Mr. Davy's Theory. 87 



ferred, upon this neutral salt being placed in the Galvanic 

 circle, either the sulphuric acid or the potash, one or the 

 other of them, is brought into an electrical state opposite to 

 its natural one: consequently, into the name s,tate as the body 

 with which it was united: hence a repulsion ensues, and the 

 compound body is decomposed. This is Mr. Davy's expla- 

 nation. / . N • 



•* But I would still presume to request that my former 

 proposed explanation may be considered (which is not in the 

 least affected by my having misunderstood Mr. Davy's ex- 

 planation); for the difficulties in the way of the present seem 

 to be, that we must suppose that in the first instance one 

 only of the parts of the compound body is affected by the 

 battery, and has its natural state of electricity reversed ; and 

 that, ultimately, both are affected ; for, the experiment being 

 completed, the acid is found to be positive, and the potash 

 negative. 



ce Is there, however, any repulsion in the case ? Should we 

 not rather consider it as a case of chemical decomposition, 

 in which the attraction between the two constituents of the 

 salt is overcome by more powerful affinities ? 



I remain your obliged humble servant, 



January 8, 1809. AUDITOR. 



XIV. Mr. Daw's Theory. 

 To Mr. Tilloch. 



London, 

 January 25, 1809. 

 SIR, 



X our correspondent 'Auditor/ notwithstanding his pene- 

 tration, has, I think, misunderstood Professor Davy's rea- 

 soning on electrochemical attraction. His remarks on the 

 inconsistency of the theory and its explanation, such as he 

 conceived them to be, must naturally occur to every consi- 

 derate reader. 



But if my memory does not deceive me, Mr. Davy stated : 

 <e An acid that is artificially rendered positive will not com- 



P 4 bine 



