BRAGG SPECTROMETER 255
Summing over a series of thin layers or integration over a finite thickness
gives the relation
log I0 /I = k1 b
where I0 is the intensity or radiant power incident on a sample b centimeters
thick and I is the intensity of the transmitted beam. The constant k1
depends on the wavelength of the incident radiation, the nature of the
absorbing material and other experimental conditions. Verification of the
law fails unless appropriate corrections are made for reflection, convergence
of the light beam and spectral slit width, as well as possible scattering,
fluorescence, chemical reaction, nonhomogeneity, and anisotropy of the
sample. Formerly, the constant k1 was called the absorption coefficient.
It is now preferable to avoid this term and to call the ratio I /I0 the
transmittance. The law was first expressed by Bouguer in 1729 but it is
often attributed to Lambert, who restated it in 1768.
BOULANGERITE. A mineral compound of lead-antimony sulfide,
Pb5 Sb4s S11 . Crystallizes in the monoclinic system; hardness, 2.5–3;
specific gravity, 6.23; color, lead gray.
BOURNONITE. An antimony-copper-lead sulfide corresponding to
the formula PbCuSbS3 . It is orthorhombic, and repeated twinning
often produces crosses or wheel-shaped crystals. It is brittle; fracture,
subconchoidal; hardness, 2.5–3; specific gravity, 5.83; luster, metallic;
color and streak, dark gray to black; opaque.
Bournonite is found with galena, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite. There
are many European localities; it was first found in Cornwall, England, by
Count Bournon, for whom it was later named. Bournonite occurs in Bolivia
and Peru and in the United States in Arizona, Montana, Nevada and Utah.
Bournonite is also known as wheel ore.
BOYLE-CHARLES LAW. This law states that the product of the
pressure and volume of a gas is a constant which depends only upon the
temperature. This law may be stated mathematically as
p2 v2 = p1 v1 [1 + a(t2 − t1 )]
where p1 and v1 are the pressure and volume of a body of gas at
temperature t1 , p2 and v2 are the pressure and volume of the same
body of gas at another temperature t2 , and a is the volume coefficient of
expansion of the gas. If the temperature is expressed in degrees absolute,
this expression becomes
p2 v2 p1 v1
= BRAGG’S CURVE. There are two types of curves to which Bragg’s
T2 T1
which is the ideal gas law, so-called because all real gases depart from it
to a greater or lesser extent. See also Characteristic Equation.
BOYLE, ROBERT (1627–1691). Boyle was an Anglo-Irish scientist
who is known for his research in chemistry, physics, and medicine. He is
also remembered for his inventions and also for his study of philosophy and
theology. He was educated at Eton College from 1635 to 1639. Beginning
in 1644, he began doing experimental scientific work and he is considered
one of the founders of modern science.
Boyle was one of the founders and key members of the Royal Society,
a group of scientists who conducted experiments under the patronage of
King Charles the Second.
In 1667, Boyle repeated the air pump experiments of von Guericke with
an improved version of the apparatus so that it created a nearly perfect
vacuum in a container. When he pumped air out of a pipe that was placed
in a container of water, he was able to raise the water a little over 10 m,
but no more. He continued further experiments of his own and published
his results in “New Experiments Physico-Mechanical,” a later edition which
includes his famous gas law. Boyle’s Law states that the pressure of a given
mass of gas is inversely proportional to the volume. Boyle is credited for
realizing the true nature of elements. He believed all matter was made up
from extremely small particles, which were combined together in varying
ways to form the different chemical substances. In “Skeptical Chymist,” he
expressed his views. He attacked the old theories of the alchemists. He was
the first to suggest that matter can be classified in terms of similar chemical
properties. Boyle is remembered as a scientist who gave important weight
to the atomic theory of matter. He is recognized for his development of
the experimental method, his careful observation, recording, and reporting
of results.
Boyle was a very religious man and is also known as a devout Christian.
Interestingly, he wrote many articles on theology. His Boyle Lectures
defended Christianity against atheists.
See also Boyle’s Law.
J.M.I.
BOYLE’S LAW. This law, attributed to Robert Boyle (1662) but also
known as Mariotte’s law, expresses the isothermal pressure-volume relation
for a body of ideal gas. That is, if the gas is kept at constant temperature, the
pressure and volume are in inverse proportion, or have a constant product.
The law is only approximately true, even for such gases as hydrogen and
helium; nevertheless it is very useful. Graphically, it is represented by an
equilateral hyperbola (see Fig. 1). If the temperature is not constant, the
behavior of the ideal gas must be expressed by the Boyle-Charles law.
p
o v
Fig. 1. Equilateral hyperbola representing Boyle’s law. The rectangular areas
(PV ) are all equal
The Boyle temperature is that temperature, for a given gas, at which
Boyle’s law is most closely obeyed in the lower pressure range. At this
temperature, the minimum point (of inflection) in the pV-T curve falls on
the pV axis. See Compression (Gas); and Ideal Gas Law.
B. P. An abbreviation of “Before Present.” This term is an indication
of time calculation, used especially when referring to radiometric dating.
name is occasionally given: 1. A graph for the average number of ions per
unit distance along a beam of initially monoenergetic alpha particles, or
other ionizing particles, passing through a gas. 2. A graphical relationship
between the average specific ionization of an ionizing particle of a
particular kind, and some other variable, such as the kinetic energy, the
residual range, or the velocity of the particle.
BRAGG’S LAW. The law expressing the condition under which a crystal
will reflect a beam of x-rays with maximum distinctness, at the same time
giving the angle at which the reflection takes place. For x-ray reflection it is
customary to use the complement of the angle of incidence and reflection,
that is, the angle which the incident or the reflected beam makes with the
crystal planes, rather than with the normal. Let this “Bragg angle” be θ . If
the planes or layers of atoms are spaced at a distance d apart, and if λ is
the wavelength of the x-rays, Bragg’s law is expressed by the equation
nλ
sin θ =
2d
The condition for an intensity maximum is that n must be a whole number.
For example if the planes of rock salt parallel to the natural cubical faces
are spaced at d = 2.814 × 10−8 centimeters or 2814 x-units, and if the
incident rays have a component of wavelength λ = 714 x-units, the above
equation gives sin; θ = 0.1269n. Then if the crystal is rotated slowly, there
will be a distinct reflection where θ reaches 7◦ 17 (n = 1), again at 14◦ 42
(n = 2), also at 22◦ 23 (n = 3), etc. See also Crystal.
BRAGG SPECTROMETER. An instrument for the x-ray analysis of
crystal structure, in which a homogeneous beam of x-rays is directed on
the known face of a crystal, C, and the reflected beam detected in a suitably
placed ionization chamber, E. As the crystal is rotated, the angles at which