Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articled, 469 



The rapid succession of discharges of an induced current, which, 

 since the publication of Masson's researches on the physiological 

 effects of electricity*, has been so successfully applied in the treat- 

 ment of paralysis, the continuity of the effects obtained by means of 

 induced currents, render it a very desirable object to increase the 

 tension of these currents, and the results already obtained in this 

 direction by M. Ruhmkorff, justify the opinion that the electrical 

 machines now in use will be superseded by an apparatus of induc- 

 tion. 



In order to increase the power of such an apparatus, the authors 

 have attempted to make the induced current of two coils traverse 

 the same wire ; the primary currents were kept apart and inter- 

 rupted at the same instant. 



When both the induced currents were in the same direction, the 

 luminous phsenomena in the vacuum indicated that the action of the 

 combined currents was greater than that of a single current, but the 

 increase of the action was not such as had been anticipated. 

 , When the two currents traversed the same wire in opposite di- 

 rections, they did not exercise any mutual influence on each other, 

 and the results observed are not unimportant. The two balls form- 

 ing the poles in the vacuum were surrounded, as well as their sup- 

 ports, by the violet-blue atmosphere, previously described by the 

 l^uthor and M. Breguetf . The two poles were of the same sub- 

 stance, and between them was a reddish flame which disappeared 

 when the balls were brought nearer together ; at a distance of 4 or 5 

 centimetres the space between the poles is perfectly dark, although 

 they were surrounded by their luminous atmospheres. The lumi- 

 nous phsenomena appeared to be more intense than in the former 

 experiment.— Comp^es Rendus, February 1853. 

 4 riJ^nsi ni 83-nDmio9b S9ifi;1f muwusj-'j nuhhoinol b ssiyYuij guJrijiBqqa 



■mrfn..«v.vr. BY J. NICKLES. , ,,,,,,, ,^.. 



In an interesting memoir on the permeability of metals to mer- 

 cury, by Prof. Horsford, this author establishes the fact of the per- 

 ineability of tin, lead, gold, silver, zinc and cadmium, and contests 

 that of copper and brass. 



[r The negative results which this chemist has obtained with copper 

 aiid brass have evidently proceeded from the process which he has 

 followed ; for some time since, while engaged in my researches on 

 magnetization, I observed positive facts to the contrary. I was 

 using at this time a Bunsen's battery with zinc exterior. The con- 

 necting pieces of copper were riveted to the zinc, and on amalga- 

 mating the latter metal, it often happened that the mercury spread 

 itself over the copper in contact with the zinc ; and after a certain 

 time the metal of the connecting pieces became brittle, and had on 



* Theorie de Phenomenes Electrodynamiques, Ann, de Ch, et de Phys, 

 ser. 2. vol. Ixvi. ^'i .^O *?!!■. ;um1 I -in'S 9iroi'xi>M j 



t Mmoire sur rinductionJzzr. ;?c'^ \ ^V^ ^'» ,fO m A%nh. t 



