E L E C T RICIT Y\ 
ck'flric pile with a card, or with woollen cloth, continues 
in order for about two days, or (cartely three ; that, from 
a feries of glades let up by Mr. Carlille, as well as from 
die pile itfelf, it appears that the fame procefs of decom- 
polirion of water is carried on between each pair of plates, 
the zinc being oxyded on the wet face, and hydrogen 
given out ; that the common fait is decompofed, and^x- 
hibits an efflorefcence of foda round the edges ot the pile, 
extruded, molt probably, by the hydrogen : and that, on 
account of the corrofion of the furfaces of the zinc, it is 
necelfary to renew them previoufly to each conftrudtion 
of the pile. This may be done by (craping or grinding.. 
By thefe and other Accurate experiments, Mr. Nicholfon 
afeertained that the electricity of the zinc was plus, and 
that of the 111 ver minus, whichever of them were at the 
top of the pile. The eledtric fpark was'even rendered 
vidble ; fo that there remained no doubt of the identity 
of the eledtric and galvanic fluids. 
The d e com poll r ion of water, and oxydation .of metallic 
•wire', fuggefted other experiments. Two final 1 wires of 
platina were inferted, as before, in a Ihoft tube, When 
the connection with the pile was formed, the wire from 
the (liver gave a plentiful dream of gas, and that from 
the zinc a" (mailer one. In four hours, neither turbid- 
nefs, oxydation, nor tarmffi,,appeared. The larger dream 
was naturally'fuppofed to be hydrogen, the (mailer oxy¬ 
gen. 'With thick gold leaf, indead of platina, the refult 
was the fame, only the extremity of the flip connected 
with the zinc acquired a coppery or purplifh tinge. A 
brafs wire was fubftituted for one of the flips of gold. 
When the former was joined to the (liver end, the two 
dreams Were extricated as before;, but, when joined to 
the zinc, it became oxyded, as when both the wires were 
of braft. 
The (impIt decompoiition of water by platina wires, 
without oxydation, offered a means of obtaining the gafes 
feparate from each other. This wag tried with a pile of 
fixty.eight fets. A wire from each end of the pile pa (fed 
under (eparate phials full of water inverted in a faucer 
of-water. A cloud of gas arofe front each wire, but mod 
from the filyer‘-or minus flde. Bubbles were extricated 
from all parts.of the water, and adhered to the whole in¬ 
ternal furface of the velfels. The procefs was continued 
for thirteen hours, after which the wires were difen- 
gaged, and thC gafes decanted into feparate bottles. On 
nieafuring the quantities, which was done by weighing the 
bottles, it was found that the quantitjes'of water difplaced 
by the gales were, refpettively, fevCnty-tivo grains by the 
gas from the zinc (ide, and 142 grains by the gas from 
die tilvcr fide ; fo that the whole volume of gas was 117 
cubic inches, or near an inch and a quarter. Thefe are 
nearly the proportions in bulk of what are dated to be 
the component parts of water. The gas from the zinc 
fide being tried with one meafure of nitrous gas, con- 
traded to 1-25, and did not cOntradt more by the addi¬ 
tion- of another meafure ? the gas from the hi ver fide, by 
the fame treatment, contracted to i-6. The air ot the 
room, on trial, contracted to 1-28. From the fmallnefs 
of-the quantity, no attempt was made to detonate the air 
from the zinc (ide; but a portion of that from the (liver 
fide, being mixed with one lide of atmofpheric air, gave 
a loud detonation. Thefe, and fimilar experiments fub- 
iequently made by other philofophers with the fame in¬ 
tention, fully eftablifh the capacity of the Voltaic pile as 
a chemical agent for the decompoiition of water. 
Severa l curious experiments On the deflagration of me¬ 
tals were afterwards made with the Voltaic pile ; in which 
dil'c's of flannel moiftened with a folution of muriat of am¬ 
monia, gave confiderable force. On this principle, a pile 
confiding of thirty-fix pair of plates-of (liver and zinc, 
had the'intenfity to deflagrate gold, (liver, copper, tin, 
lead, ,tnd zind, with a furprifing facility. The gold 
burned with a vivid white light, inclining fomevvhat to 
blue; and there was left on the "upper plate a copious 
oxyd of a deep brown colour, inclining a little to pur¬ 
ple. The (liver gave a vivid flame of a greenifli hue, 
aivd extremely brilliant; the colour was femewhat like 
that of a pale emerald, and the light more intenfe than 
that from the gojd ; its oxyd was that of a blackifli hue. 
