16 Dr. Schafliaeutl on Steam as an Electrical Conductor, 



From the preceding experiments we may conclude that 

 steam, pure and free from contact with water, has, Hke all 

 other gases, tlie property of being a non-conductor of elec- 

 tricity. 



The facility with which the spark passes through the water- 

 gas seems to be worthy of attention ; the striking distance of 

 the spark having increased from half an inch to one inch 

 and a quarter; for, according to Mr. Harris's discoveries, 

 the striking distances are, in ordinary cases, in the inverse 

 ratio to the density of the gas. 



If we now consider the fact, that the electricity of a jet of 

 condensed steam is, according to Mr. Armstrong's experi- 

 ments, positive; that the quantity of electricity obtained from 

 a jet of high-pressure steam is in proportion to its conden- 

 sation ; further, that the steam contained in the boiler pre- 

 sents no appearances of free electricity ; and that, according 

 to Mr. Paltinson's experiments, both water and boiler are 

 negative, which is a necessary consequence of Mr. Arm- 

 strong's experiments; — we perceive a simultaneous develop- 

 ment of electric polarity in opposite directions from a central 

 or neutral point, as in the magnetic steel-bar; and this develop- 

 ment of electric polarity can only be ascribed to the opposite 

 changes of molecular arrangements, as well as chemical con- 

 dition of the water and steam column ; and we must consider 

 both electric poles as co-existent and not separately. 



Volta's electrophorus is only remarkable for the property 

 of retaining its electricity for a lengthened period, and its 

 action is entirely due to induced electricity^ with which no one 

 will confound the electricity obtained from steam. Besides, 

 the disc of the electrophorus, from which the spark is obtained, 

 must be a perfect conductor well insulated, and shows signs of 

 free electricity only when it is, after close contact with the 

 electrophoric cake and neutralization of its free electricity, 

 removed absolutely from the inducing cake. In a boiler filled 

 with steam and water, neither of the above-mentioned circum- 

 stances can take place, and the positive electricity of the con- 

 densed steam, and the negative electricity of the boiler are the 

 only points ascertained by experiment. The electricity deve- 

 loped by evaporation, as the source of the observed free elec- 

 tricity, is only hypothetical. 



Volta's experiment, of splashing water on ignited charcoal, 

 can scarcely be considered as identical with the evaporation 

 of water in a boiler; in the first instance, a mass of chemical 

 decomposition and changes are taking place which never can 

 occur in the latter, for even the sudden cooling of substances 

 is sufficient to produce signs of free electricity. 



