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 SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 



NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 



1. Iiifluence of' Electricity in the formation of certain inor- 

 ganic bodies. — M. Becquerel read lately to the French Academy 

 a memoir on the part which electrical phenomena perform in 

 various chemical combinations. The envelope of the earth, 

 from its surface to the greatest depth that man has attained, 

 consists of four distinct formations, which have been examined 

 separately, both with respect to the minerals, and also the or- 

 ganic bodies which they contain. The mineral substances con- 

 tained in the great masses have crystallized at the very moment 

 when the latter were in a state of liquefaction. They are con- 

 sequently of contemporaneous origin, and nothing can be known 

 respecting the causes which produced them. But these same 

 substances have been again dissolved and suspended in the wa- 

 ters, then deposited along with metals which must have since 

 exercised electrical actions, whence probably may have resulted 

 new compounds. The natural philosopher may, therefore, add 

 greatly to our knowledge of the history of the earth, by at- 

 tempting to determine the forces which have brought about 

 these changes. Whatever be the origin of most of these sub- 

 stances, if it be proved that similar substances can be formed 

 by the employment of very weak electrical forces alone, it will 

 be rendered probable that the others have a similar origin. 

 Now, this is precisely what M. Becquerel has done. To ar- 

 rive at the object which he has in view, the author examines 

 the electrical effects which are manifested in the chemical action 

 of bodies in contact with each other, chiefly among fluids, and 

 carefully analyses the nature of these effects. His memoir is 

 divided into two parts. In the first, the author occupies him- 

 self with electro-chemical effects, chiefly produced in consequence 

 of the contact of fluids with each other, or by the contact of 

 these bodies with metals. The second part is devoted to the 

 applications which may be made of the results obtained by the 

 first. When a metal is attacked by an acid or a liquid, heat is 

 disengaged. Then the formation of a compound takes place, 

 which exercises a reaction, not only upon the metal, but also 



