﻿Virtual 
  Anode 
  in 
  the 
  Tubes 
  for 
  Magnetic 
  Rays. 
  851 
  

  

  More 
  and 
  llieman 
  have 
  completely 
  confirmed 
  the 
  facts 
  

   described 
  by 
  me 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  they 
  employed, 
  as 
  I 
  had 
  always 
  

   done 
  before, 
  tubes 
  containing 
  air, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  when 
  employing 
  

   other 
  gaseous 
  mixtures 
  containing 
  nitrogen, 
  while 
  this 
  was 
  

   not 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  a 
  pure 
  gas, 
  as 
  nitrogen, 
  hydrogen, 
  oxygen, 
  

   and 
  carbonic 
  anhydride. 
  

  

  In 
  these 
  cases 
  they 
  have 
  seen 
  the 
  secondary 
  column 
  

   everywhere 
  inflected 
  by 
  the 
  transversal 
  magnetic 
  field 
  as 
  if 
  

   the 
  virtual 
  anode 
  did 
  not 
  exist 
  at 
  all, 
  or 
  more 
  exactly 
  as 
  if 
  

   the 
  latter 
  were 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  beam 
  of 
  magnetic 
  

   rays 
  *. 
  

  

  Before 
  I 
  undertook 
  to 
  verify 
  this 
  result 
  I 
  was 
  perfectly 
  

   inclined 
  to 
  admit 
  its 
  correctness. 
  But 
  I 
  was 
  forced 
  to 
  con- 
  

   vince 
  myself, 
  after 
  innumerable 
  experiments 
  and 
  after 
  taking 
  

   every 
  possible 
  care 
  to 
  ascertain 
  the 
  purity 
  of 
  the 
  gases 
  (chiefly 
  

   of 
  hydrogen 
  and 
  oxygen), 
  that 
  with 
  all 
  the 
  gases 
  employed 
  

   in 
  the 
  experiments 
  the 
  same 
  effects 
  as 
  those 
  obtained 
  with 
  

   air 
  may 
  be 
  produced, 
  on 
  condition, 
  however, 
  that 
  proper 
  care 
  

   should 
  be 
  taken 
  in 
  choosing 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  the 
  experiments 
  

   (size 
  of 
  the 
  tube, 
  pressure 
  of 
  the 
  gas, 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  current 
  

   through 
  it, 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  magnetic 
  field). 
  Besides 
  the 
  two 
  

   above-mentioned 
  gases 
  I 
  have 
  experimented 
  also 
  with 
  the 
  

   following, 
  which, 
  however, 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  think 
  it 
  necessary 
  to 
  

   render 
  absolutely 
  pure: 
  nitrogen, 
  carbonic 
  anhydride, 
  carbon 
  

   monoxide, 
  vapour 
  of 
  ether 
  and 
  of 
  chloroform. 
  

  

  And 
  Ik 
  re 
  I 
  cannot 
  refrain 
  from 
  repeating, 
  that 
  even 
  if 
  it 
  

   were 
  true 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  ascertain 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  the 
  

   virtual 
  anode 
  with 
  certain 
  gases 
  and 
  not 
  with 
  others, 
  that 
  

   would 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  constitute 
  a 
  serious 
  objection 
  to 
  the 
  hypo- 
  

   thesis 
  propounded 
  hj 
  me, 
  as 
  the 
  above 
  named 
  physicists 
  

   seem 
  to 
  believe. 
  

  

  In 
  fact, 
  different 
  gases, 
  and 
  therefore 
  positive 
  ions 
  of 
  

   different 
  bulk 
  and 
  structure, 
  may 
  supply 
  doublets 
  having 
  

   different 
  characteristics, 
  chiefly 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  their 
  stability 
  

   and 
  mobility. 
  The 
  influence, 
  then, 
  of 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  the 
  gas 
  

   upon 
  the 
  phenomena 
  is 
  not 
  in 
  opposition 
  with 
  my 
  theory, 
  but 
  

   it 
  is 
  foreseen 
  by 
  it 
  and 
  its 
  precise 
  ascertainment 
  makes 
  it 
  

   more 
  noteworthy. 
  For 
  this 
  reason 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  a 
  long 
  series 
  

  

  * 
  Although 
  I 
  have 
  kept 
  my 
  remarks 
  on 
  the 
  recent 
  paper 
  by 
  More 
  and 
  

   Mauchly 
  for 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  Note, 
  I 
  find 
  it 
  convenient 
  to 
  make 
  one 
  

   now 
  with 
  regard 
  to 
  what 
  they 
  say 
  on 
  page 
  254. 
  Meaning 
  to 
  oppose 
  the 
  

   interpretation 
  repeated 
  here 
  in 
  the 
  text 
  (namely 
  that 
  the 
  virtual 
  anode 
  

   may 
  he 
  found 
  at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  magnetic 
  rays) 
  they 
  state, 
  that 
  it 
  

   necessarily 
  must 
  he 
  found 
  beyond 
  this 
  end 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  equal 
  to 
  the 
  

   free 
  path 
  of 
  the 
  ions. 
  But 
  by 
  this 
  they 
  implicitly 
  admit 
  that 
  all 
  pairs 
  

   break 
  at 
  the 
  said 
  end, 
  while, 
  as 
  a 
  matter 
  of 
  fact, 
  many 
  will 
  break 
  long 
  

   before 
  reaching 
  it. 
  

  

  3 
  M 
  

  

  