448 Additional Notes, 



Dr. Wo LL ASTON has greatly contributed to enlarge our 

 knowledge of the nature and principles of Galvanism. He 

 read an excellent paper on this subject to the Royal Society, 

 which appeared in their Transactions for the year 1801. 

 After stating a variety of experiments most ingeniously de- 

 vised, and cautiously as well as accurately conducted, he 

 advances his induction, from a gicat number of distinct and 

 luminous proofs, that the phenomena of Electricity and Gal- 

 vanism are all results of the same principle. 



But scarcely to any one in Great-Britain is Galvanism more 

 indebted for its extension and improvement than to Mr. Davy, 

 of the Royal Institution. Among many other discoveries of 

 less importance, which the rapidity of this sketch does not 

 allow to be mentioned, he first ascertained the fitness of char- 

 coal^ when used with silver, as a conductor of the Galvanic 

 influence. He discovered that a pile may be constructed with 

 one metal only, provided proper fluids of different kinds be 

 applied to its different surfaces. And he found that a similar 

 result takes place with respect to charcoal alone, if a like di- 

 versity in the fluids applied to its different surfaces be duly ob- 

 served. Mr. Davy also discovered that the energy of the 

 pile is nearly in proportion to the rapidity with which the 

 zinc becomes oxydated ; and, consequently, that the effects 

 will be found to be the most powerful when nitric acid is 

 interposed between the metals. This seems to be one of 

 the first steps towards the true theory of the action of Vol- 

 ta's pile. 



Most of the improvements by the British philosophers 

 above-mentioned were communicated to the public in the 

 course of the year 1801; a year very memorable for the 

 number, variety and importance of the additions made to the 

 stock of knowledge in this science. 



Roused by the success and eclat of the British discoveries 

 which have been just detailed, the votaries of this science on 

 the continent of Europe soon began to furnish their addi- 

 tional contributions. 



Tromsdorff found that gold leaf, and other metallic 

 leaves, may readily be subjected to combustion by being fixed 

 to the zinc end of the wire of Volta's pile. 



FouRCROY made the remarkable discovery, that \hc shock 

 is greater in proportion to the accumulation of the number of 

 plates in the pile, and the combustion in proportion to the 

 €jrteiit of their surface. 



Dr. Van Marum, of Holland, and Professor Pfaff, of 



