296 
DR. RITCHIE’S EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES 
hydrogen as they ascend wind round in a spiral direction till they reach the 
surface of the fluid. 
These experiments demonstrate that the action of magnets is entirely on the 
electric current or electric arrangement, without any relation to the ponder¬ 
able substances with which it combined; and they may yet enable us to assign 
the causes of currents in the ocean which have not received a satisfactory ex¬ 
planation. 
23. In examining the changes which take place in water placed between the 
platina poles of a powerful galvanic battery, I was struck with the difference 
of temperature which I observed in the water at the two poles. The pheno¬ 
mena which thus presented themselves appearing to me new and highly inter¬ 
esting, I was induced to examine the subject by careful experiments and in¬ 
vestigation. The following arrangement presented itself, and brought out 
new and unexpected results, which seem to open a wide field for future in¬ 
quiry. 
Exp. XIII. Having made a small rectangular box, I divided it into three com¬ 
partments by diaphragms of bladder, as in fig. 10, in which A,B, C are the 
three chambers. Platina poles were introduced into the extreme chambers, 
and the box nearly filled with common water. The copper wires w, w being 
connected with the ends of a powerful battery, the water was rapidly decom¬ 
posed through the moist bladder. After decomposition had gone on for eight 
or ten minutes, the temperature of the water in the three cells was examined, 
when it was found that the temperature of the water in each of the cells had 
risen during the experiment, that the temperature of the water at the positive 
pole had risen several degrees higher than that in the negative cell; but what 
seemed most remarkable was the fact that the water in the middle cell had 
risen several degrees higher than the water in the positive or hottest chamber. 
The cause of this curious result soon presented itself. 
The general rise of temperature in the conducting fluid is undoubtedly 
caused by the same agency which raises the temperature of a metallic wire 
performing the same office as the fluid. The difference of temperature in the 
extreme cells depends on the specific heats of the gases disengaged. The 
specific heat of oxygen is nearly the same as that of hydrogen. But there 
being twice as much hydrogen given off at the negative pole as oxygen at the 
