The Faraday Rotation of Diamagnetic Glasses from 0334 μ to 19 μ

The Verdet constants as a function of wavelength have been measured for sodium lime silicate glass, heavy lead silicate glass, arsenic trisulfide glass, and arsenic-modified selenium glass. Wavelengths between 0.334 μ and 1.9 μ were employed except where the short wavelength absorption of the glasses prevented measurement. The Verdet constants were obtained with a photoelectric polarimeter that used a Faraday modulation cell. A dry-ice-cooled lead sulfide cell was employed as a detector in the near infrared, and photomultipliers were used at the other wavelengths. The absorbances, α, of these glasses were determined at the same wavelengths, and a figure of merit, V/α, was calculated.