The Ultra-violet Light Transmission of Some Colourless Bottle Glasses

JSGT_1928_V12_T027_T031

During the course of systematic work on the influence of the iron oxides on the absorption spectra of glass it was thought of interest to bring within the scope of the investigation glasses of the character which are now in widespread use as food containers. The reason for including them was suggested by the new discoveries which have been made on the vitamin-enriching effect of subjecting certain organic substances to ultra-violet radiation and particularly to the stimulation and production of vitamin-D. It is, of course, idle at the present stage to speculate whether or not and to what extent various types of foodstuffs might be benefited by being subjected to ultra-violet or other types of radiation. If solar rays were the only source of radiation, obviously no benefit or no change could occur in foodstuffs packed in bottles and stored behind windows of ordinary glass.

David Starkie & W. E. S. Turner