Optical properties of nitrocellulose

Like cellulose, nitrocellulose demonstrates optical anisotropy (double refraction) which is regarded as one of the facts confirming the microcrystalline structure of the substance. A relationship between this property of nitrocellulose and the nitrogen content has been discovered by Ambronn [127] who studied the double refraction of cellulose. Differences in the refractive index for rays of different wavelengths in two directions at right angle are of the order —0.50 x 10-3 to +2.8 x 10 3 (Table 60). 

Differences of refractive indices along two perpendicular directions for DIFFERENT WAVE-LENGTH 

These investigations agree well with experiments by Trillat [129] who found that the X-ray diagram of colloidal nitrocellulose showing a non-oriented structure of crystallites (interference rings), altered after being stretched to indicate a fibrous structure in which the crystallites were oriented along the axis in the direction in which the film was stretched. 

Nitrocellulose fibres of different nitrogen content, suspended in glycerine, were investigated in a polarizing microscope by Miles [132]. He classified the samples into three groups  

More recently the experiments with polarized light have been extended to gelatinized nitrocellulose. 

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Optical properties of nitrocellulose Electrical properties of nitrocellulose lateraturc... 

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