Concave Burning Mirrors and Foundry Notes
Reflection and gathering of sun and moon rays; casting a horse and soldering copper
A folded double sheet dominated by the optics of concave (burning) mirrors: rays reflected from the image of the sun in water, gathered by a concave mirror, are said to burn, and the full moon to do the same. Further notes examine how rays diverge or converge from a mirror, how curvature and size govern the distance of convergence, and how rays intersect when passing through an aperture versus freely through air. Alongside are machine sketches with dimension numbers and a set of foundry recipes: a cauldron cast in one piece, soldering copper with cupel-bone and oil of tartar, and instructions for casting a horse first in halves over plaster molds with an iron armature. The sheet carries further notes beyond those transcribed.
On this page
The burning mirror of sun and full moon
If the ray reflected from the sun's image in water is gathered by a concave mirror, then once reflected by that mirror it will burn; the ray of the full moon will do the same. The note treats the concave mirror as a device that concentrates reflected light to a burning focus.
Divergent and convergent reflection
Many rays of the luminous body reflect outward from the mirror by a divergent course, and many reflect inward by a convergent gathering (letters ad-bc-fg-hi-KL). Equal curvatures keep the convergence at one distance, while different sizes or curvatures shift it.
Intersection of rays through an aperture
Rays passing through an aperture partly intersect and partly do not: those from the edges toward the middle cross, those from the middle form a columnar bundle. Rays passing freely through the air do not intersect, and between e and f infinite intersections lie between the crossing outside and inside the aperture.
Casting a horse in halves
To make the hollows take plaster and form, fire it in a furnace, soak with strong glue and dry so it receives the thin plate; of the horse make first its whole half, then give it the iron armature, making all the pieces first and assembling them in secret. A parallel note gives cupel-bone and oil of tartar for soldering copper.
Machine sketches with dimension numbers
At the center a machine is drawn with the numbers 6 36 - 6 36, and above the left page another figure carries 3 3 6 7 7 - a. A cauldron 'cast in one piece' is also drawn among the foundry apparatus.
