French National Injlitulc. 89 



from the fame molecule of water, mould appear at points fo 

 far diftant? And why does each of them appear exclufively 

 at the wire connected with one of the extremities of the pile, 

 and never at the other ? 



Such was the liate of our knowledge refpeeting galvanifm 

 at the time of the notice given to the clafs three months ago. 

 All the experiments made in France and other countries, 

 arranged and confirmed by a commifiion, have condu6ted to 

 the three following remits :— an augmentation of intensity, 

 according to the number and extent of the metallic furfaces 

 brought into contact ; a continued renewal of the action ; 

 and a production of the two gafes by the communication of 

 the two extremities of the pile with water. 



But for three months pall philofophers have redoubled their 

 efforts; their curiofity has been excited, above all, by the laft 

 phenomenon : fome have imagined they could diftinguim in 

 it the bafes of a new fyftem of chemiftry ; others, more pru- 

 dent, have fufpended their judgment, or have endeavoured to 

 refer the facts to the theories already known. But, whatever 

 might be their individual fyftem, they ought all to have begun 

 by a fimilar refeareh — by trying to produce the two gafes in 

 feparate quantities of water. 



If the two quantities of water are perfectly infulated, the 

 gas does not appear : if they are made to communicate by a 

 metallic wire, there is only a double production of gas ; that 

 is to fay, each extremity of the intermediate wire acts in the 

 portion of water in which it is immerfed, as if the wire came 

 immediately from the extremity of the pile oppofed to that 

 which communicates with that portion, fo that each portion 

 gives at the fame time two gafes. 



But if fulphuric acid be interpofed between the two quan- 

 tities of water, the gafes manifeft themfelves each on. its own 

 fide. The cafe is the fame if a communication be eftablifhed 

 between the water by the means of a living body, fuch as the 

 hand. Thus, the production of each gas in the feparate quan- 

 tities of water is completely proved. 



It is evident that there are only three pofnble ways of ex- 

 plaining thefe facts : either the galvanic action tends in each 

 quantity of water to take away one of its conftituent parts, 

 leaving the other in excefs; or it decompofes the water, and, 

 fuffering one of the gafes to be difengaged at the end of one 

 of the wires, conducts the other, in an invifible manner, to 

 the extremity of the uther, to fuller it to be there difengaged ; 

 or, in the lalt place, the water is not decompofed, but its com- 

 bination with iome principle or other, emanating from the 



poiitive 



