M. LINK'S EXPERIMENTS. 259 



arrive at any just conclusion, the attraction of 

 innumerable other solids for as many liquids must 

 be ascertained. 



As if to shew the futility, or uncertainty of 

 all experiments, M. Link states, that distilled 

 water, nitric acid, spirit of wine, sulphuric aether, 

 sulphuric acid, and the aqueous solution of pot- 

 ass, (1 oz. to six of water,) all rose to the same 

 height between glass plates. What is still more 

 remarkable, he states that the above liquids 

 rose to the same height between plates of cop- 

 per, zinc, copper and zinc soldered together ; 

 first, with the zinc surface opposed to the copper ; 

 next, the zinc surfaces opposed ; and then the 

 copper surfaces opposed.* 



Mr. Challis observes, after recounting the above 

 experiments, that " the heights of ascent under 

 similar circumstances, would seem to be alike 

 independent of the liquids and solids." But if 

 this conclusion were well founded, water ought 

 to rise between plates of sulphur, bees-wax, gum 

 lac, resin, spermaceti, tallow, &c. as freely as be- 

 tween plates of glass, which is not the fact. The 

 truth is, that liquids rise most rapidly through 

 such porous solids as are most soluble in them 

 that is, bodies for which they have a strong 

 chemical affinity. Water rises freely through 

 sugar, salts, ashes, and porous rocks, because it 

 has a strong chemical affinity for them. For 



* Transactions of the British Association, vol. iv. p. 293, 

 Report on Capillary Attraction, by the Rev. James Challis. 



