264 M. G. Quincke on Electrolysis , and the 



interpolar wire of the circuit which are in conducting communi- 

 cation with the condenser-plates. This difference does not vary, 

 whether the circuit is open or is closed by a resistance which is 

 very great as compared with that of the circuit itself. In accord- 

 ance with this these experiments show the same quantities of +e 

 or —e even with varying values of /. 



When the circuit was closed by columns of water of smaller 

 section I obtained the same results 



§58. 



In another series of experiments the current of a Grove's bat- 

 tery of ten elements traversed, in the manner described above, a 

 column of water 440 millims. in length, 60*4 millims. in breadth, 

 and 46*5 millims. in height. The brass plates of the condenser 

 at a distance of 1 millim. were connected by insulated copper 

 wires with the poles of the open circuit, or of the circuit closed 

 by the column of water, but ultimately with two WoUaston's 

 electrodes, which were at a distance of 101 millims. from each 

 other in the water which was traversed by the electrical current. 

 The Wollaston's electrodes consisted of platinum wires 0*076 

 millim. in thickness, fused in glass tubes of 2 millims. diameter 

 for a length of 35 millims. By the two circular platinum sur- 

 faces at the end of these electrodes two analogous points of two 

 sections of the column of water were connected with the con- 

 denser, which sections were therefore at a distance of 101 millims. 

 from each other. The quantity of electricity accumulated in one 

 condenser-plate (while the other plate was connected with the 

 earth) must theoretically be proportional to the difference of po- 

 tentials of the free electricity in the two sections of the linear 

 conductor traversed by the current which are. connected with 

 the condenser, and must thus be proportional to the distance of 

 . these sections. Hence it must be immaterial which point of one 

 and the same section we connect with the condenser. 



The following Table contains in the second column, under /, 

 the distance of the two sections of the column of w^ater connected 

 with the condenser, under e and —e the positive or negative 

 charge of the condenser-plate. The fifth column gives the mean 

 of these two observations, and the last (sixth) column the value of 

 this mean calculated from the charge with the open circuit. 

 The numbers in the first column give the order in which the 

 experiments were made. In No. 4 each Wollaston's electrode 

 was placed in the corner, in No. 5 in the centre of the corre- 

 sponding rectangular section of liquid. 



