ft io Mr . cavendish on the Torpedo. 
received under water than out ; which not only confirms 
what was before faid, that fait water conducts much bet- 
ter than frefh ; but, I think, fhews, that the human body 
is alfo a much better conductor than frefh water: for 
otherwife the fhock muft have been much weaker when 
received under frefh water than in air. 
As there appeared to be too great a difproportion be- 
tween the ifrength of the fhock in water and in air, I 
made another torpedo, exactly like the former, except 
that the part abcde inflead of wood was made of fe- 
veral pieces of thick leather, fucli as is ufed for the 
l'oles of fhoes, fattened one over the other, and cut into 
the proper fhape; the pieces of pewter being fixed on 
the furface of this, as they were on the wood, and the 
whole covered with Iheep fkin like the other. As the 
leather, when thoroughly foaked with fait water, would 
fuffer the electricity to pafs through it very freely, I was 
in hopes that I fhould find lefs difference between the 
ttrength of the fhock in water and out of it, with this than 
with the other. For fuppofe that in receiving the fhock 
of the former torpedo under water, the quantity of elec- 
tricity which paired through the wood and leather of the 
torpedo, through my body, and through the water, were 
to each other as t, b, and w ; the quantity of electricity 
which would pafs through my body, when the fhock 
was received under water, would be to that which would 
pafs through it, when the fhock was received out of wa- 
■p p 
ter, as £ T f -~ , to ; as in the firft cafe, the quantity 
2 which 
