CAVENDISH 33 



tions to electrical theory, amongst them being an ingenious 

 null method by which the law of inverse squares was 

 proved to a high degree of accuracy. He also was the 

 first to make quantitative measurements in electrical 

 resistance one of his experiments gave the specific 

 resistance of water as four hundred million times that 

 of iron. 



Cavendish, about 1775, showed that the capacity for 

 a condenser depends not only on its geometrical shape 

 and dimensions, but also on the dielectric employed, and 

 that the capacity is greater when solid dielectrics take 

 the place of air. Cavendish's results were not published 

 at the time, and only verbally did his contemporaries 

 know anything of his work. Sixty -two years afterwards 

 Faraday investigated the phenomena of condensers. 



In his wildest dreams, however, Cavendish cannot 

 have anticipated that in less than a century after his 

 death a service of electric cars would be passing Cavendish 

 House. Most likely the recluse would not have liked 

 the prospect if the idea had occurred to him, as he hated 

 " noise and bustle." 



Cavendish lived a life of perfect retirement in Caven- 

 dish House. Society was a bore to him ; he received 

 no strangers, and held no communication with female 

 servants. His horror of women was extreme. He 

 ordered his dinner by leaving a note on the hall table 



every day ; and orders were given that no female servant 



3 