The copper pvefented phenomena fimilar to thofe which 
attended the deflagration of'the gold. The lead gave a 
very vivid light, of a dilute bluifh purple. The tin af¬ 
forded a-light fimilar to that of the 'gold, but burned 
with lefs energy, probably on this account, that the leaves 
were thicker. The zinc gave a bluifh white flame, which 
was edged^at the moment of contadl with, red ; it was 
more difliclilt of deflagration titan any of the preceding 
metals; but the plates were at the fame time- much 
thicker. Thefe experiments ferve to fliew the great in¬ 
tenfity with which the electric fluid can be given out by 
the Voltaic pile. 
The numerous experiments which now followed, ra¬ 
ther tended to incline the public mind to a belief, that 
the faculty of performing chemical precedes, and the 
power of decompofing water, belonged peculiarly to the 
Voltaic pile. But this fuppofition, before the clofe of 
the year 1801, was effedtually done away by an filtered- 
ing paper on the identity of the galvanic and eledtric 
fluids, which was read by Dr. Hyde Wollaflon before the 
royal lociety of London, and publiflied in their Tranf- 
adtions. By this paper it appeared that the dodtor had 
lucceeded in decompofing water by the means'of com¬ 
mon eledtricity, as rapidly as by the pile of Volta. He 
had obviated the difficulty which was caufed by the fluid 
palling, in a greater or lefs degree, in.the form of (parks, 
by employing a gold wire, and a filver wire, infdlated in 
the oppofite ends of a glafs tube, and prefenting to each- 
other as fine a point as they could poflibly be made to 
receive. The tube in which they were inferted contained 
tlte water to be decompofed, and conftituted a part of an 
eledtric circuit. As this paper tends to illuftrate, in a 
mod fatisfadtory manner, the primary caufe of the gal¬ 
vanic and eledtric phenomena in the decompoiition of 
water, &c. we (hall give it in the author’s own Words : 
“ Notwithstanding the power of M. Volta’s electric 
pile is now known to be proportional- to the difpofition 
of one of the metals to be oxydated by the fluid inter- 
pofed, a doubt has been entertained by many perfons, 
whether this power arifes fiom the chemical adtiou of the 
fluid on the metal; or, on the contrary, whether the oxy¬ 
dation itfelf may not be occafioned by electricity, fet in 
• motion by the contadl of metals.tHat have different con¬ 
ducting powers. That the oxydation of the metal is the 
primary caufe of the eledtric phenomena obferved, is, I 
think, to be inferred from the following experiments, 
which exhibit the galvanic procefs reduced to its molt 
Ample (late. 
1. If a piece of zinc and a piece of filver have each one 
extremity immerfed in the fame veffel, containing fulplni- 
ric or muriatic acid diluted with a large quantity of wa¬ 
ter, the zinc is difiolved, and yields hydrogen gas, by the 
decompoiition of the water: the filver, not being adted 
upon, has no power of decompofing water; but, when- 
fver the zinc and filver are made to touch, or any me¬ 
tallic communication is made between them, hydrogen 
gas is aifo formed at the furface of the filver. Any other 
metal befide zinc, which, by the aid of the acid employ¬ 
ed, is capable of decompofing water, will fucceed equally, 
if the other wire confifis of a metal on which the acid lias 
no effedt. 
2. If zinc, iron, or copper, be employed with gold, in 
dilute nitric acid, nitrous gas will be formed, in the fame 
manner, and under the fame - circumftances, as the hydro¬ 
gen gas in the former experiment. 
3. Experiments analogous to the former, and equally 
Ample, may alfo be made with many metallic folutions. 
If, for in (lance, the folution contains copper, it will be 
precipitated by a piece of iron, and appear on its furface. 
Upon fllver merely immerfed in the fame folution, no 
fuch efiedt is produced; but as foon as the two metals 
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