﻿by 
  a 
  Battery 
  Current. 
  441 
  

  

  produce 
  a 
  high 
  state 
  of 
  exhaustion 
  ; 
  and, 
  moreover, 
  this 
  form 
  of 
  

   tube 
  was 
  very 
  useful 
  in 
  studying 
  the 
  electrical 
  discharge 
  by 
  a 
  

   spectroscope. 
  When 
  the 
  tube 
  was 
  exhausted 
  to 
  the 
  stratified 
  dis- 
  

   charge 
  stage 
  and 
  was 
  connected 
  to 
  the 
  terminals 
  of 
  the 
  battery, 
  

   the 
  intensity 
  and 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  stratifications 
  could 
  be 
  changed 
  by 
  

   increasing 
  or 
  diminishing 
  the 
  strength 
  of 
  the 
  battery 
  current 
  ; 
  

   when 
  this 
  current 
  was 
  increased 
  a 
  blue 
  discharge 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  

   a 
  stratification 
  detached 
  itself 
  from 
  the 
  anode 
  and 
  joined 
  the 
  

   stratifications 
  in 
  the 
  narrow 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  tube. 
  This 
  process 
  

   could 
  be 
  repeated 
  until 
  there 
  appeared 
  to 
  be 
  formed 
  a 
  species 
  

   of 
  stationary 
  wave 
  due 
  apparently 
  to 
  the 
  liberation 
  of 
  gas 
  

   from 
  the 
  anode 
  meeting 
  a 
  cathode 
  liberation. 
  When 
  the 
  

   strength 
  of 
  the 
  current 
  is 
  diminished 
  the 
  stratifications 
  dis- 
  

   appear 
  in 
  the 
  terminals 
  ; 
  more 
  noticeably 
  in 
  the 
  anode 
  than 
  

   in 
  the 
  cathode. 
  This 
  process 
  can 
  be 
  traced 
  to 
  the 
  X-ray 
  

   stage. 
  Since 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  electrical 
  oscillation 
  in 
  the 
  cir- 
  

   cuit 
  ; 
  for 
  I 
  had 
  several 
  megohms 
  in 
  circuit, 
  the 
  molecular 
  

   theory 
  of 
  bombardment 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  phenomenon 
  of 
  

   occlusion 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  most 
  important. 
  The 
  end-on 
  tube 
  which 
  

   I 
  employed 
  was 
  filled 
  with 
  hydrogen 
  obtained 
  by 
  electrolysis 
  

   from 
  jDhosphoric 
  acid 
  and 
  distilled 
  water. 
  The 
  gas 
  was 
  passed 
  

   through 
  caustic 
  potash 
  and 
  phosphoric 
  pentoxide. 
  Hittorf's 
  

   resistance 
  of 
  iodide 
  of 
  cadmium 
  in 
  amyl 
  alcohol 
  will 
  undoubt- 
  

   edly 
  be 
  better 
  than 
  distilled 
  water 
  in 
  quantitative 
  experiments. 
  

  

  Jefferson 
  Physical 
  Laboratory, 
  

   Cambridge, 
  May 
  15. 
  

  

  