ELECTRO-CHEMISTRY. 3 



electricities having respectively combined with the 

 constituents of the body which has been decomposed. 

 Accordingly, in the decomposition of a neutral salt 

 by electricity, we do not obtain the constituents of 

 that body, but new compounds. One of the consti- 

 tuents of the salt having combined with positive 

 electricity, a compound is formed, possessing proper- 

 ties different from either of the constituents, an acid 

 being the product : the other constituent of the salt 

 having combined with negative electricity, a com- 

 pound is formed, possessing properties different from 

 either of the constituents an alkali being the pro- 

 duct ; and in order to obtain the constituents of the 

 decomposed salt, we would require to disunite posi- 

 tive electricity from the acid, and negative electricity 

 from the alkali. 



4. My first experiment in corroboration of these 

 views was made eight years ago, an account of 

 which was published at the close of 1849. Aware 

 that heat impairs the affinity which subsists between 

 the constituents of a compound body ; " that in the 

 highest conceivable degrees of heat, chemical combi- 

 nation does not take place ;" and that, in some in- 

 stances, compound bodies, such as ammonia, the 

 peroxide of manganese, the oxide of chlorine, and the 

 oxides of mercury, silver and gold, are decomposed 



B 2 



