Prof, von Bezold's Researches on the Electrical Discharge. 45 



in reference to this experiment, what has been communicated 

 shows sufficiently that in electrical currents phenomena may occur 

 similar to those observed in the motion of liquids and named suction- 

 phenomena, practically applied, for instance, in Giffard's injec- 

 tor, or in the well-known inhalation-apparatus. 



§ 2. These curious observations gave rise to further experi- 

 ments on the division of discharge-currents. 



Here also alternating discharges gave more constant results 

 than simple ones, and care was therefore always taken to procure 

 a suitable return-current. The above experiments prove that 

 a single wire cannot serve for this purpose ; and therefore the 

 secondary coil of a RuhmkorfFs instrument was used (fig. 3). 



Fig. 3. 



When now the electrical machine was slowly worked, until a 

 spark passed, the compound positive figures appeared on the plate 

 in great regularity. 



When the current was branched off by a short wire D, and the 

 branch current also led to the plate by a conductor B, two per- 

 fectly like figures appeared, as was to be expected. When, on the 

 contrary, the branch wire had a length at all considerable (some- 

 thing more than a yard), the figures exhibited a decided difference 

 in magnitude ; for as soon as the length of the wire exceeded 

 this limit the figure at B was always greater than that at A, 

 even when the branchiug commenced quite near the end of the 

 conducting-wire (1 centim. above the plate). As the branch wire 

 D was lengthened, the difference in size of the two figures be- 

 came more striking, until, when D = 6*4 millims. and F = 4*0 

 millims. (F being the striking-distance), the figure at A was re- 

 duced to a small star, and many times was not even formed. 



This experiment obviously shows that Ohm's laws hold for 

 stationary currents but not for the electrical discharge, as indeed 

 all theoretical investigations have hitherto shown ; for while no 

 electricity at all passes to the plate by the very short branch A, 



