AND SCHONBEIN 33 



increase of tension in the poles of a battery when the 

 circuit is open would be inexplicable : for this tension, 

 generally speaking, is greater, the weaker the current 

 when the circuit is closed and the greater the resist- 

 ance of the liquid. Thirty-six years ago I put 

 forward as an experiment a theory of the galvanic 

 battery, which, however, no longer has much claim 

 to attention ; you will find it in Gehlen's Journal for 

 1803 or 1804. 1 In this theory I developed the view 

 that the state of polarization of a liquid conductor is 

 an essential condition of the difference of potential of 

 an electric battery, and it is still at the present time 

 my firm conviction that it is necessary to a right 

 understanding of hydro-electric phenomena. I main- 

 tain that you need not assume any special state of 

 combination in the liquid to explain its polarity, any 



1 The date [1803 or 1804] points to: "Afhandling om 

 Galvanismen," Stockholm, 1802 ; however, he is probably 

 referring to : " Elektriska Stapelns Theori," Hisinger Afhandl. 

 i Fysik, vol. ii. (1802), which appeared in 1807, and was also 

 printed in Gehlen's Journal, vol. iii. (1807) p. 177. In the 

 early numbers of Gehlen's Neues allgemeines Journal der 

 Chemie, in 6 volumes [1803-1806], there is no such paper by 

 Berzelius ; on the other hand, there are some other papers, the 

 titles of which I will give here, as I failed to find them in 

 Poggendorff's Handworterbuch or in the Catalogue of Scientific 

 Papers of the Royal Society: 1. "Yersuch iiber die Farbung 

 der Thierknochen durch genossene Farberrothe," vol. iv. (1804) 

 p. 119. 2. "Uber die Zusammensetzung des Menschenkothes," 

 vol. vi. (1806) p. 510. 3. " tlber das oxidierte Stickgas, die 

 Thenard'sche Fettsaure, Flussspathsauregehalt des Zahn- 

 schmelzes," loc. cit. p. 590. Of the copy of Gehlen's Neues 

 allgemeines Journal, to which I had access, the 6th number of 

 the 4th volume was missing. I am therefore unacquainted 

 with its contents. 



