120 Mr. Baily's Experiments with the Torsion-rod 



meters, give slight differences in the results. But, he states 

 that the most discordant results occur where the double sus- 

 pension-lines are formed of silk ; and he apprehends that these 

 anomalies have arisen from the circumstance that all the fibres, 

 of which the skein is composed, are not equally stretched by the 

 different balls as they are successively attached to the torsion- 

 rod; and that they are thus severally operated on by different 

 forces, which consequently produces a discordancy in the re- 

 sults. These discordances, however, appear to be generally 

 confined within certain limits. 



The author then gives a detailed account of the various ex- 

 periments that he has made, under the improved form of ap- 

 paratus, which amount in the whole to 2153; and which were 

 pursued and conducted in different ways, for the purpose of 

 throwing some light on the slight discrepancies that, in spite 

 of his care and caution, would occasionally intrude themselves. 

 It would be impossible in an abstract like this to give a mi- 

 nute detail of the several modes that were adopted in carrying 

 on these operations, and which must therefore be left unex- 

 plained till the work itself is published. But the following 

 short synoptical view will enable the reader to form an esti- 

 mate of the general results obtained from the different balls, 

 according to the manner in which they have been successively 

 suspended. The seven different balls employed are arranged, 

 in the first column, in the order of their weight ; and the 

 number of experiments made therewith, together with the 

 mean resulting density therefrom, is classed in the three col- 

 lateral columns, according as the suspension was formed of 

 double silk lines, double metal wire, or single copper wire. 

 The three detached series, at the bottom of the table, contain- 

 ing 149 experiments, will be presently explained. 



It cannot be supposed, amongst such a number of expert- 



