﻿THE 
  

   LONDON, 
  EDINBURGH, 
  and 
  DUBLIN 
  

  

  PHILOSOPHICAL 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  AND 
  

  

  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  SCIENCE. 
  

  

  

  [FIFTH 
  SERIES.] 
  

  

  FEBRUAR 
  Y 
  1898. 
  

  

  

  XIII. 
  Electrical 
  Properties 
  of 
  Newly 
  Prepared 
  Gases, 
  

   By 
  John 
  S. 
  Townsend, 
  M.A., 
  Cavendish 
  Laboratory, 
  

   Cambridge 
  *. 
  

  

  1. 
  TIHHE 
  experiments 
  which 
  are 
  described 
  in 
  this 
  paper 
  

   JL 
  form 
  a 
  continuation 
  to 
  those 
  which 
  have 
  already 
  

   been 
  published 
  in 
  the 
  ' 
  Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Cambridge 
  Philo- 
  

   sophical 
  Society,' 
  vol. 
  ix. 
  pt. 
  v. 
  It 
  was 
  there 
  shown 
  that 
  the 
  

   gases 
  given 
  off 
  by 
  the 
  electrolysis 
  of 
  sulphuric 
  acid 
  or 
  caustic 
  

   potash 
  carry 
  with 
  them 
  an 
  electric 
  charge, 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  

   of 
  which 
  remains 
  in 
  the 
  gas 
  after 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  bubbled 
  through 
  

   a 
  liquid, 
  and 
  passed 
  through 
  glass 
  wool 
  to 
  remove 
  the 
  spray. 
  

   Another 
  property 
  of 
  these 
  gases 
  is 
  their 
  power 
  of 
  condensing 
  

   moisture 
  to 
  form 
  a 
  cloud. 
  No 
  such 
  cloud 
  could 
  be 
  observed 
  

   in 
  newly 
  prepared 
  gases 
  unless 
  they 
  were 
  charged, 
  and, 
  

   further, 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  the 
  cloud 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  proportional 
  

   to 
  the 
  charge 
  on 
  the 
  gas. 
  These 
  results 
  go 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  

   condensation 
  of 
  the 
  moisture 
  is 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  charge 
  • 
  

   and 
  the 
  experiments 
  described 
  in 
  Section 
  16 
  of 
  the 
  above 
  

   paper 
  and 
  in 
  Section 
  19 
  of 
  this 
  paper 
  prove 
  that 
  when 
  the 
  

   cloud 
  is 
  formed 
  in 
  a 
  charged 
  gas 
  the 
  electrification 
  resides 
  on 
  

   the 
  drops 
  forming 
  the 
  cloud. 
  So 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  definite 
  proof 
  

   of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  drops 
  are 
  formed 
  round 
  the 
  carriers 
  of 
  

   the 
  electric 
  charge. 
  

  

  2. 
  These 
  results 
  were 
  used 
  to 
  find 
  the 
  charge 
  on 
  each 
  

   carrier, 
  and 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  coincide 
  with 
  what 
  we 
  can 
  

  

  * 
  Communicated 
  by 
  Prof. 
  J. 
  J. 
  Thomson, 
  F.R.S. 
  

   Phil. 
  Mag. 
  S. 
  5. 
  Vol. 
  45. 
  No. 
  273. 
  Feb. 
  1898. 
  L 
  

  

  