vity was inmediately reproduced by the 
agitation of the wires communicating 
with the poles of the pile. It was alfo 
remarked that the activity of the pile was 
conftantly ftronger from mid-day till four 
o'clock, when it began to declise. The 
apparatus was dif{mounted, after having 
been thirty-four days in aQion, and in an 
activity of difengagement which may be 
confidered as having been continual, The 
water was then diminifhed by one-half its 
volume. Jt had Jott nothing of its Jim- 
pidity. The extremities of the gold wire, 
fiom which the difengagement of the gas 
tool: place in the interior of the tube, were 
oxidaced ; the one correlfponding with the 
zinc pole of tae pile was moft exidated. 
‘Tae whole of the gas obtained and col- 
lected during the experiment was about 
793 cubic centimeters. The liquid remain- 
ing inthe tube was examined with care, 
Tt produced no kind of tafte upon the 
tongue, nor any action on tinctures of 
turnfole and brazil-wood, nor with the fo- 
lution of nitrate of filver. 
The fociery proceeded afterwards to the 
trial of the gales ditengaged by the action 
of the pile. After having introduced one 
meafure of it into the eudiometer of Fon- 
tana, they made pais into it an equal 
quantity of nitrous gas made exprefsly 
for this experiment... There was an ab- 
forption of 77 two-hundredth paris upon 
the. volume of the two meafures. In or- 
der to afcertain if by this abforption all 
the oxygen the gafes contained had enrered 
into combination, a fecond mealure of the 
fame nitrous gas was introduced into the 
eudiometer after this abforption. It ex- 
perienced no diminution of volume. They 
tried to eitimate by comparifon the quan- 
tity of oxygen which cou'd indicate the 
abforption produced by the introdu&ion 
of the firft meafure of nitrous gas, by 
trying atmofpheric air in the fame man- 
ner. They conlequently introduced one 
meafure into the eudiometer and one of the 
fame nitrous gas. The abforption was 
55 two hundredth parts. By confidering 
this abforption as the effect of the com- 
bination of the nitrous g+s with the quan- 
tity of oxygen gas correfponding to 6.22, 
which atmofpheric air contains of it, they 
concluded that the abforption of the 77 
two bundredth paris, produced with the 
gas of the pile, reprefented proportion- 
ally the combination of the fame nitrous 
fas, with a litrle lefs than 0.31 of oxy- 
gen. Itwasthen obferved that, the mea- 
{ures of the gas having been feparately 
and fucceflively introduced into the eudio- 
Meter, it might have happened that they 
were not intimately enough mixed toge- 
Proceedings of Learned Societies. Si 
ther, and that, confequentiy, the abforp- 
tion might not be complete. It was 
thought more convenient to make the 
gafes pals at firft by {eparate meafures un- 
der a bell-glals, and afterwards to intro- 
duce the whele volume of them into the 
eudiometer. The preceding experimenrs 
having been repeated in this masner, 
there was, with the gas of the pile and 
the nitrous gas an abforption of 92 two- 
hundredth parts in place of 77 refuliing 
from the fame trial by the former mode ; 
and with atmofpheric air and the fame ni- 
trous gas, the abforption was 68 two hun- 
dredth parts in place of 55: there refults 
from it always in the fame proportion of 
O 22 of oxygen contained ih atmofpheric 
air, a proportional indication of about 
0.30 of this-gasin that of the pile. Ie 
was tried again with the eudiometer of 
Volta, by introducing into it a meafure 
through which the electrical {park was 
made to pafs: the trial was repeatedly 
made upon two, three, and four meafures, 
and always the abforption refulting from 
the inflammation by the eleétric {park gave 
the fame indication of about 0.30 of oxy- 
gen. 5 
The Galvanic Society, by examining 
principally the refults of the experiment, 
as relating more particularly to the faét 
announced by M. Pacchiani, confidered 
that, by keeping account of the fmall 
quantity of oxygen which had preduced 
the oxidation of the extremities of the 
gold wire, they might eftimate the total 
quantity of oxygen contained in the gas 
of the pile; and, as they found it very 
nearly in the fame proportion that oxygen 
gas enters into the formation of water, 
the Society believed they might conclude 
that the only effect of the action of the 
Galvanic pile, during the whale con:inu- 
ance of the experiment, had been the de- 
compofition of a portion of the water em- 
ployed, and the feparation, ina pure ftate, 
of the oxygen and hydrogen gales of 
which it was formed. The Society is 
therefore of opinion, that M. Pacchiani 
is deceived relpe€ting the nature of the 
acid which he announced he had obtained, 
or thst this acid may hav- come from 
fome animal or vegetable fubftance em- 
ployed in his apparatus. They do not 
hehtate to declare trat to the apparatus 
employed by themfelves they give the pre- 
ference, as the fmpleit and moft remote 
from any fereign influence; and they do 
not believe that it is poffible to produce 
any thing Ly the aétion of the Galvanic 
pile, except the decompofition of a greater 
or Jels proportion of the water fubmitied 
te its action. 
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