710 PLATEAU ON THE PHENOMENA OF A FREE LIQUID MASS 



from this, that for the same charge and the same orifice the 

 length of the continuous part of the vein will vary according to 

 the nature of the liquid; and this conclusion is also in con- 

 formity with the results of experiment. In fact, as is well known, 

 Savart has measiu'cd the continuous portion of four veins flow- 

 ing under identical circumstances, and formed respectively of 

 sulphuric aether, alcohol, water and a solution of caustic ammonia, 

 and he found the following lengths : — 



^ther 90 



Alcohol 85 



Water 70 



Ammonia 46 



85. Hitherto we have only entered upon the consideration of 

 veins projected vertically from above downwards. Let us now 

 consider veins projected in other than vertical directions. These 

 are incurved by the action of gravity, and cannot -therefore be 

 any further compared to cylinders ; but we must remark, that 

 the phaenomenon of the conversion into isolated spheres is not 

 the result of a property belonging exclusively to the cylindrical 

 form ; it appears that this phtenomenon must be produced in 

 the case of every liquid figure, one dimension of which is con- 

 siderable with regard to the two others ; we have, in fact, seen 

 the liquid ring formed in the experiment described in § 19 be- 

 come converted into a series of small isolated masses, which 

 would constitute so many spheres if their form were not slightly 

 modified by the action of the metallic wire which traverses them. 

 We can understand, then, that in curved veins divisions passing 

 gradually to the state of isolated spheres ought also to be pro- 

 duced ; consequently the constitution of veins pi'ojected either 

 horizontally or obliquely must be analogous to that of veins 

 projected vertically from above downwards, which conclusion 

 agi'ees, in fact, with Savart's observations. 



This analogy of constitution must evidently extend to the 

 ascending portion of the veins projected vertically from below 

 upwards ; only in the case of the latter veins the phaenomena 

 are disturbed by the liquid which is thrown back. 



86. The properties of those liquid figures, one dimension of 

 which is considerable with regard to the two others, and parti- 

 cularly of cylinders, furnishes then the complete explanation of 

 the constitution of liquid veins projected from circular orifices, 



