ON THE ELECTRICAL CAPACITY OF BODIES AND 

 THE ENERGY OF AN ELECTRICAL CHARGE. 



Francis E. Nipher. 



The lines of force or induction around an electrified body 

 distribute in space as if space offered resistance to their pas- 

 sage. They follow Ohm's law, the number of lines per unit 

 area being always inversely as the resistance. In case of a 

 small sphere of radius r^, and having a charge Q, the number 

 of lines of force proceeding from the sphere is 4 tt Q. The 



Q. 



potential of the sphere is — If R represent the resistance of 



space to these lines of force then by the application of Ohm's 

 law 



'o 



E 



"'^^hr, (1) 



Here the total flow of force from the sphere is treated as 



Q 

 a current, flowing from the sphere under a potential —^ and 



^ o 



to an infinite distance where the potential is zero. If the 

 radius of the sphere be changed, the flow of force is un- 

 changed, since the potential and resistance are changed in 

 the same ratio. 



If the sphere were surrounded by a shell of shellac or other 

 de-electric of specific inductive capacity fi, the capacity of the 

 sphere would be increased, and its potential thereby dimin- 

 ished. The flow of induction ///FuS would remain un- 

 changed and would be 4 tt Q. The resistance R would then 

 be diminished in the same ratio. 



In the treatment proposed in this paper it becomes necessary 



(109) 



