138 Observations upon Boiitigny's recent Experiment, 



which means the projecting portion of the nail of the finger 

 had been burnt, but in other respects the finger remained 

 perfectly uninjured ; he also stated further, that a workman in 

 the employ of Messrs. Behren and Co., manufacturing engi- 

 neers at Cologne, had made the experiment with melted iron, 

 and would repeat it before me. I therefore accepted the 

 offer, and, accompanied by several persons interested in the 

 matter, proceeded to Cologne. The workman in my presence 

 struck the unmoistened extremities of his fingers rapidly and 

 not without fear against the surface of the iron, which had 

 just flowed from the melting furnace into a trough, and which 

 was afterwards used in casting a large plate for a furnace. I 

 was thus convinced of the perfect truth of Boutigny's expe- 

 riment; and whilst carefully examining the extremities of the 

 workman's fingers, one of the two assistants of the Physical 

 Cabinet accompanying me struck the entire surface of the 

 open hand, which he had previously dipped in water, so 

 strongly against the bright red surface of the iron, that some 

 of the fused metal was ejected ; the other assistant immediately 

 afterwards also struck it with his moistened hand. After these 

 experiments, which were made in opposition to Boutigny's 

 precautions not to strike the mass, experiments which for the 

 sake of precaution I wished to make before the immersion, 

 became unnecessary ; I moistened my right hand, inserted 

 the index finger almost completely into the melted mass, and 

 moving it very slowly through it, withdrew it in two seconds: 

 at the same time I felt how the iron moved before my finger, 

 but did not experience the slightest sensation of heat*. 



I should have considered the temperature of the iron, which 

 was about 2732° F., as below 96° F. ; for on withdrawing the 

 finger, it was not so warm as the other hand. M. Fessel also, 

 and the other three persons who accompanied me, repeated 

 this experiment with certain modifications : one of them with 

 his hand dry ; another remarked that the hand, after having 

 been previously dipped in water, when withdrawn was only 

 dry in that part which had not been immersed; a third took 

 up the iron with the hand made hollow. The minute hairs 

 upon the inserted fingers had entirely disappeared ; but the 

 nails were not injured, nor was any penetration of heat through 

 the nails remarked. The hand when withdrawn had a slight 



* More than twenty years ago. Prof. H. Rose, in visiting the foundries 

 at Avestad in Sweden, saw a workman, for a small reward, take melted 

 copper with the bare hand from a crucible and throw it against the wall. 

 This confirms his statement, as also some other facts which Boutigny him. 

 self mentions in his memoir, that the phaenomenon mentioned has long been 

 known, especially among people engaged in the arts.— Poggendorff. 



