409 Obfervations of Galvanic Prociffes. 



it became a curious queftion what would be the habitudes of thofe metals in effecting 

 changes in the water conftituting them a feries ? Sixteen zinc plates, and fixtecH pieces of 

 thin poliflied iron wire, were connected in galvanic order. One half of the feries of glafles 

 being filled with folution of red fulphate of iron, and the other half with pump water, the 

 end glifles gave faint (hocks when the tongue was introduced into one, and the fingers 

 into the other. When they was conne£l:ed fo as to make the feries analogous in all its 

 parts, all the iron wires in the common water gave out gas without oxydating, and thefe in 

 the folution exhibited the fame appearances as the filver wires in II. 6. 



8. A feries of glafles compofed of zinc plates and filver wires in galvanic order with 

 pump water, was fuffered to remain for fome hours without being connected at the extre- 

 mities, fo as to compleat the circuit. At the end of this time fome globules of gas ap- 

 peared on fome of the zinc plates, which were a little taruiflied; no gas was produced on 

 the filver wires, and they had undergone no apparent change. 



Having fet up a powerful feries of 27 glafles, (fome with red fulphate of iron, and fome 

 water) in which zinc and filver wire were the excitors, I found that whenever I fupplied 

 the place of a pair of plates, either by a fingle metallic wire, or a chain compofed of dif- 

 ferent metals, whatever were their habitudes of oxydation, hydrogen was always produced 

 at the place of the filver, and oxygen always fixed or extricated at the place of the zinc. 

 When many filver wires were introduced into the feries in new glafles, fo as to preferve 

 the original number of exciting plates, the powers of it fecmed to be very little diminiflied, 

 and gas was given out, and oxygen fixed in every new glafs. When the points of conta6l 

 of fome of the plates and wires above the water were covered with cement, the phoeno- 

 mena were the fame as if they had been expofed to the atmofpherc. When one pair of a 

 feries was in vacuo, the gage being at 4-o> tbe powers of the whole were not fenfibly 

 diminifhed, and gas was extricated from the Giver wire. 



9. On thefe fa£ls Ifliall not prefume to fpeculate. There is every reafon to believe that 

 a number of new experiments muft; be made, before v/e Ihall be able to difcover the laws in 

 confequence of which one quantity of chemical a£tion generates in the galvanic feries of 

 Volta, an influence capable of increafing all analogous aftions, and of generating new 

 fimilar adlions. Many new obfervations mufl: be collected, probably before we fliall be 

 able to afcertain whether water is decompofed in galvanic procefl^es. Suppofing its decom- 

 pofition, we muft afl"ume, that at leaft one of its elements is capable of rapidly pafling in an 

 invifible form through metallic fubftances, or through water and many connefted organic 

 bodies ; and fuch an afl'umption is incommenfurable with all known fads. But a fliort 

 period is elapfed fince philofophers beheld with wonder, folld and fluid fubftances affuming 

 new modes of exiftence in different gafes. Do not the new phsenomena of galvanifm 

 authorife us to hope that at no very difl:ant time they will behold even thofe gafes under- 

 going novel changes, and exifting in new and now unknown forms ? 



III. Remarh 



