OX TRANSIENT ELECTRIC CURRENTS. o47 



current was obtained and measured exactly ns in the previous set of 

 experiments. The wires used in these experiments were in :ill cases 

 taken from the same bundle, and had a diameter of 1.24 mm. The 

 accompanying" table gives the currents in the arbitrary scale unit. 



These readings are plotted in Fig. II. (Plate XXIX.), in which 

 the abscissa gives the angle of twisting and the ordinate the corres- 

 ponding transient current. 



In general characteristics all these curves strongly resemble 

 each other. The transient current increases at first very rapidly. 

 Ultimately the current attains its maximum value, and thereafter it 

 begins to decrease very slowly. The general feature of the curves 

 obtained by varying the amount of twisting does not differ much 

 from those obtained by varying the magnetizing force. Each of the 

 curves obtained in both sets of experiments has a maximum point ; 

 namely, that corresponding to a particular twist in a constant mag- 

 netizing field, or that corresponding to a particular field when the 

 amount of twisting is kept the same. In the latter case, the mag- 

 netizing field that gives the maximum current is greater for greater 

 twistings, while in the former the twist giving the maximum current 

 is greater in the stronger field. Although it is difficult to find the 



o o o 



particular angle of twisting for which the current attains its maximum 

 value, ir can lie approximately estimated from the curves plotted in 

 Fig. II. Thus the angles of torsion giving maximum transient cur- 

 rents in different strengths of the magnetizing field come out as 

 follows : — 



