The "Magneto-optic Method of Chemical Analysis," discovered by Dr. Fred Allison 15 of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute at Auburn, Alabama, has been the subject of considerable controversy during the past several years. The great importance and almost unlimited possibilities of the method have warranted this discussion on the one hand while the failure of some experimenters to observe the effects and the lack of any feasible explanation of the phenomena account for the controversial nature of the discussions. The method depends upon the observance or non observance of a slight decrease in the intensity ("minimum") of a beam of polarized light when acted on by a high frequency electro-magnetic field controlled by a motion of a sliding trolley.
In February 1931 the author set up an apparatus roughly similar to that used by Dr. Allison and preliminary observations were begun in order to discover if possible the physical principles underlying the operation of the apparatus. Several not very serious attempts to locate the sharp minima of light attributed by Beams and Allison 1,2 to a time lag in the Faraday Effect, failed. However minima of a broad type were observed and it was then deemed essential to work with a simpler set-up in order to determine if possible how the plane of polarization of the light is affected by the oscillatory discharge. The results of observations extending until September 1932 are given in a paper entitled "Magneto-optic Rotations by Condenser Discharge," 30 and more fully in a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science at Vanderbilt University by W. M. Breazeale. * Numbered references are to a bibliography at the end of the article.