Irreciprocal Conduction. 133 



1st Experiment. — Plate electrode = P ; ,= 37 x 26 millim. 

 Point electrode = P S = ^ size of P^. 



Seconds after 

 making circuit. 



Deflections. 



P s +. 



Pa-. 







120 

 600 



217 

 Begins to fall. 

 45, vibrating. 



2175 

 220 



2nd Experiment. — P p = same size as before. P s = ^ size of P ; 



Seconds after 

 making circuit. 



Deflections. 



P s +. 



Ps-. 







40 



180 



600 



188-0 

 Begins to fall. 

 14-0, vibrating. 



I960 

 I960 



Here it seems evident that the irreciprocity is due to the 

 gradual formation of a badly- conducting film on the anode, 

 but Christiani does not accept this simple explanation, appa- 

 rently because it would not, as he thinks, explain the results 

 obtained with transient currents. 



Having rejected both polarization and a chemical transition 

 resistance as causes for the effects obtained, a theory of elec- 

 trolysis which would afford an explanation of them was 

 necessary. The theory which Christiani evolves is a direct 

 development of the idea that electrolysis is a convection of 

 electricity by the atoms of matter. He considers the me- 

 chanism of electrolysis to consist in the two ions of a mole- 

 cule conveying equal and opposite quantities of electricity in 

 opposite directions, but assumes (1) that the imjoulse causing 

 this motion takes place only at the anode. He assumes, more- 

 over, (2) that in a given electrolyte the number of atoms 

 ( = ?i) which meet any unit area in unit time only depends 



