Advantage of elevated’ pointed Conductors. 847 
that additional quantity, is exactly agreeable to all the 
known laws of electricity. 
This experiment may poffibly throw feme light on 
what we fometimes fee in nature, viz. one cloud con- 
tinuing to ftrike towards the earth a confiderable time; 
for fhould a cloud in its natural Hate be fo lit uated be- 
tween a charged cloud and the earth, it may be firft at- 
tracted and charged, and then repelled, and if it fhould 
be repelled fo as to come within the attracting diftance of. 
any blunt body with a good or partial conductor, it would 
then continue to be attracted till it came within its ftr ik- 
ing diftance, and then difeharge its lightning fuddenly 
on it; and if it was not repelled or attracted beyond the 
attracting diltance of the charged cloud, it would , again 
be attracted to it and charged, then repelled as before, 
and fo may continue receiving and difeharging the light- 
ning till the charged cloud is nearly exhaufted of its 
electricity or matter of lightning. 
But if a cloud, in its natural ftate, fhould be fo fituated 
within the ftriking diftance of a charged cloud, and at 
the fame time within the power of a good metallic con- 
ductor terminating in a point ; then from thefe experi- 
ments it does appear, that the charged cloud would con- 
tinue ftriking to the natural cloud, and that would again 
part 
