130 Rutherford: Modern 



ness inexpressible; or touching each alternately, in which 

 case the equilibrium is restored by degrees. 



"As no more electrical fire can be thrown into the top of 

 the bottle when all is driven out of the bottom, so in a bot- 

 tle not yet electrized, none can be thrown into the top, when 

 none can get out at the bottom, which happens either 

 when the bottom is too thick, or when the bottle is placed 

 on an electric per se. Again, when the bottle is electrized, 

 but little of the electrical fire can be drawn out from the 

 top by touching the wire, unless an equal quantity can 

 at the same time get in at the bottom. Thus, place an 

 electrized bottle on clean glass or dry wax, and you will 

 not, by touching the wire, get out the fire from the top. 

 Place it on a non-electric and touch the wire, you will 

 get it in a short time ; but soonest when you form a direct 

 communication as above. 



"So wonderfully are these two states of electricity, the 

 plus and minus, combined and balanced in this mirac- 

 ulous bottle! situated and related to each other in a 

 manner that I can by no means comprehend! If it were 

 possible that a bottle should in one part contain a quan- 

 tity of air strongly compressed and in another part a per- 

 fect vacuum, we know the equilibrium would be in- 

 stantly restored within. But here we have a bottle con- 

 taining at the same time a plenum of electrical fire and 

 a vacuum of the same fire, and yet the equilibrium can- 

 not be restored between them but by a communication 



