PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 



XIV. On some Elementary Laws of Electricity. By W. Snow Harris, Esq. F.R.S. &c. 



Received January 7, — Read April 10, 1834. 



1 . A. MORE perfect apprehension of those subtile agencies, the effects of which are 

 continually present in various operations of nature, seems of paramount importance 

 to the future advancement of science. Thus the physical causes of heat, light, elec- 

 tricity and magnetism, have become subjects of deep interest to the natural philo- 

 sopher ; little apology, therefore, may perhaps be deemed requisite for my venturing 

 to submit to the consideration of the Royal Society an account of some inquiries, the 

 object of which is to improve our knowledge of one of these great natural powers. 

 As it is only by a patient and repeated induction from well investigated facts that we 

 can hope to attain a higher degree of perfection in natural knowledge, I have thought 

 it not altogether undesirable to inquire further into the elementary laws of common 

 electricity : indeed, upon considering the late fine discoveries of Dr. Faraday, this 

 seems to a certain extent requisite. The researches of this distinguished philosopher 

 have invested electrical phenomena generally with a new interest, and exposed novel 

 and important features in the theory of electrical action. 



The investigations in this department of science, which I have now the honour of 

 presenting to the Royal Society, will, I hope, be found to contain matter of sufficient 

 interest to render them not unworthy of its acceptance. 



2. The existence of an invisible agency in the natural world, designated by the 

 term electricity, may be inferred from the tendency of bodies toward each other, when 

 subjected to a peculiar kind of excitation, by means of various operations, such as by 

 the contact of dissimilar bodies, friction, changes of temperature, of form, and the 

 like. Many striking facts seem to warrant the supposition that this agency is de- 

 pendent on an extremely subtile species of matter, either of a compound or elementary 

 character, everywhere present, and operating according to certain laws, which it is 

 the province of experiment and analysis to determine. 



3. This hypothesis appears, upon the whole, to be not ill adapted to an easy expla- 

 nation of appearances, and to the purposes for which hypothesis may be legitimately 



MDCCCXXXIV. 2 F 



