ON TH« YOLTAIC BATTERY, 3I 



t««; ^.on one occafeion be obtained a ditferent result by with oi?€«. 

 employing very larg^e plates arranged as a pile. In «ubse- ^ 

 quent volumes of this Journal are several other papei-s on 

 the »fi(ihe sobject ; but enough has been quoted to show, 

 that the inquiry has not any claim to originality. The con- 

 clusions of the first experimenters are however at varianice \ 

 with those of Dr. Davy, Dr. Wilkinson and Mr. Cuth- 

 bertson suppose, that the igniting power of a battery com- 

 posed of plates of any given sire increases in direct propor- 

 tion to the number of plates. Dr. Davy infers from his 

 experiments, that, when a few plates are increased, the in- ir 

 crease is as the square of the numbers ; but iu combinations 

 of greater extent the effect does not increase so rapidly. 

 The apparatus employed by Dr. Davy differs in structure As the appanc- 

 from that of the earlier experimenters; and as this miffht *"'^*f '^V*f 

 occasion some slight difference in the results, I did not con- 

 sider it justifiable to decide on the accuracy of either, with- 

 out new trials. With the assistance of Mr. Cuthbertsoa the experi* 

 the following experiments were made ; their results furnish rnects were 

 toine useful practical }nf<>rmation in addition to the ascer- 

 tainmeut of the object, for which they were expressly insti-* 

 tuted.--.;;; '-, • . ■ 4, .. .'• 



The acid mixture employed to charge the batteries was The add rm- 

 of the same strength in oil the experiments, (beiog pre- P^®/^* 

 viously mixed in a large vessel for this purpose). It con* 

 iisted of 10 gallons of water, 5 lbs. of strong nitrous acid. 

 And half a lb. of muriatic acid. A mixture of this kind 

 being the most effectual wire-melting charge. Ten bat- The apparatus, 

 teries, each containing 10 pairs of four inch plates, fitted .c r . 



up in troughs of W^edgwood ware ; and one batten-, of 50 

 pairs of plates of the same size, titled up in a wooden 

 trough, with glass partitions, constituted the api>aratus '> cr I 



employed. The plates in the troughs of Wedgwood ware 

 were new, but the glass partitioned battevy bad beeo fre* 

 qtaently employed before. » 



Two of the Wedgwood batteries render^:, nine inches of Exp, I, 

 iroii wire, ^^ of an inch diameter, faintly red hot, when .?lwwpff -kr*^ 

 the contact was first made. This effect continued but n .... 



very short time. When it had wholly ceased, an interval of 

 ooe toinutp was; aufBered tq eUpser and. &t %h^ end q£ tbb 



m:n0Kii time 



