Faraday ' s D isco veries 



reason to believe that currents do run in the 

 general direction of the circuit described, either 

 one way or the other, according as the passage of 

 the waters is up or down the channel." This 

 was written before the submarine cable was 

 thought of, and he once informed me that actual 

 observation upon that cable had been found to be 

 in accordance with his theoretic deduction. 



Three years subsequent to the publication 

 of these researches, that is to say on January 29, 

 1835, Faraday read before the Royal Society a 

 paper "On the influence by induction of an elec- 

 tric current upon itself. ' ' A shock and spark 

 of a peculiar character had been observed by a 

 young man named William Jenkin, who must 

 have been a youth of some scientific promise, but 

 who, as Faraday once informed me, was dis- 

 suaded by his own father from having anything 

 to do with science. The investigation of the 

 fact noticed by Mr. Jenkin led Faraday to the 

 discovery of the extra current, or the current 

 induced in the primary wire itself at the moments 

 of making and breaking contact, the phenomena 

 of which he described and illustrated in the 

 beautiful and exhaustive paper referred to. 



Seven and thirty years have passed since the 

 discovery of magneto-electricity; but, if we 

 except the extra current, until quite recently 

 nothing of moment was added to the subject. 

 Faraday entertained the opinion that the dis- 

 coverer of a great law or principle had a right to 

 the ' ' spoils ' ' this was his term arising from its 

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