34 REPORT — 1839. 



these circumstances both polar wires appeared to be equally affected 

 by the non-metallic fluids, i. e. so as they would have been if not con- 

 nected with any voltaic arrangement." 



On the basis of these facts, corroborated by various collateral phae- 

 nomena, M. Schonbein ventures to assert, that in the common case, 

 when copper or iron, acting as a negative electrode, in an aqueous fluid 

 holding oxygen dissolved, is not chemically affected by the latter ele- 

 ment, voltaic action has directly nothing to do with the protection of the 

 iron or copper. He then proceeds to explain his theory of the galvani- 

 zation of metals, by applying it to this particular case, and finally 

 affirms the following propositions : 



1. Neither common nor voltaic electricity is capable of changing the 

 chemical bearings of any body ; and the principles of the electro-che- 

 mical theory, as laid down by Davy and Berzelius, are fallacious. 



2. The change which certain metallic bodies, being placed under the 

 influence of a current, seem to undergo with regard to their chemical 

 relations, is due to some substance or other being produced and de- 

 posited upon those bodies by the agency of current electricity. 



3. The condition, sine qua non, for eflicaciously protecting readily 

 oxidable metals against the action of free oxygen being dissolved in 

 fluids, is to arrange a closed voltaic circle, being made up on one side 

 of the metal to be protected, and another metallic body more readily 

 oxidable than the former, and on the other side of an electrolyte con- 

 taining hydrogen ; for instance water. 



Researches on the Electrical Currents on Metalliferous Veins made in 

 the mine Himmelsfurst, near Freyherg. By Prof. Reich. 



Since Mr. Fox first discovered the fact in copper mines in Cornwall, 

 it has been known, that an electrical current is indicated by Schweig- 

 ger's multiplier, when two points, where ore presents itself, are con- 

 nected by a metallic wire, whether these be in the same or different 

 veins. Mr. Fox repeated the experiments in lead veins, with similar 

 results. On the other hand, Von Strombeck (Karsten's Arckiv, vi. p. 

 431) could find no trace of such electrical currents in lead and copper 

 veins on the right bank of the Rhine ; again, Henwood repeated the 

 experiments in CornwaU, and confirmed the results of Fox. Prof. 

 Reich has made similar experiments in the mine Himmelsfurst, which 

 lead to very decisive fundamental results. The method of experiment 

 was in the main that of Fox. When the two points to be connected 

 were determined, a fresh surface was first worked on each, and on this 

 a disc of copper 6 inches long, 3 inches wide, was kept firmly pressed 

 by a piece of wood. An uncovered end of a copper wire, spun over 

 with silk, was kept pressed to the copper plate by means of a clamp. 

 The one wire was always short; the other, about 180 metres long, was 

 rolled on a reel. This latter was retained in all the experiments, the 

 current having thus the same length of wire to pass, so that its influence 

 on the amount of deviation of the needle was constant. The long wire 



