on Electric Discharges through Water. 153 
space in the tube as the gaz had occupied : then passing an 
electrical discharge through it no combustion was excited; 
but on passing a discharge while the compasses were in con- 
tact with the tube, as just mentioned, an illumination and 
violent commotion were produced, with the rushing up of 
water, to leave only of the gaz as a residue. On repeating 
this experiment with one measure of atmospherical air and two 
of hydrogen gaz, combustion could not be excited ; nor with 
two measures of atmospherical air and one of hydrogen ; nor 
with two measures of hydrogen gaz and one of atmospherical 
air; but on adding to this last mixture one measure of oxygen 
gaz, the electrical discharge produced the phasnomena of com- 
bustion just mentioned, with the rushing up of water, to oc- 
cupy about two-thirds of the space which was occupied by the 
gazes. 
Experiment 111. Having passed 12000 discharges through 
water, with the apparatus of the preceding experiment, and 
thereby obtained only one-fifth of a cubical inch of gaz ; and 
having observed, that the quantity of gaz was not greater than 
it was when only 8000 discharges had been passed, and yet 
bubbles had been seen to be produced on each discharge as copi- 
ously, or more so, by the last 3 or 4000 discharges as before ; I 
began to suspect that part of the gaz had been destroyed during 
the process, or had been absorbed. While I was considering how 
to account for this disappearance of gaz, and was at the same 
time looking at the tube through which the discharges were pass- 
ing, I observed one of them to be atended with a diminution, 
instantly, of about one-fifth of the gaz produced, and with a 
slight commotion. I was now sure, from this phaenomenon, and 
from the unequal augmentation of the bulk of the gaz at given 
MDCCXCVII. X 
