4 Experimental Researches in Electricity. 



same phenomena of attraction, repulsion, and revolution are 

 exhibited by each ; the extremities of the cylinder corres- 

 pond to the poles of the magnet ; and two cylinders act upon 

 each other precisely as two magnets do. Hence then the 

 most hypothetical part of the theory of Ampere, the exist- 

 ence within the magnet of spiral currents of electricity, re- 

 ceives the strongest confirmation from actual experiment; 

 and taking into account with this, the profound mathemati- 

 cal evidence in its favour, there cannot be a doubt of its 

 representing truly the constitution of bodies on which their 

 magnetic properties depend, and thus demonstrating that 

 magnetism is nothing more than a peculiar modification of 

 electricity. 



While however the genius of Ampere, as displayed both 

 in his consummate skill in analysis, and fertility in expe- 

 rimental resources, successfully proved that magnetism is 

 only a peculiar form of electro-motive action, and that all 

 its phenomena may, by means of this, be imitated correctly, 

 all efforts to shew that the converse of this discovery, or the 

 production of electricity from magnetism was possible, were 

 for a long time fruitless ; and it was not till in 1831, when 

 Faraday commenced his masterly course of experimental 

 research on the subject, that any important information was 

 obtained. 



These researches present to us one of those remarkable 

 and rare epochs to the history of science, when the disco- 

 very of certain grand and novel principles involves an en- 

 tire remodelling of our ideas on that branch of inductive 

 truth, to which they refer. Viewed as a whole, their most 

 important relation is undoubtedly to the science of chemistry, 

 since the results they exhibit, by proving the entire identity 

 of the forces of affinity and of decomposition on the surest 

 of all evidence, that of the balance and measure, have led 

 to the firm establishment of the electro-chemical theory 

 of the constitution of water. But there are interspersed 



