ijOfl PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1746. 



touching the surface of the water with one hand, and the standing wire with the 

 wire of the electrifieti phial, which is grasped by the other hand, as in the pre- 

 ceding experiments. The effect of this is much more violent than that of the 

 last experiment, and exceeds even the shock of the gun-barrel ; so that here the 

 utmost precaution must be used, not to electrify the phial too much. 



Exper. 7. — If the electrified phial be held in the hand, and the chamber be 

 darkened ; the wire inserted in it is perceived to emit a stream of fire at its extre- 

 mity without any discontinuance ; but when suspended by a silken thread, the 

 fiery eruption instantly ceases. 



Exper. 8. — If the non-electrified phial be placed on a glass salver, it acquires 

 from the revolution of the spheroid no electricity, though its wire be in contact 

 with it all the time ; unless the finger of some one in the company be approached 

 very near to the phial itself; but in that case it receives it visibly from the finger; 

 insonuich that if the chamber be darkened, you see the electrical fire streaming 

 out of the finger, and entering into the water, through the body of the glass 

 phial, which is thereby immediately impregnated with it ; and this, though the 

 hand should be placed even under the glass salver itself. 



Exper. g. — If the electrified phial be placed on a table, and any light body be 

 suspended by a silver thread, within the distance of about 1 inches from the 

 phial ; the phial will attract that light body to it with force, if any of the com- 

 pany touch the wire of the phial ; but if the phial itself be touched, it will repel 

 it with a force equal to its attraction in the former case. 



Exper. 10. — This experiment consists in the communication of the electrical 

 fire fi"om the glass spheroid to many persons at once, as in England from a tube ; 

 with this only difference, that the company here do not join hands, but are 

 united to each other by taking hold of iron chains, which surprisingly increase 

 the force of the communicated electricity : for it is to be observed, that whenever 

 the communication is carried on by a metallic medium, the effects are much 

 more sensible. 



Exper. 1 1 . — ^This experiment is no other than what has been frequently tried 

 in England, the attraction of leaf-gold by a hollow wooden globe, to which elec- 

 tricity is communicated, by a packthread of a very great length suspending it ; 

 after it has been conducted over silken threads crossing the chamber at several 

 distances, in a sort of spiral, consisting of as many turns as the place will admit. 



At the grand convent of the Carthusians in Paris, the whole community formed 

 a line of QOO toises, by means of iron wires of a proportionable length, between 

 every 2 ; and consequently far exceeding the line of the 1 80 of the guards above 

 mentioned. The effect was, that when the 2 extremities of this long line met 

 in contact with the electrified phial, the whole company, at the same instant of 

 time, gave a sudden spring, and all equally felt the shock, that was the conse- 

 quence of the experiment. 



