Mr. R. Phillips on the Electricities of Steam. 507 



from the mist. The gold-leaf readily struck the conducting 

 plate. 



108. The copper wire was removed from the tin pipe, the 

 water consequently now struck against the inside of the short 

 arm of the tin pipe, the fountain and tin pipe were connected 

 with the single-leaf electrometer; the positive electricity re- 

 mained as before. 



109. The jet of water was made to strike against the out- 

 side of the tin pipe, everything else as in the last experiment. 

 The electricity was now negative, and rather stronger than in 

 the similar experiment with the copper wire. 



110. The arrangement (107.) was restored with this ex- 

 ception, that hot water was placed in the fountain, which was 

 then made to boil by a spirit-lamp; the air was then thrown 

 in until the resistance offered to the piston of the syringe was 

 about the same as with cold water. When the fountain was 

 opened, the positive electricity was perhaps three times more 

 abundant than before. 



111. The tin pipe was removed, giving the same arrange- 

 ment as (105.); the negative electricity remained as with cold 

 water. 



112. In the foregoing experiments, in which cold water was 

 used, care was taken to have it as near the temperature of 

 the air of the room as it could be well brought. When the 

 discharged water was about 9° F. colder than the air in 

 which the experiments were conducted, the quantity of elec- 

 tricity remained sensibly the same as with water of the tem- 

 perature of the air. 



113. In these experiments, the apparent excess of positive 

 electricity must have been generated after the water left the 

 metal against which it had been dashed and reduced to a great 

 extent to mist. The similarity between these experiments 

 with the fountain, and that species of electrical excitation 

 which for the sake of distinction I call for the present the 

 electricity of condensation, is very perfect. 



114. A gun-metal elbow-piece was screwed into the Arm- 

 strong's condenser, which was dry, and the brass jet (40.) by 

 its appropriate connecting pieces was screwed into the elbow- 

 piece and made an angle of about 55° with the horizon. When 

 the cock of the boiler was partially opened so as to allow 

 steam to escape with sufficient force, the boiler became strongly 

 positive; the brass jet was now unscrewed from the connect- 

 ing piece, the steam fully turned on for a few seconds, shut 

 off, the brass jet restored, then the steam being allowed to 

 escape as in the first instance, it was found to leave the boiler 

 neutral for about the first half-minute. When the water was 



2L 2 



