70 Mr. J. Enright on Electrifications due 



I refilled the flask with hydrogen from zinc and hydro- 

 chloric acid and corked it before lifting its mouth from nnder 

 the water, set it on the table, left it for 1 j hours, then uncorked 

 it and placed it on the insulated plate. A deflexion to the 

 left of 100 divisions was gradually produced as the hydrogen 

 left the flask. By repeated trials I found that it required 

 from four to six hours to neutralize a flask or even a metallic 

 vessel filled with hydrogen from zinc and hydrochloric acid. 



But what of the deflexion in the wrong direction? On 

 reflection, the explanation of the deflexion being to the left — 

 that is to say, the insulated quadrants being negatively 

 charged — very quickly appeared. The flask was held in the 

 hand while being filled with hydrogen holding a positive 

 charge. This acted inductively, repelling an equal quantity 

 of positive to earth through my hand and body, and binding 

 on the outside of the moist flask a charge of negative. When 

 the flask was set on the insulated plate the hydrogen, owing 

 to its lightness, gradually escaped into the air carrying its 

 charge with it ; and for every ^portion of the positively charged 

 gas which left the flask a corresponding part of the negative 

 charge bound on its wet outside was set free and spread over 

 the quadrants, causing the deflexion. In fact the wet flask 

 containing the charged hydrogen constituted a veritable 

 Leyden jar. 



I was anxious to verify this view. A hydrogen generator 

 with a long neck and containing Zn + HCl was placed on the 

 table. A large wide-mouthed wet flask was attached to an 

 insulating handle, and, by means of this handle, was held 

 mouth downwards in such position that the hydrogen from 

 the long-necked generator filled it by displacing the air. It 

 was then taken by means of the insulating handle near the insu- 

 lated plate (which was connected to the insulated quadrants), 

 when the spot moved along the scale to the right, indicating 

 that the quadrants were positively charged by the inductive 

 action of the charged gas. The flask was next touched on the 

 outside by the finger and again held near the insulated plate, 

 but the spot did not move. This was quite in accordance 

 with the Leyden-jar view, for the bound charge on the out- 

 side of the flask could have no effect on the insulated plate or 

 the quadrants connected with it. The flask was now placed 

 on the insulated plate, mouth upwards, and as the hydrogen 

 escaped into the air the spot moved up the scale to the left, 

 indicating that the bound negative charge on the outside of 

 the flask was being liberated and charging the quadrants. 



This afforded an instance of a kind of distribution of static 

 electricity rather novel. I could only liken it to ground sul- 



