ON SOME ELECTRICAL AND ELECTROCHFMICAL PHENOMENA. glJC 



experiments by observing, '* that the electrical law of indue* 

 ** tion^ which Mr. ?/l irra)' has pointed out," affords an ex- 

 planation ofihe manner in which the decomposition, that 

 occurs at every interruption of a metallic circuit in a fluid, 

 is effected. 



The term induction was I believe unknown in electrical The term In- 

 science, til: introduced by Mr. Davy. That excellent che- K orvy!''^ 

 mical philosopher has indeed employed it very extensively, 

 and appears to consider it as expressing the most imponaut 

 principles of electrical action. 



The general application of this term to so many important Much obscuri. 

 phenomena has been productive of much obscurity. Its ty occasioaei 

 meaning, according to Mr. Davy's application, has never 

 been cleaiiy detined, and is by no means obvious; while its 

 promiscuous employment in the explanation of various, and. 

 diametrically o/5/?05i/€ effects, is contradictory, absurd, and 

 unintelligible. — My present leisure will not allow me to 

 speak of this subject so fully as may be requisite to its pro- 

 per elucidation ; but to counteract erroneous impressions, I 

 shall briefly state some of those inconsistencies, to which I 

 hiive referred, 



Indoction, as applied to any electrical phenomena, is un- Mr Davy 

 questionably an objectionable term, as in its literal inter- "'^^^ '**o ex 

 ^ ^ . . . ^, . , ^ , , presstheac- 



pretation it expresses nothmg analogous to any known elec- tion produced 



trJcal effect. By an attentiou to the writings and lectures ''y appToxima- 

 of Mr. Davy, it may however be inferred, that his intention contact. 

 is to express that species of action, which results from the 

 approximation, without contact, of an unelectrified to an 

 electrified conductor; which has been called by Volta, and 

 other electricians, electrical influence, and ascribed by Lord 

 Stanhope to " the nature of an electrical equilibrium." It 

 is well known to electricians, that an insulated conductor, 

 when electrified either positively, or neg«tively, will alter 

 the electrical state of any other body brought within a cer- 

 tain distance of it. This alteration will occur (though ra- 

 ther differently) whether ihe presented conductor be insu- 

 lated or not; but it cannot be properly investigated, unless 

 the conductor is insulated. As an example, the following 

 wpll known but instructive experiment may suffice. 



Insulate in a horizontal position a metal rod with blunt Jlxpcriment to 



or 



