CHEMICAL HISTORY OF A CANDLE 



139 



the air, and which, combining with the hydrogen, produces 

 water. 



Just now you saw that one end of this battery took hold 

 of the copper, extracting it from the vessel which contained 

 the blue solution. It was effected by this wire; and surely 

 we may say, if the battery has such power with a metallic 

 solution which we made and unmade, may we not find that 

 it is possible to split asunder the component parts of the 

 water, and put them into this place and that place? Sup* 

 pose I take the poles the metallic ends of this battery-* 

 and see what will happen with 

 the water in this apparatus ( FIG. 

 74), where we have separated 

 the two ends far apart. I place 

 one here (at A), and the other 

 there (at B) ; and I have little 

 shelves with holes which I can 

 put upon each pole, and so ar- 

 range them that whatever es- 

 capes from the two ends of the 

 battery will appear as separate 

 gases; for you saw that the 

 water did not become vaporous, but gaseous. The wires 

 are now in perfect and proper connection with the vessel 

 containing the water, and you see the bubbles rising; let 

 us collect these bubbles and see what they are. Here is 

 a glass cylinder (O) ; I fill it with water and put it over 

 one end (A) of the pile, and I will take another (H), and 

 put it over the other end (B) of the pile. And so now we 

 have a double apparatus, with both places delivering gas. 

 Both these jars will fill with gas. There they go, that to the 

 right (H) filling very rapidly; the one to the left (O) filling 

 not so rapidly; and, though I have allowed some bubbles to 

 escape, yet still the action is going on pretty regularly; and 

 were it not that one is rather smaller than the other, you 

 would see that I should have twice as much in this (H) as 

 I have in that (O). Both these gases are colorless; they 

 stand over the water without condensing ; they are alike in all 

 things I mean in all apparent things; and we have here an 

 opportunity of examining these bodies and ascertaining what 



FIG. 74 



