_Experiment III._--Let one tray be insulated as before, and the
electrified sheet of ebonite held over it, but not allowed to touch the
tray. If the ebonite is withdrawn without touching the tray, the latter
will be found to be unelectrified. If whilst holding the ebonite sheet
over the tray the latter is also touched with an insulated brass ball,
then this ball when removed and tested with the electroscope will be
found to be negatively electrified. The sign of the electrification
imparted to the electroscope when so charged--that is, whether positive
or negative--can be determined by rubbing the sealing-wax rod with
flannel and the glass rod with silk, and approaching them gently to the
electroscope one at a time. The sealing-wax so treated is electrified
negatively or _resinously_, and the glass with positive or _vitreous_
electricity. Hence if the electrified sealing-wax rod makes the leaves
collapse, the electroscopic charge is positive, but if the glass rod
does the same, the electroscopic charge is negative. Again, if, whilst
holding the electrified ebonite over the tray, we touch the latter for a
moment and then withdraw the ebonite sheet, the tray will be found to be
positively electrified. The electrified ebonite is said to act by
"electrostatic induction" on the tray, and creates on it two induced
charges, one of positive and the other of negative electricity. The last
goes to earth when the tray is touched, and the first remains when the
tray is insulated and the ebonite withdrawn.
_Experiment IV._--Place a tin canister on a warm tumbler and connect it
by a wire with the gold-leaf electroscope. Charge positively a brass
ball held on an ebonite stem, and introduce it, without touching, into
the canister. The leaves of the electroscope will diverge with positive
electricity. Withdraw the ball and the leaves will collapse. Replace the
ball again and touch the outside of the canister; the leaves will
collapse. If then the ball be withdrawn, the leaves will diverge a
second time with negative electrification. If, before withdrawing the
ball, after touching the outside of the canister for a moment the ball
is touched against the inside of the canister, then on withdrawing it
the ball and canister are found to be discharged. This experiment proves
that when a charged body acts by induction on an insulated conductor it
causes an electrical separation to take place; electricity of opposite
sign is drawn to the side nearest the inducing body, and that of like
sign is repelled to the remote side, and these quantities are equal in
amount.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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