326 Mr Conn ell on the Action of 



fifty pairs, and in another of 100 pairs of two-inch plates. The 

 gas arising from the positive wire was observed to consist partly 

 of a very fine stream of gas coming from the upper part of the 

 wire, and partly of rather larger bubbles originating at the bot- 

 tom of the wire, and increasing a little in size as they ascended, 

 by running together. The fine stream never reached the top of 

 the tube, being gradually absorbed by the liquid. The larger 

 bubbles collected by degrees ; but although the action was con- 

 tinued for above an hour, the quantity of permanent gas which was 

 obtained was only .01 of a cubic inch, and, on examination, proved 

 to be azote. Its origin is very manifest. The minute quantity 

 of oxygen evolved at the positive pole, liberated along with it, as 

 usual, some of the common air held dissolved in the liquid ; and 

 in ascending, and partly also probably after gaining the top, the 

 oxygen was absorbed by the liquid, the azote only remaining. I 

 tried also to separate the positive gas from solutions of chloride 

 of calcium and of boracic acid in alcohol of .838, thinking that 

 such solutions would exercise a less powerful absorptive ac- 

 tion on oxygen ; but the whole agency in such cases was so 

 much diminished, that, in the case of chloride of calcium, 

 amounting in different experiments to —$ and ^ T , a very feeble 

 stream only appeared from the positive wire, and in the case of 

 boracic acid amounting to ^- , no positive gas was evolved at 

 aU. 



The evidence, however, from the whole phenomena of the 

 various experiments which have been detailed, appears to me to 

 be quite sufficient to shew, that the action consists essentially in 

 the decomposition of water by the immediate electric agency, 

 and I had fully made up my mind that such was the nature of 

 the action before the appearance of Mr Faraday's paper describ- 

 ing the voltaic arrangement, to which he has given the name of 

 the Volta-electrometer. It then, of course, immediately occurred 

 to me, that that arrangement afforded the means of bringing 

 additional evidence in support of the view which I have taken. 



