472 



Mr. Warren Be La Hue 



[Jan. 21, 



discs, say a centimetre, becomes less ns the distance between discs, and 

 consequently the potential, are increased. Thus the electrostatic force 

 per centimetre with 1000 volts and a striking distance of 0*0205 

 centimetre, is 163 electrostatic units, while it is only 113 units with 

 11,000 volts and a striking distance of 0*3245 centimetre. 



We have found, moreover, that the discharge between discs in air, 

 hydrogen, carbonic acid, and probably also in other gases, may be 

 represented by a hyperbolic curve, and this is the case whether we 

 send the discharge through the gas at a constant pressure and increase 



Fig. 9. 



I 



m 





■■^■H 



the distances between the terminals and also the number of cells, or 

 send the discharge at a constant distance and vary the pressure and 

 number of cells ; the obstacle in the way of a discharge being as the 

 number of molecules between the terminals u}) to a certain point, as 

 will be seen in the diagrams (Figs. 8 and 9), in which the cross marks 

 represent the actual observations. For although the potential neces- 

 sary to produce a discharge diminishes as tlie pressure decreases, yet 



