164 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 
would be the common potential of the two bodies, under 
the conditions assumed in Eq. (1), when their attraction 
for each other is a maximum. 
The gravitation constant has been determined by meth- 
ods, which it was assumed made it unnecessary to con- 
sider the electrical condition of the two bodies. Never- 
theless the results have been very unsatisfactory. In 
his presidential address before the American Mathemati- 
eal Society in December, 1899, R. S. Woodward referred 
to this constant as being one of the constants of the solar 
system whose determination was in a most unsatisfac- 
tory condition, as regards precision.” 
If the masses are capable of acting upon each other 
electrically, and the final term in Hq. (1) is omitted, that 
equation might be written. 
o°\ 16 eR, 
A=K (1-35) 4 r B (2) 
In this equation an error of x per cent. in the value of 
K would result. By (1) and (2). 
Ka 
10 
V==7R, Bp 
If V is measured in volts, 
V=407R, R. p VKa (3) 
For purposes of illustration assume that K=6.6576 
10-* and that R, = 10,, R.=1 and p —11.35; then 
V=368V x 
If the common potential of the two spheres differs 
from absolute zero by 3.68 volts, the value of K would 
be in error by one per cent of the above value, which is 
that of Boys, unless adequate means are taken to elim- 
inate the effects represented by the final term of Eq. (1)- 
If V were + 8.23 volts an error of five per cent would 
result. If V were + 36.8 volts, the two spheres would 
? Bulletin Am. Math. Soc, II 6:153. 
