152 HELMHOLTZ ON THE CONSERVATION OF FORCE. 



compound atom of a fluid endowed with different forces of attrac- 

 tion for the electricities, and thus differently electric. When 

 these portions of the atoms are separated at the metallic electrodes, 

 each atom, according to the law of electrolysis, yields up a quan- 

 tity of + E, which is independent of the electromotive forces. 

 We can therefore imagine that in the chemical combination itself 

 the atoms are combined with equivalents of ±E, which follow 

 the same laws as the stochiometric equivalents of the ponderable 

 substances in different combinations. If now two different 

 metals are immersed in a fluid, without a chemical process taking 

 place, the positive components will be attracted by the negative 

 metal, and the negative components by the positive metal. The 

 consequence will be an altered direction and distribution of the 

 different electric fluid particles, the recurrence of which we re- 

 cognise in a current of polarization. The moving force of this 

 current would be the electric difference of the metals, and to this 

 must therefore the intensity at the commencement be propor- 

 tional ; its duration must, the intensities being equal, be propor- 

 tional to the number of the atoms which spread themselves over 

 the plate, and consequently to the surface of the latter. In the 

 currents which are accompanied by chemical decomposition a 

 permanent equilibrium between the fluid particles and the metals 

 is not attained, because the positively charged surface of the metal 

 is continually removed, being itself converted into a portion of the 

 fluid, and hence a perpetual renewal of the charge must take 

 place behind it. Every atom of the positive metal which, united 

 to an equivalent of positive electricity, enters into the solution, 

 and for which an atom of the negative component is separated 

 neutrally, causes an acceleration of the motion once commenced, 

 whenever the attractive force of the first atom for the +E, 

 denoted by «^, is greater than that of the latter, a^. The 

 velocity would in this w^ay increase to an unlimited extent, 

 did not the loss of vis viva by the development of heat increase 

 also at the same time. It will therefore merely increase until 

 this loss PRfl?/ is equal to the consumption of tensions I(fl^ — Cc), 

 or until 



^■~ R * 



I believe that in this division of galvanic currents into those 



