538 Prof. Marianini's Examination of an Experiment 



not sufficient to explain the phaenoinena of the complex elec- 

 tromotors. 



The chemical theory being shown insufficient to explain 

 the phjenomena of the simple electromotors, the insufficiency 

 as to the explanation of the phaenomena of the complex elec- 

 tromotors was naturally deduced as a corollary from it; and 

 I opposed besides the argument of the invariability of the ten- 

 sion, whatever may be the liquid in which the voltaic pairs 

 are immersed, when neither their number nor their quality 

 vai'y. And to anticipate the reply which would perhaps be 

 made to that argument, that is, that although the different 

 fluids may not exert equal chemical actions upon the voltaic 

 pairs, yet the difference of the actions exerted upon the two 

 elements of the pair being equal, the tension also must be 

 invariable; I described an experiment made with two elec- 

 tromotors of eight pairs, which had equal tension, although 

 the differences of the chemical actions exercised upon the two 

 elements of each pair in each of the electromotors were any 

 thing but equal; for in one all the plates were immersed in 

 distilled water, and in the other the plates of zinc were im- 

 mersed in distilled water, and those of copper in dilute sul- 

 phuric acid. ( § XXXIV.) 



I undertook to examine also the truly ingenious method 

 with which M. de la Rive attempted to explain the effects 

 of the piles dependent upon the number of the pairs. To ex- 

 plain such effects, M. de la Rive supposes that the tendency 

 which the two electric principles have to neutralize each other, 

 acts so, that when the poles are not united by any conductor, 

 it is the pile itself which serves them as a conductor, in pro- 

 ducing the effect of one meeting the other. Thus the force of 

 the tension will depend upon the greater or less facility which 

 the voltaic apparatus shall present to the transmission of the 

 two fluids. And since it is known that the greater the number 

 of the plates to pass through, the more difficult is the trans- 

 mission, so the electricity accumulated at one pole will not 

 affect the condenser, except in so far as the pile itself shall be 

 composed of such a number of pairs that the resistance op- 

 posed by the apparatus to the reunion of the two fluids shall 

 be sufficiently great for the tension to become sensible. 



And examining in the abstract this tendency, supposed by 

 M. de la Rive, in the two electric fluids, to run to neutralize 

 each other, even by the way which the electromotor itself 

 offers to them, I permitted myself to suggest the following 

 dilemma. Either this tendency exists also in the simple elec- 

 tromotors, that is formed by one pair alone, or it exists only 

 in the complex electromotors. If it be admitted that such 



