502 
Mr. Babbage on electrical 
For the purpose of procuring more powerful and durable 
charges of electricity, I placed a small excited electrophorus 
on the three screws a, a , a, fig. 1 , the copper plate was placed 
upon it. A very thin slip of glass b, b, formed a bridge, on 
the centre of which various needles were supported. The 
effects which resulted were not constantly the same, aad the 
unequal distribution of electricity on the electrophorus, com- 
bined with the action of the glass bridge, seemed to present 
very complicated results. I shall only detail one of these 
experiments. 
Experiment 8 . 
The apparatus just referred to being employed, and the 
electrophorus without a copper plate being used, a needle of 
thin brass, similar in shape to that of experiment i, with 
an agate cap, was supported by a fine needle point fixed by 
cement to the centre of the glass bridge. The brass needle 
rested nearly at right angles to the glass bridge (strictly at 
98° from it). 
On giving a slow motion to the electrophorus, the brass 
needle immediately advanced in the same direction about 
io°, then stopped, then returned back to its original 
position, and, after a few vibrations, settled at a point 2 0 in 
advance of its original position. On increasing the speed of 
the electrophorus, the needle again advanced, and settled at 
between 3°-*- and 4 0 in advance of its first position. The 
velocity was again considerably increased, when the brass 
needle began to oscillate in a vertical direction, and the 
stationary point advanced to 9 0 or io°, where it remained 
steadily, except that the vertical motion continued 
The velocity was again increased, when the stationary 
