88 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



of this assertion will be developed in a second Note. — Comjptes Rendiis 

 cle VAcademie des Sciences, vol. lxxxi. pp. 1094-1096. 



ON THE ACTION OF FLAMES IN PRESENCE OF ELECTRIFIED 

 BODIES. BY M. DOULIOT. 



A flame in communication with the earth discharges an electrified 

 conductor placed near it ; and if the flame is insulated, the dis- 

 charge still takes] place. In the first case the electricity of the 

 conductor flows into the earth ; but there is occasion for investi- 

 gating what becomes of it in the second. It is with this view that 

 the following experiments were undertaken. 



1. A lighted taper, insulated, is placed at an equal distance from 

 two electroscopes with gold leaves of equal dimensions, the knobs 

 of the electroscopes and the flame forming a triangle of about 

 20 centims. length of side. If we bring an electrified body between 

 the flame and one of the electroscopes, or into the interior of the 

 triangle formed by these three bodies, the electroscopes are affected 

 in the usual manner, and the gold leaves fall again as the body 

 brought near loses its electricity. But if we place the electrified 

 body in the prolongation of the line from one of the electroscopes 

 to the flame, we see this electroscope become charged with elec- 

 tricity of the same kind as that lost by the electrified body ; the 

 other electroscope, although nearer to it, is merely influenced. The 

 former retains its charge ; the latter reverts to the natural state 

 when the electrified body has discharged itself or is taken away. 



2. The insulated flame is placed between a badly conducting 

 screen and the knob of an electroscope, at about 15 centims. dis- 

 tance from each. Let us bring behind the screen a body charged 

 with positive electricity ; the gold leaves of the electroscope diverge 

 instantly. "We remove together both the screen and the electrified 

 body; the electroscope remains electrified, and its electricity is 

 positive. Nevertheless the electrified body has not been discharged ; 

 we can assure ourselves that it is still electrified positively ; but 

 we find also that the screen is charged with negative electricity on 

 the face which was towards the flame and the electroscope. 



If, instead of removing together the electrified body and the 

 screen, we slowly take away the electrified body alone, we see the 

 gold leaves, which received a charge of positive electricity at the 

 instant when this body was brought near them, fall again, come 

 into contact, then separate afresh ; if we then withdraw the screen, 

 we find that the electroscope remains electrified, that it contains 

 negative electricity, and that the screen has reverted to its primitive 

 state. 



It would be difficult to explain all these facts by admitting that 

 the flame and the bodies produced by it establish more or less 

 perfect communication between the bodies which surround it. 

 But it is to be remarked that these phenomena are, in all points, 

 those which might be foreseen if for the flame we substituted an 

 insulated conductor armed with points in all directions, — Comptei 

 Rendus dc Acadimie des /Sciences, vol, lxxxi, p, 1208. 



