GRAVITATION AND ELECTRICAL ACTION.* 

 Francis E. Nipheb. 



In former publications the present writer has sug- 

 gested an intimate relation between gravitation and elec- 

 trical action. 1 



There can be no doubt of the truth of the statement, 

 that the attraction between any two masses of matter, 

 depends not only upon the amount of matter in the two 

 masses, and their distance from each other, but also upon 

 their electrical condition. 



Assume that two spheres, having radii R x and R 2 , com- 

 posed of metal having a density p, and distant from each 

 other r, have electrical charges Q x and Q 2 , the spheres 

 having a common potential V. Their attraction for each 

 other will be : 



m x m 2 QxQ-2 

 A = K 



r 2 r 2 



6 



9 



~ 16 ir*R\R* a p 2 R X R 2 _. 



= -& TT 15 """J V- 



= K 



16 t*R\R\ p* I 9m, m 2 \i& V* 



9 r 2 I 16 tt-^p 2 / r 2 (1) 



Here K is the Newton constant of gravitation as it 

 would be determined if electrical action were eliminated, 

 or if V were zero absolute. The absolute zero in V 



* Presented by title to The Academy of Science of St. Louis, Feb- 

 ruary 21, 1916. 



iProc. Am. Phil. Soc. Philadelphia 52: 283—6. 

 Science Sept. 1, 1911: 282-3. 

 Experimental Studies in Electricity and Magnetism. 19-24. 



(163) 



