ON ELECTROLYSIS IN ITS PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL BE.VRIKQS. 223 



Fourth Report of the Committee, consisting of Professors Fitzgerald 

 (Chairman), Armstrong and 0. J. Lodge (Secretaries), Sir 

 William Thomson, Lord Rayleigh, J. J. Thomson, Schuster, 

 PoYNTiNG, Crum Brown, Ramsay, Frankland, Tilden, Hartley, 

 S. P. Thompson, McLeod, Roberts-Austen, Rccpcer, Reinold, 

 Carey Foster, and H. B. Dixon, Captain Abney, Drs, Glad- 

 stone, HoPKiNsoN, and Fleming, and Messrs. Crookes, Shelford 

 BiDWELL, W. N. Shaw, J. Larmor, J. T. Bottomley, R. T. 

 GrLAZEBROOK, J. Brown, E. J. LovE, and John M. Thomson, 

 appointed for thepurpose of considering thesubject of Electrolysis 

 in its Physical and Chemical Bearings. 



ft 



During the past year the following publications have been circulated 

 among the members of the Electrolysis Committee and among a few 

 others. 



1. The Report of the Committee presented at Bath, together with the 

 appended papers. 



2. Some copies of a sketch of the electrical proceedings of Section A. 

 at Bath, drawn up by the Physical Secretary. 



3. A reply by Dr. Arrheniusto some criticisms of Professor Armstrong 

 regarding his theory, which were annexed to last year's Report. 



4. A translation by Professor Ramsay of some letters from Professor 

 Ostwald regarding an experiment in the dissociation theory of 

 Electrolysis published by him. 



5. Some criticisms by Mr. John Brown and by the Secretary regarding 

 this experiment of Professor Ostwald. 



6. An explanation by the Secretary of a partial misunderstanding he 

 had made in respect of this experiment. 



7. A reply by Professor Ostwald to Messrs. Brown and Lodge. 



8. Some copies of a paper communicated by Mr. John Brown to the 

 Committee, and by them sent to the Pliilosophical Magazine on the subject 

 of Helmholtz's views regarding dropping electrodes, and the cause of the 

 E.M.F. when mercury drips from a funnel into an electrolyte. 



In addition to these. Professor A. M. Worthingtou has favoured the 

 Committee with a paper On the Discharge of Electrification by Flames, 

 which is to be read at the present meeting, and Mr. W. N. Shaw is 

 communicating the first part of his report on the present state of our 

 knowledge of Electrolysis. 



The money expended on printing has been kept low this year by the 

 method adopted of publishing usually in the ' Electrician ' and purchasing 

 a certain number of separate copies for the use of the Committee. Also 

 by somewhat reducing the range of circulation. 



The expenditure has been : Printing, 3Z. 16s. 3d. ; postage and carriage, 

 \l. 10s. 9d. ; total, hi. 16s. It is proposed to ask for reappointment with 

 the lapsed portion of the grant of 15Z. renewed. 



BemarJcs hij Professor Armstrong. 



In the past,- as in the previous year, the Clausius dissociation hypothesis of 

 electrolysis nas alone secured attention : its advocates, Ostwald especially, bave in 

 a perfectly logical manner, without hesitation, extended its application to explain 



