Mr. R, Phillips 07i the Magnetism of Steam. 511 



I have been able to obtain from an Armstong's jet was found 

 sufficient to charge a Leyden jar of about 34-0 square inches, 

 both sides taken together, twenty-eight times in a minute ; the 

 spark being ^ inch long, and the steam at 40 lbs. on the inch : 

 now whether the steam passed by the galvanoscope in this 

 highly excited condition, or nearly divested of its electricity, 

 the effect on the galvanoscope was the same, and always many 

 times greater than what could be produced by this largest 

 quantity of frictional electricity that could be obtained (12.). 

 Besides, the frictional electricity of steam increases much as 

 the pressure rises from 10 to 40 lbs. (Armstrong, Matteucci). 

 But I have not generally perceived that the swing of the gal- 

 vanoscope thus increases with the pressure, but rather the 

 reverse. Also Dr. Faraday has shown, that dry pure steam 

 (11.) cannot develope frictional electricity. 



33. From these considerations, I conclude that no continu- 

 ous electric current passes through or by means of the steam 

 jet; however, many very small currents may circulate in it 

 For instance, if we may suppose that a particle of steam when 

 brought into contact with a particle of colder water deve- 

 lopes a momentary current of electricity in a direction bearing 

 some fixed relation to those particles, and then if a continual 

 succession of such particles ensues, the majority of which are 

 similarly placed, we should have something answering to an 

 ordinary electric current, and not very unlike those currents 

 imagined in Ampere's theory of magnetism. This notion 

 accounts for the change in the direction of the magnetism 

 produced by changing the direction of the steam, the effect of 

 the difference of temperature, and the manifest want of equi- 

 valency between the steam power expended and the magnetic 

 force obtained. But it may be well to bear in mind, that 

 perhaps magnetism may ultimately come to be regarded as 

 some function of ordinary matter and the aether. I can only 

 look upon the experiments (12.) as going to show that mag- 

 netism is not always bound up with current electricity ; I 

 should probably have made a decisive experiment on this 

 point, but that the steam apparatus at my disposal was not 

 sufficiently powerful. 



34. It is possible instances may be found on board steamers 

 in which the compasses are much disturbed by the steam. 

 Clouds, too, in the act of formation and passing rapidly over 

 a magnet may somewhat affect it. 



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