66 Additional Notes. 



accumulated electricity, as it passes with greater velocity than the 

 spontaneous accumulations of it, will readily permeate the muscles or 

 other moist parts of animal bodies; whereas the spontaneous accu- 

 mulations of electricity seem to require the best of all conductors, 

 as animal nerves, to facilitate their passage. 



4. In the Galvanic pile of Volta this electric shock becomes so 

 much increased, as to pass by less perfect conductors, and to give 

 shocks to the arms of the conducting person, if the cuticle of his 

 hands be moistened, and even to show sparks like the coated jar; 

 which appears to be effected in this manner. When a plate of silver 

 is laid horizontally on a plate of zinc, the plate of air between them 

 becomes charged like a coated jar; as the silver, naturally possessing 

 more vitreous electric ether, repels the vitreous ether, which the 

 zinc possesses in less quantity, and attracts the resinous ether of the 

 zinc. Whence the inferior surface of the plate of zinc abounds now 

 with vitreous ether, and its upper surface with resinous ether. Be- 

 neath this pair of plates lay a cloth moistened with water, or with 

 some better conductor, as salt and water, or a slight acid mixed with 

 water, or volatile alcali of ammoniac mixed with water, and this 

 vitreous electric ether on the lower surface of the zinc plate will be 

 given to the second silver plate which., lies beneath it; and thus this 

 second silver plate will possess not only its own natural vitreous atmo- 

 sphere, which was denser or in greater quantity than that of the zinc 

 plate next beneath it, but now acquires an addition of vitreous ether 

 from the zinc plate above it, conducted to it through the moist cloth. 



This then will repel more vitreous ether from the second zinc 

 plate into the third silver one; and so on till the plates of air between 

 the zincs and silvers are all charged, and each stronger ami stronger^ 

 as they descend in the pile. 



If the reader still prefers the Franklinian theory of positive and 

 negative electricity, he will please to put the word positive for vitre- 

 ous, and negative for resinous, and he will find the theory of the 

 Galvanic pile equally thus accounted for. 



5. When a Galvanic pile is thus placed, and a communication be- 

 tween the two ends of it i& made by wires, so that the electric shocks 

 pass through water, the water becomes decomposed in some measure, 



