178 ON THE FLEXURE OF WAX, &C. 



mation in an head covered with ice ; and examine whether 

 an unannealed glafs tube be not harder than a portion of the 

 fame tube flowly cooled. 

 Qu. 4. Will it 4. May not fome ufeful indications as to the properties of 

 repeat this expe- me,a ^ s anc * otner bodies be derived from the fimple procefs of 

 riment with catling a long flip of them, by pouring the fufed metal upon 

 •ther bodies? a C() j d ftonc< If the curvature be un i ver fally like that of the 

 wax, the law will be more and more confirmed. If anomalies 

 prefent themfelves, our acquaintance with natural events will 

 neverthelefs be extended and improved. 

 Experiments. Since writing the above, I have taken fome of the materials 



next at hand to make an experiment or two, which I give 

 without regarding whether they fupport, modify, or deftroy 

 the hypothefis advanced above. 

 Exp. 1, An- Exp. 1. A thick glafs tube which had been bended into a 



nealed ehk* " fyp non > was broken in two at the place of flexure. It was 

 The annealed fuppofed that the bended part having been heated and cooled 

 eems hardeft. a f econc i time, might prove fofter from this kind of annealing. 

 The extremity of the ftrait part was applied to fcratch the 

 bended part, and alfo the other ftrait part ; and contrary wife 

 the extremity of one of the bended parts was applied to the 

 other portion of tube ; and laftly both ends were fcratched with 

 a file. No certainty was obtained, but it was thought that 

 the bended part was hardeft *. 

 Exp. 2. Lead Exp. 2. Lead was fufed and poured red hot upon a marble 

 caft on a flab. ab j n a j on g fl^ Other lead moderately heated was poured 

 out. The pieces did not quit the face of the ftone in cooling, 

 and they were too flexible to be taken up and examined. 

 Exp. 3. Type Exp. 3. Type metal was treated in the fame manner. A 



likelhe waxf d flat P iece one tmrtieth of an inch tmck > and fix inches long, 



bended upwards from the ftone in cooling, to the height 



or verfed fine of one twentieth of an inch, and retained its 



flexure. 



Exp. 4. Fufible Exp. 4. Fufible metal or the compound of lead, tin, and 



^mufhwhen bismuth, was poured out in a flip 13 inches long, one half 



nearly cold, con- being about the fame thicknefs or lefs than the type metal, 



trary to the ivax, 



(elf afterward:. * -^ s tfte time had been bended with the blow pipe, the difference 

 might as well have arifen from oxigenation of the lead or manga- 

 nefe, or diflipation of alkali, as from fimple heating and cooling. 



R.B. 

 and 



