52 M. Pouillct on the Electricity of Elastic Fluids. 



metallic chaffing dish, in order to give an account of the oppo- 

 sitions and the uncertainties of their results. 



After having removed these first difficulties of the experi. 

 ment, I was enabled to enter upon the fundamental question 

 which I had in view, viz. to know whetherelectricity is produced 

 by change of condition or by chemical affinity. Volta had sup- 

 posed, and it had been generally admitted, that charcoal, in 

 passing from the solid to the gaseous condition, absorbs the 

 vitreous electricity, and leaves to the remaining solid parts the 

 resinous electricity which is discovered in it. 



Other researches on the electricity of chemical combinations 

 led me, on the contrary, to suppose, that if two elements 

 which combine disengaged electricity, one of them would dis- 

 engage the positive fluid, and the other the negative fluid, and 

 reciprocally, that, when they separate, each of them would 

 take up the fluid they had lost. 



To resolve this question, and to arrive at the true origin of 

 chemical electricity, we must form combinations which are 

 not accompanied by changes of condition ; and from among all 

 those which presented themselves, I chose first that of oxygen 

 and hydrogen, as being the easiest to produce in the required 

 conditions. 



The flame of the hydrogen gave contradictory results, like 

 the combustion of charcoal. In the course of a few minutes 

 it gives in succession positive and negative electricity, very in- 

 tense and very weak indications ; and often it was even impos- 

 sible to obtain any effect. While endeavouring to discover 

 the cause of these contrarieties, I thought of many without find- 

 ing the real and the most essential one. I had observed, first, 

 that every thing which surrounded me had an influence upon 

 the results; for example, a window shut or open, a small fire 

 in the laboratory, or even a lighted candle, a pile in activity, 

 or a small machine, the plate of which had only been turned a 

 quarter of a round, all these circumstances and others were 

 sources of discordance among the results. Nevertheless, all 

 these accidents depended on one cause so simple, that it did 

 not detain me long. 



It is known that gases are not very good conductors of elec- 

 tricity, and it can be proved by a curious experiment : Place 



3 



