CHAPTER X. 

 POSITIVE IONS: THE OTHER KIND OF PARTICLES. 



Has the reader forgotten that the gaseous ions of the 

 candle flame and the glowing wire consist of .particles of 

 two kinds, the one carrying negative electricity, the other 

 positive ? Since the negative particles, or corpuscles, have 

 turned out to possess properties so unprecedented and un- 

 locked for, it is high time to renew our inquiries concern- 

 ing the positive particles. 



These positive particles afford a surprise. Though they 

 may be developed by any of the forgoing methods, in their 

 properties they are almost diametrically opposed to cor- 

 puscles. 



(1) They carry positive electricity, not negative. 



(2) Their velocities are less than those of corpuscles. 



(3) Their electrical charge is of the same order as that 



of an ordinary atom. 



(4) The value of ^ is one thirty-thousandth of ~ for 



a corpuscle. 



(5) Their mass is a thousand times as great as the 



mass of a corpuscle, and is about equal to that of 

 an atom of ordinary matter. 



(6) They can be deflected by a magnet only to a slight 



extent, and require for this deflection a magnetic 

 field immensely strong. 



It is evident, then, from a comparison of the two kinds 

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