[ 208 ] 
at the tops of the marts, and thunder clouds might burrt: 
near them, and exert their dreadful effe&s *. That 
even artificial ele&ricity, when in too great a quan- 
tity, and hurried on too fart: through a fine iron wire 
has a remarkable efFedt upon the wire, appears from 
a very curious experiment of Mr. Kinnerlley of Pen- 
fylvania. This gentleman in the prefence of Dr. 
Franklin, by his cafe of bottles being eledfrified ful- 
ly, and made to explode at once, after the manner 
of the experiment of Leyden, through a fine iron 
wire, the wire appeared at firrt: red hot, and then 
fell into drops, which burned themfelves into the fur- 
face of his table or floor. Thefe drops cool in a 
fpherical figure, like very fmall {hot, of which 
Dr. Franklin tranfmitted fome hither to Mr. Can- 
ton ‘f-, who has repeated this experiment. This 
proves the fufion to have been very compleat, as 
nothing lefs than the moft perfedl fluidity could give 
this figure to melted iron. Thefe effedls from artifi- 
cial lightning, are exadtly fimilar to thofe of the na- 
tural ; as we have feveral times known iron wires, 
* See more upon this fubje£t Phil. Tranf. Vol. XLVIII. 
page 215. 
f The diameter of a piece of Mr. Kinnerfley’s wire, which 
I received from Do£tor Franklin, was one part in 182 of an 
inch. Artificial lightning from a cafe of 35 bottles, I find will 
entirely deflroy brafs wire of one part in 330 of an inch. At the 
time of the ftroke, a great number of fparks, like thofe from a 
flint and fteel, fly upwards, and laterally from the place where 
the wire was laid, and lofe their light in the daytime at the dif— 
tance of about two or three inches. After the cxplofion, a mark 
appears on the table the whole length of the wire ; and fome 
very fmall round particles of brafs may be difeovered, by a 
magnifier, near the mark ; but no part of the wire itfelf can 
be found. J. Canton. 
nails. 
