316 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS. 



wire, to drain the water out of the asbestos, and the ignited 

 wire being then in an atmosphere of steam, I hoped the water 

 would by capillary attraction keep constantly oozing down to 

 the platinum wire as the steam or decomposed water ascended. 

 The experiment did not succeed : the water established a 

 current through the asbestos by washing away fine particles, 

 and the phenomena of ordinary ebullition took place, unless the 

 intensity of the battery was very much exalted, when a very 

 slight decomposition was perceptible, which I attributed to 

 electrolysis. This experiment, however, suggested another, 

 which did succeed. In one or two cases the asbestos plug 

 became compressed above the platinum and so choked up the 

 tube that the wire suddenly fused. It now occurred to me 

 that by narrowing the glass tube above the platinum wire I 

 had the result at my command, as the narrow neck might be 

 made of any diameter and length, so as just to allow the water 

 Fig. 5. to drip or run down 



as the steam forced 

 its way up ; a tube 

 was so formed, and 

 is shown with its ac- 

 companiments at 



fig- 5- 



The result of this experiment was very striking : when 

 two cells of the nitric acid battery were applied the air was 

 first expanded and expelled, the water then soon boiled, and 

 at a certain period the wire became ignited in the steam. At 

 this instant a tremulous motion was perceptible, and separate 

 bubbles of permanent gas of the size of pin-heads* ascended 

 and formed a volume in the bend of the tube. It was not a 

 continuous discharge of gas, as in electrolysis, but appeared to 

 be a series of rapid jerks ; the water, returning through the 

 narrow neck, formed a natural valve which cut off by an inter- 

 mitting action portions of the atmosphere surrounding the 

 wire : the experiment presented a novel and indescribably 

 curious effect. The gas was oxyhydrogen. It will occur at the 

 first to many of those who hear this paper read that this effect 

 might be derived from electrolysis. No one seeing it would 

 think so for a moment ; and although I shall by my subse- 



