88 Prof. Faraday on some Points of Magnetic Philosophy. 



magnetic matter as C. When M acts upon I, it exerts its influ- 

 ence, according to the received theories, upon all the particles of 

 the latter, bringing them into like polar position with itself, and 

 these, consistently with the simple assumption, act also upon 

 each other as particle magnets, and exalt the polarity of the whole 

 mass in its two extremities. In like manner M should act upon 

 B, polarizing the mass and all its particles ; for the particles of 

 the diamagnetic body B, even to the smallest, must be operated 

 upon ; and we know experimentally, that a tube filled with 

 powdered bismuth acts as a bar of the metal does. But then 

 what is the mutual action of thesebismuth particles on each other? 

 for though all may be supposed to have a reverse polarity to that 

 of M, they cannot in that case be reverse in respect of each other. 

 All must have like polarity, and the N of one particle must be 

 opposed to the S of the next particle in the polarity direction. 

 That these particles act on each other, must be true, and Tyn- 

 dall's results on the effect of compression have proved that by 

 the right means, namely, experiment. If they were supposed to 

 have no such action on each other, it would be in contradiction 

 to the essential nature of magnetic action, and there would 

 remain no reason to think that the magnet itself could act on 

 the particles, or the particles react on it. If they acted on each 

 other as the magnet is supposed to act on them, i. e. to induce 

 contrary poles, then the power of the magnet would be nullified, 

 and the more effectually the nearer the particles were together; 

 whereas Tyndall has shown that the bismuth magnetic condition 

 is exalted by such vicinity of the particles, and hence we have a 

 further right to conclude that they do act on, or influence each 

 other, to the exaltation of the state of the mass. But if the 

 N-ness of one particle corresponds to, and aids in sustaining and 

 exalting, the S-ness of the next particle, the whole mass must 

 have the same kind of force ; so that, as a magnet, its polarity 

 must have the same kind of polarity as that of the particles 

 themselves. For whether a particle of bismuth be considered as 

 acting upon a neighbouring particle or upon a distant particle 

 of bismuth, or whether a mass of particles be considered as act- 

 ing on the distant particle, the action in both cases must be pre- 

 cisely of the same kind. 



3311. But why should a polarized particle of bismuth acting 

 upon another particle of bismuth produce in it like polarity, and 

 with a particle of iron produce a contrary polarity ? or why 

 should masses of bismuth and iron, when they act as magnets 

 (3310.), produce such different effects ? If such were the case, 

 then the N pole of a paramagnetic body would induce an S pole 

 on the near end of an iron rod, whilst the N pole of a diamag- 

 netic body would produce a pole contrary to the former, i. e. an 



