xxxv 



"An Account of Experiments made on a new Friction Sledge for 



stopping Railway Trains." 

 " Physiological Experiments on Nicotine and Strychnia." 

 " On the Sea-Louse of the Baltic." 



" On the Reflexion of Polarised Light from Polished Surfaces — 



transparent and metallic." 

 "Account of Experiments to Determine the Velocity of Rifle 



Bullets." 



" On the Muscular Anatomy of the Leg of the Crocodile." 



" On Hanging, considered from a mechanical and physiological 



Point of View." 

 " On Geological Climates." 



" On the normal Constants of healthy Urine in Man." 



" On the Tides and tidal Currents of the Irish Sea, &c, &c." 



" On Slaty Cleavage and the Distortion of Fossils." 



Dr. Haughton's contributions to physical science were principally 

 in the subjects of elasticity, the theory of light, solar radiation, and. 

 the tides. 



Fond of controversy, he plunged into the discussion which raged 

 in the middle of the present century on the nature of transparent 

 media. He very early came to the conclusion (1849) that it was 

 only by a study of the facts of reflection and refraction that the 

 question could be decided, and with this end in view he made a 

 great number of laborious observations on the refraction of polarised 

 light from many substances. The results he obtained remain as a 

 monument to his industry and a permanent contribution to science, 

 although the controversy as to the nature of transparent media has 

 drifted into new channels, owing to the development of the electro- 

 magnetic theory of light. 



His work on solar radiations was undertaken in connexion with the 

 geological question as to the age of the earth, the causes of the 

 glacial epoch, and of geological climates. By the aid of very 

 laborious calculations he considered the effects produced on terres- 

 trial climates by changes in the distribution of land, by alteration in 

 the temperature of the sun, and by the quantity of carbonic acid and 

 aqueous vapour in the air. 



His observations on the tides were originally undertaken with the 

 view of rendering the navigation of the Irish Sea and the English 

 Channel safer to outward and homeward bound ships. He after- 

 wards became a recognised authority on tides, and was not only 

 consulted by Arctic explorers, but was entrusted with valuable 

 records obtained during Arctic voyages for the purpose of report. 



Dr. .Haughton likewise devoted much of his time to chemical 

 problems, and in the later years of his life some of the higher 



