His dislike of 'doubtful knowledge'
and his efforts to liberate his mind from the thraldom of hypotheses
have been already referred to. Still this rebel against theory was
incessantly theorising himself. His principal researches are all
connected by an undercurrent of speculation. Theoretic ideas were
the very sap of his intellect--the source from which all his
strength as an experimenter was derived. While once sauntering with
him through the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham, I asked him what
directed his attention to the magnetization of light. It was his
theoretic notions. He had certain views regarding the unity and
convertibility of natural forces; certain ideas regarding the
vibrations of light and their relations to the lines of magnetic
force; these views and ideas drove him to investigation. And so it
must always be: the great experimentalist must ever be the habitual
theorist, whether or not he gives to his theories formal
enunciation.
Faraday, you have been informed, endeavoured to improve the
manufacture of glass for optical purposes. But though he produced a
heavy glass of great refractive power, its value to optics did not
repay him for the pains and labour bestowed on it. Now, however,
we reach a result established by means of this same heavy glass,
which made ample amends for all.
In November, 1845, he announced his discovery of the 'Magnetization
of Light and the Illumination of the Lines of Magnetic Force.'
This title provoked comment at the time, and caused misapprehension.
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