Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 247 



librium of a Liquid Mass without Weight," my father showed that 

 a very elongated liquid cylinder, or, more generally, any liquid figure 

 one of whose dimensions is relatively considerable compared with 

 the others, always changes spontaneously into a series of isolated 

 spheres : it was on this principle that he based a theory of the consti- 

 tution of liquid veins emitted from circular apertures. His experi- 

 ments require particular instruments ; I have accidentally hit upon 

 a very simple method by which the phenomena may be studied 

 without any special apparatus. 



At the end of a cotton thread about 0'2 millim. in diameter and 50 

 centims. in length a weight of a few grammes is fixed ; after having 

 carefully moistened the thread by rubbing it in water, so as to re- 

 move adherent air, it is held by its free end, and allowed to sink in a 

 vessel of water about 40 centims. in height. Being then held quite 

 vertically, it is withdrawn with as uniform a velocity as possible, 

 the lower end remaining immersed in the liquid : this operation 

 should not occupy a longer time than five or six tenths of a second. 

 The thread is seen to be covered on the length which has been im- 

 mersed with a series of small elongated pearls of water pretty regu- 

 larly arranged, the centres being about 5 millims. from each other. 



If the thread is kept sufficiently motionless, the liquid pearls may 

 remain in their relative positions for as much as ten seconds. Seve- 

 ral of. them then sink, and unite with those below, so that the dis- 

 tances between them become greater, while their diameter increases. 

 This alteration, which ultimately brings all the liquid to the bottom 

 of the thread, is at first slow, but afterwards increases as the pearls 

 become larger. 



When the thread is thicker and is taken out more rapidly, the 

 liquid masses are larger, at greater distances, and the alteration be- 

 gins almost immediately. 



If we wish to have the phenomenon more regular, and also even 

 more easily seen, a cotton thread with a weight is still used, but 

 olive-oil is taken instead of water. In this case the thread, which 

 has been well soaked and freed from air, is withdrawn with less rapi- 

 dity ; and when this is effected (save the lower end, which remains 

 immersed), it is well to fix the free end to any suitable support which 

 overhangs the vessel. The thread is then covered with pearls as in 

 the previous experiment, but they are arranged with almost perfect 

 regularity: their diameter is about 05 millim., the mutual dis- 

 tances of their centres 2'5 millims., and almost a hundred may be 

 counted on a thread 25 centims. in length. This small and ex- 

 tremely delicate necklace remains without appreciable change for 

 thirty seconds: the alterations it undergoes are slow and slight; 

 and it is only after ten minutes that they appreciably modify the 

 appearance of the whole. 



If the capillary forces which determine the transformation of elon- 

 gated liquid figures did not exist, the thread, which carries with it a 

 certain quantity of liquid, would be seen to be covered with a liquid 

 layer constituting a virtually cylindrical figure. But these forces 

 acting continually, the liquid cylinder, in proportion as the thread 

 is withdrawn, obeys their action, and the small pearls thus form 



