Frankiin, Diifaj' a7id Ampere. 469 



authority of Faraday and others ; the polarity of matter in 

 general, as displayed during the crystallization and vegetation 

 of salts; also as made evident by Faraday's late researches, 

 and the experiments and observations of Hunt; the very 

 small proportion of the space in solids, as in the instance of 

 potassium and other metals, which can be occupied by the 

 ponderable atoms; while, agreeably to the researches and 

 speculations of Faraday (rightly interpreted), the residual 

 space must be replete with imponderable matter. The ex- 

 periments and inferences of Davy and others, tending to 

 sanction the idea that an imponderable gethereal fluid must 

 pervade the creation; the perfect identity of the polarizing 

 eflfects, transiently created in a wire by subjection to a galvanic 

 discharge, with those produced by the permanent polarizing 

 power of a steel magnet ; the utter heterogeneousness of the 

 powers of galvanic and frictional electricity, as respects ability 

 to produce sparks before contact, and likewise of the polarities 

 which they respectively produce; the superficiality of elec- 

 tricity proper during discharge as well as when existing upon 

 insulated surfaces, as demonstrated by atmospheric electricity 

 when conveyed by telegraphic wires, agreeably to Henry ; 

 the sounds observed severally by Page, Henry and Marrian, 

 as being consequent to making and breaking a galvanic circuit 

 through a conductor, or magnetizing or demagnetizing by 

 means of surrounding galvanized coils. 



Proof's of the existence of an enormous quantity of Imponderable 

 Matter in Metals. 



29. It has been most sagaciously pointed out by Faraday, 

 that 430 atoms which form a cube of potassium in the 

 metallic state, must occupy nearly six times as much space as 

 the same number of similar atoms fill when existing in a cube 

 ofhydrated oxide of potassium of the same size; which, besides 

 700 metallic atoms, must hold 700 atoms of hydrogen and 

 1400 of oxygen, in all 2800 atoms; whence it follows that, 

 in the metallic cube, there must be room for six times as many 

 atoms as it actually holds. 



30. With all due deference, I am of opinion that this 

 distinguished philosopher has not been consistent in assuming 

 that, agreeably to the Newtonian idea of ponderable atoms, 

 the space in potassium not replete wiih metal must be vacant; 

 since, according to facts established by his researches, or re- 

 sulting therefrom, an enormous (juantity, both of the causes 

 ot heat and of electricity, exists in metals. Moreover, agree- 

 ably to his recent speculations, those causes must consist of 



