October 20th, 1896.] Proceedings. ix. 



1782," which he had found among papers which had belonged 

 to his relative, Mr. Matthew Nicholson, one of the early 

 members of the Society. Under the same cover was an 

 anonymous paper, dated March 30, 1771, entitled "An 

 attempt to account for the different quantities of rain 

 which fall at different heights over the same spot of 

 ground." A note states that the paper was intended only 

 for the inspection of the author's philosophical friends. 



The following papers were read : — 



"On the Viscosity and Electrolytic Resistance of 

 a Gelatine Solution." By Albert Griffiths, M.Sc, 

 Demonstrator in Physics at the Owens College, Manchester. 

 {Communicated by Professor Schuster, F.R.S.) 



It has been thought by some physicists that a connection 

 exists between the viscosity of a liquid and its electrolytic 

 resistance, and that, other things being the same, the one 

 will prove to vary directly as the other. The chief object 

 of the following experiments is to test whether any such 

 relation is indicated in the case of a gelatine solution con- 

 taining salt. 



E. Fraas, in Wied. Ann. 53, 1894, nas shown that the 

 elasticity of a gelatine jelly, as measured by Young's 

 Modulus, increases with time ; and that common salt not 

 only diminishes the rate of increase, but also the elasticity 

 ultimately attained. It seemed to me likely that the salt 

 would exercise a retarding influence on the changes at work, 

 even before the solution sets, and experiments, made with a 

 1 per cent, solution of gelatine in water, have proved that the 

 viscosity of the solution without salt increases at a distinctly 

 more rapid rate than when 5 per cent, of salt is present. 



It is known that gelatine is a body of somewhat variable 

 composition, but in many respects its properties are of an 

 inert character, and it seems likely that a small quantity of 

 gelatine dissolved in water will, in general, not have a great 

 influence on the degree of dissociation of a salt also dis- 

 solved in it, and hence concurrent experiments on the 



