84 Sir W. Snow Harris’s Researches in Statical Electricity. 
tricity of P being to an equilibrium of distribution, a portion of 
the electricity proper to N, and which is adjacent to the charged 
body P, begins, as it were, to recede toward its remote parts, 
so as to provide for the reception of as much of the charge accu- 
mulated on P, as the near extremity of P is prepared to throw off 
upon it; a state of things already illustrated in fig. 2, in which 
there is an increased accumulation, g, in charged body, P, and 
a displacement, n, in neutral body, N. Supposing no impedi- 
ment to motion, the bodies P and N are apparently attracted ; 
they move toward each other up to contact, the charge becomes 
shared between them, and N is said to have taken up electricity 
from P. I must again repeat, that I do not employ this hypo- 
thesis further than as a means of elucidation and perspicuity ; 
other modes of explanation may be equally admissible ; but what- 
ever hypothesis we resort to, we have virtually the same elements 
to deal with: it is the form only of representation to the mind 
which we change. 
6. This being understood, it is very important to observe, that 
a charged body P, fig. 1, cannot possibly throw off any of its 
charge upon a second neutral body N, unless the neutral body N 
can assume this new and preparatory induced state represented 
in fig. 2: if from any disturbing cause that is not possible, then 
no attractive force ensues, and no electricity is communicated. 
Hence it is we find a much greater force of attraction between a 
charged and a neutral body susceptible of free mductive change, 
than between a charged and neutral body less open to such 
change. If the neutral body be connected with the earth, then 
the attractive force is, under the existing conditions, the greatest 
possible, since the electricity of the neutral body N, fig. 2, has 
then unlimited room to recede, and the induced change in the 
face n nearest the charged body as complete as it can be. The 
few following experiments are mstructive and important. 
Exp. 1. Wet an extremely thin circular dise of gilded wood, n, 
fig. 3, be suspended by an insulating thread from one arm of a 
delicate balance B, and duly counterpoised by weights placed in 
the opposite scale-pan. Place an insulated and similar gilded 
disc p immediately under nz, and proceed to communicate to p a 
given electrical charge: little or no attractive force will ensue, 
even although the distance between the two dises be very consi- 
derably diminished ; indeed, under any circumstances the force 
will be small; there is, in fact, little or no capacity in the op- 
posed faces pz of the discs for inductive change (5). If the 
disc n be a thin lamina of varnished tale little susceptible of in- 
duction, the force by this test is mappreciable. 
Exp. 2. Increase the thickness of the two dises. Let the 
fixed disc p, fig. 4, for example, be supported on a sphere sp 
