MOSSOTTI ON THE CONSTITUTION OF BODIES. 4t9 



phaenomena has been more generally adopted in France. It is even 

 asserted that the latter hypothesis is the only one that should be re- 

 ceived, inasmuch as it has been completely confirmed by the results 

 of the beautiful analysis with which M. Poisson has begun to enrich 

 the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences. But they who put forward 

 this assertion have not paid due attention to the fact that, although this 

 illustrious geometer has, for the purpose of establishing his calculations, 

 adopted the language of his school, the inferences drawn from them are 

 not more applicable to the one hypothesis than to the other. He sets 

 out in fact with the principle, that, " If several bodies, being electric 

 conductors, are placed in presence of each other, and attain a perma- 

 nent state, the result of the actions of the electric layers which cover 

 them, on a point taken anywhere in the interior of a body must, in that 

 state, be null ; otherwise the combined electricity which exists in the 

 point under consideration would be decomposed ; but this is contrary 

 to the supposed state of permanence." Now if for this principle the 

 following be substituted : " If several bodies, being electric conductors, 

 are placed in presence of each other, and thus attain a permanent state, 

 the result of the actions of the layers of electric fluid which cover them, 

 and of the exterior layers of matter which are not yet neutralized, on 

 the electric fluid at a point taken anywhere in the interior of a body, 

 must, in that state, be null ; otherwise the electric fluid which exists in 

 that point would be displaced, which is contrary to the supposed state 

 of permanence;" — and if we interpret accordingly the literal denomina- 

 tions employed by M. Poisson in his equations, — all his results will be 

 equally true on Franklin's hypothesis. In general, the action of the 

 condensed electric fluid will stand for that of the vitreous fluid ; and the 

 action exhibited by the matter, in proportion as it is deprived of a 

 quantity of its electric fluid, will stand for that of the resinous fluid. 

 There is one circumstance, however, which makes a difl"erence between 

 the hypothesis of Dufay or Coulomb and that of Franklin : it is this, 

 that, according to the one, the two fluids are moveable in the bodies, 

 while according to the other the electric fluid is, but the matter is not, 

 moveable. As the equilibrium, however, requires that we should only 

 regard the relative position, the mobility of the electric fluid alone is 

 sufficient for its establishment. 



^pinus, who has reduced Franklin's hypothesis to the form of a ma- 

 thematical theory, was the first to remark, that if it be the requisite 

 condition for the equilibrium of the electric fluids of two bodies, in 

 their natural state, that " tlie attraction of the matter and the repulsive 

 action of the fluid of the first body on the fluid of the second should be 

 equal, and vice versa," there are but tiiree forces in operation ; two of 

 which are attractive, and but one repulsive. In other words, each of 

 the two Ijodics attracts the fluid of the other, while the mutual re|)ulr 



