78 Mr. Binks on the Laws of Action of Voltaic Electricity, 



times, gave the following results, as indicated by an interposed 

 voltameter: 



A, in 30 minutes gave in mixed gases 1*2 cubic inch. 



B, in do. do. 6*8 cubic inches. 



C, in do. do. V5 



Demonstrating that the laws just proved to operate in the 

 case of single arrangements, operate also in that of compound 

 ones. But the advantages gained in B and C are greater even 

 than had been anticipated by those laws, a circumstance which 

 is explained in a subsequent investigation (No. 3.), when it will 

 be proved that the above results are in exact accordance with 

 those found to obtain in the case of the single arrangements 

 already treated of. 



There is one fact brought out by the above experiments to 

 which I should wish to attract your attention, merely pre- 

 mising, that inasmuch as the coincidence between it and some 

 other facts, which I suspect may be detected, may or may not 

 be purely of an accidental character, I should wish to be un- 

 derstood as attaching no importance to it beyond that which 

 would make me bear it in mind till our further acquaintance 

 with the origin and operations of this still mysterious agent 

 may contribute to its proper explanation. The fact I allude 

 to is this: in Table, No. 6, it is shown that it is when the sur- 

 face of the zinc plate becomes equal to about seven (the cop- 

 per being one) that the full voltaic effect is produced : why is 

 it, that the action regularly increases in amount till the re- 

 spective surfaces reach this relative proportion, and that it 

 then ceases to be augmented under any further addition 

 whatever ? 



Second Investigation. 



An inquiry into the comparative action of surfaces of dif- 

 ferent extent; that is, whether the action of any voltaic com- 

 bination increases directly as the surface increases, or in some 

 other ratio. 



Depending upon the accuracy of that law (which has been 

 generally admitted), that if the surfaces of the plates be increa- 

 sed, the resulting action will be increased in the same ratio, I 

 had been led into some strangely anomalous results in my ex- 

 periments, which could be accounted for only on the supposi- 

 tion that this law might possibly be incorrect. I had found 

 little reason to dispute its accuracy when the examinations 

 were restricted to plates varying from one square inch to four; 

 but when carried beyond these sizes, its fallacy became stri- 

 kingly apparent. 



To examine into this, I prepared several simple arrange- 



