On Molecular and Microscopic Science, Volume 1 (of 2)Somerville, Mary
History
On Molecular and Microscopic Science, Volume 1 (of 2)
Somerville, Mary
Matter -- Constitution; Microscopy; Natural history
The first experiments were made with a carbonic acid vacuum tube 20
inches long and 4 inches in diameter. The negative terminal at one
extremity of the tube was of aluminium, cup-shaped, about 3 inches in
diameter; the positive terminal was a wire of the same metal fused into
the other extremity of the tube; the point of the wire and cup were
about four inches and a half apart. With this tube and 2,240 cells of
the battery the discharge when the resistance was introduced had the
appearance of a positive and negative discharge, impinging on and
intermingling with each other, without any dark space intervening.
Around the negative terminal the luminosity extends to the sides of the
tube and tapers to the point of the positive wire. The light round the
negative terminal becomes brighter, a dark space appears next to it when
the resistance is diminished, and increases as the resistance decreases,
by the rolling back of the light in bright clouds to the point of the
positive terminal. These changes can be perfectly regulated by the
resistance, and various luminous phenomena occur at each stage.
With 2,240 cells distinct sounds were heard in the tube; with the whole
battery of 3,360 series the sounds were not heard till a magnet was
applied to the striæ, when they again became audible and the striæ were
spread over the surface of the tube.
A carbonic acid vacuum tube with platinum terminals fused into the same
side far apart was now put into the circuit, the part of the wires that
penetrated within the tube being coated with glass up to the carbon
balls in which they terminated. When a discharge from all the three
batteries passed through the tube, changes occurred in the form and
number of the striæ corresponding to the greater or less amount of the
resistance offered in the circuit.
At the commencement of the experiments there were 18 inches of water in
each of the tubes, which formed the maximum resistance. The wires
attached to the terminal wires of the battery were placed inside of
these tubes, and as soon as they touched the surface of the water a
faint luminous discharge was seen at each ball in the vacuum tube. As
the wire attached to the negative end of the battery was slowly
depressed, the two luminous discharges appeared to travel towards or
attract each other, and at times a portion of the positive luminosity
passed over and mingled with the negative; in this state the discharge
was extinguished by a magnet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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