Annotated list of references on Iceland spar and polarized light

egularly crystallized masses except in Iceland, from which circumstance it is otherwise
called Iceland spar. It is from Iceland that the supply <strong>of</strong> this material used by opticians
has been exclusively derived.
Some years ago large blocks <strong>of</strong> this material used to be imported into this country
from Iceland, and were freely purchased, and used by opticians. But for some time the
supply has altogether ceased: the stock in hand has been used up, and opticians try in
vain to get more. I feared that the mines were exhausted, but I am informed that the
cause <strong>of</strong> the cessation <strong>of</strong> the supply is that the mines were purchased by Government and
have not since been worked.
I imagine that they have been worked in a rather wasteful way, for the sake <strong>of</strong>
quick returns, and probably at the time <strong>of</strong> the purchase there was a glut in the market:
for though there is a steady demand for the material it is not used in large quantities, and
the consumption is slow. But I hear on all sides from opticians and scientific men <strong>of</strong> the
impossibility <strong>of</strong> procuring the material now, so there can be no doubt that there would be
a demand for it if it could be supplied.
The magnificence <strong>of</strong> the blocks I used to see some years ago leads me to suspect
that among the heaps <strong>of</strong> rubbish about the mine there may be many small pieces which
were not thought worth collecting, nor were they perhaps when the market was glutted.
But when I mention that a piece an inch or an inch and a half long and say three eighths
<strong>of</strong> an inch in diameter would suffice to make a prism which when made could be sold for
perhaps 8 shillings, even when there was still spar to be had in the market, it will be seen
that even small pieces, comparatively speaking, have their value: and the collection <strong>of</strong>
these, if such there be lying about, might help to defray the cost <strong>of</strong> re-opening the mine.
I enclose a translation <strong>of</strong> this letter into Icelandic, which my friend Mr.
Magnússon has kindly undertaken to make.
I have the honour <strong>of</strong> being your Excellency´s obedient servant
G.G. Stokes (sign.)
Connections between Iceland spar and Nobel prizes 1901-30 may be divided into four
categories:
1. Discoveries dependent on Nicol prisms (made from Iceland spar) to a large extent:
Emil Fischer, Chem. 1902 (synthesis <strong>of</strong> sugars and other molecules)
Alfred Werner, Chem. 1913 (coordination compounds; see Kauffman 1968)
2. Discoveries where polarization played a considerable part:
H.A. Lorentz and P. Zeeman, Phys. 1902 (Zeeman magneto-optic effect)
J. Stark, Phys. 1919 (Stark electro-optic effect on spectra)
C.V. Raman, Phys. 1930 (scattering <strong>of</strong> light, with change <strong>of</strong> wavelength).
3. Discoveries where Nicol prisms or calcite crystals played some part:
The X-ray diffraction studies <strong>of</strong> the Braggs, Phys. 1915, M. Siegbahn, Phys. 1924, and
A.H. Compton, Phys. 1927 employed calcite for accurate wavelength measurements. S.
Arrhenius, Chem. 1903 and W. Ostwald, Chem. 1909, used polarimeters in some <strong>of</strong> their
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