84 Faraday on New Electro- Magnetical Motions^ 



turn half way round ; and will then pass on to the magnet 

 again, into the position first described. If, instead of passing- 

 the magnet through the curve, it be held over it ; it stands in 

 a plane perpendicular to the magnet, but in an opposite direction 

 to the former one. So that a magnet, both within and without 

 this curve, causes it to direct. 



When the poles of the magnet are brought over this floating- 

 curve, there are some movements and positions which at first 

 appears anomalous, but are by a little attention easily reduci- 

 ble to the circular movement of the wire about the pole. I 

 do not think it necessary to state them particularly. 



The attractive and repulsive positions of this curve may be seen 

 by fig. 13, the curve in the two dotted positions is attracted by 

 the poles near them. If the positions be reversed, repulsion 

 takes place. 



From the central situation of the magnet in these experiments, 

 it may be concluded that a strong and powerful curve or helix 

 would suspend a powerful needle in its centre. By making a 

 needle almost float on water and putting the helix over a glass 

 tube, this result has in part been obtained. 



In all these magnetic movements between wires and poles, 

 those which resemble attraction and repulsion, that is to say, 

 those which took place in right lines, required at least either 

 two poles and a wire, or two wires and a pole ; for such as 

 appear to exist between the wire and either pole of the battery, 

 are deceptive and may be resolved into the circular motion. 

 It has been allowed, I believe, by all who have experimented 

 on these phenomena, that the similar powers repel and the 

 dissimilar powers attract each other ; and that, whether 

 they exist in the poles of magnets or in the opposite sides 

 of conducting wires. This being admitted, the simplest cases 

 of magnetic action will be those exerted by the poles of 

 helices, for, as they offer the magnetic states of the opposite 

 sides of the wire independent, or nearly so, one of the other, 

 we are enabled by them to bring into action two of those 

 powers only, to the exclusion of the rest; and, from experiment 

 it appears that when the powers are similar, repulsion takesi 



