraday rotation, consistent with a field of less than 2 × 10−7 gauss. It was surmised at the time that this result might be peculiar to this particular line of sight.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Lyne, A. G., and Smith, F. G., Nature, 218, 124 (1968).
Smith, F. G., Nature, 218, 325 (1968).
de Jager, G., Lyne, A. G., Pointon, L., and Ponsonby, J. E. B., Nature, 220, 128 (1968).
Morris, D., and Berge, G. L., Ap. J., 69, 641 (1964).
Berge, G. L., and Seielstad, G. A., Ap. J., 148, 367 (1967).
Lyne, A. G., and Rickett, B. J., Nature, 219, 1339 (1968).
Verschuur, G. L., Phys. Rev. Lett., 21, 775 (1968).
Verschuur, G. L., IAU Symp. No. 31 (edit. by Van Woerden, H.), 385 (Academic Press, 1967).
Davies, R. D., Nature, 218, 435 (1968).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
SMITH, F. Faraday Rotation of Radio Waves from the Pulsars. Nature 220, 891–892 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220891a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220891a0
This article is cited by
-
Individual and integrated pulse properties of PSR B0943+10 involved in the mode-changing phenomenon
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (1998)
-
Propagation of cosmic rays in the galaxy
Space Science Reviews (1975)
-
Generation of Radio Waves in Pulsars
Nature (1970)
-
Distance of Pulsars and the Interstellar Electron Gas
Nature (1969)
-
Evidence in Support of a Rotational Model for the Pulsar PSR 0833–45
Nature (1969)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
