322 SEVENTEENTH CENTURV. PT. in. 



piece of paper, or better still, a pith ball , upon a silk 

 thread b, and hold near to it a piece of sealing-wax c rubbed 

 with dry flannel, you will find that the ball will at first be 

 attracted towards the sealing-wax as in i , Fig. 1 8, but after 

 a few moments it will be repelled and will draw back as in 

 2 ; nor will it approach the sealing-wax again till it has been 

 near to some other body, and given the electricity it has 

 received. Thus an electrical body, as Guericke pointed 

 out, attracts one that is not electrified, but repels it again as 

 soon as it has filled it with electricity like itself. He was 



FIG. 1 8. 

 Pith-ball attracted and repelled by rubbed sealing-wax. 



also the first to notice the spark of fire and crackling sound 

 which are produced by electricity when it passes between two 

 bodies which do not touch each other. 



Foundation of the Royal Society of London and 

 other Academies of Science, 1645. We must now return 

 to England, where about this time a society was founded, 

 which, though it seemed insignificant at the time, had in the 

 end a great influence upon science. In the year 1642 the 

 unfortunate King Charles I. began that civil war with his 

 people which ended in his being beheaded on January 30, 

 1649. During these years all England was in a state of 

 turmoil and confusion, and in London especially the riots 

 and disturbances made it almost impossible for quiet and 

 studious people to live in peace. It was under these cir- 



