458 Mr. P&ttmson's further Experiments on the 



has hardly been any appearance of electricity in the steam ; 

 but in such cases the trials have been generally made under 

 unfavourable circumstances, and from all that has yet been 

 done, the presumption is certainly that steam is always more or 

 less electrical. It is not, however, always electrical to the same 

 extent under the same pressure, as I shall presently show. 



Mr. Armstrong was the first to experiment with a locomo- 

 tive engine-boiler (one used on the Newcastle and North 

 Shields railway), from which he obtained very striking re- 

 sults. The directors of the Newcastle and Carlisle railway, 

 through their secretary, Mr. Adamson, gave me permission 

 to experiment upon the boilers of the locomotive engines on 

 that line, and I now beg to lay before you the results I have 

 obtained. In preparing for, and performing these experi- 

 ments, I have, as before, been assisted and accompanied by 

 Mr. Henry Smith, and I have received the most willing and 

 efficient aid from Mr. Anthony Hall of Blagdon, the mechani- 

 cal engineer on the railway. 



1. A copper rod, half an inch in diameter, and five feet 

 long, was provided, made hollow for lightness ; this was ter- 

 minated at one end by a two-inch ball, and at the other (which 

 was bent at a right angle) by ten or twelve sharp-pointed 

 wires, spread out in every direction to collect the electricity 

 more perfectly from the steam. 



2. The Wellington locomotive engine, immediately after 

 coming to the station with passengers, was first tried. At 

 this time the steam was blowing forcibly out of the safety- 

 valve, at a pressure of fifty-two pounds per inch. On hold- 

 ing the pointed conductor in this current of steam, with its 

 points downwards, the individual holding it standing at the 

 time on an insulating stool, sparks three to four inches long 

 were given off from his person to the boiler. The sparks 

 were largest when the valve was held down a minute or two 

 and then suddenly lifted, so as to suffer a large volume of 

 steam to escape with great rapidity. By this management 

 the sparks were frequently four inches long, and occasioned 

 considerable pain to the person on the stool, even when given 

 from a brass ball held in his hand. The sparks were largest 

 when the points of the conductor were held in the steam 

 about two feet above the valve; but larger sparks were ob- 



