The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society: A Poem, with Philosophical NotesDarwin, Erasmus
Philosophy
The Temple of Nature; or, the Origin of Society: A Poem, with Philosophical Notes
Darwin, Erasmus
Cosmology -- Poetry; Life -- Origin -- Poetry
As an electrised point with either kind of electricity causes a stream
of air to pass from it in the direction of the point, it seems to
affect the air much in the same manner as the fluid matter of heat
affects it; that is, it will not readily pass through it, but will
adhere to the particles of air, and is thus carried away with them.
From this it will also appear, that points do not attract electricity,
properly speaking, but suffer it to depart from them; as it is there
less attracted to the body which it surrounds, than by any other part
of the surface.
And as a point presented to an electrised conductor facilitates the
discharge of it, and blows the flame of a candle towards the
conductor, whether vitreous or resinous electricity be accumulated
upon it; it follows, that in both cases some electric matter passes
from the point to the conductor, and that hence there are two electric
ethers; and that they combine or explode when they meet together, and
give out light and heat, and occupy less space in this their combined
state, like the union of nitrous gas with oxygen gas.
IV. _Accumulation of Electric Ethers by Contact._
The electric ethers may be separately accumulated by contact of
conductors with nonconductors, by vicinity of the two ethers, by heat,
and by decomposition.
Glass is believed to consist in part of consolidated resinous ether,
and thence to attract an electric atmosphere round it, which consists
of a greater proportion of vitreous ether compared to the quantity of
the resinous, as mentioned in Proposition No. 4. This atmosphere may
stand off a line from the surface of the glass, though its attractive
or repulsive power may extend to a much greater distance; and a more
equally mixed electric atmosphere may stand off about the same
distance from the surface of a cushion.
Now when a cushion is forcibly pressed upon the surface of a glass
cylinder or plane, the atmosphere of the cushion is forced within that
of the glass, and consequently the vitreous part of it is brought
within the sphere of the attraction of the resinous ether combined
with the glass, and therefore becomes attracted by it in addition to
the vitreous part of the spontaneous atmosphere of the glass; and the
resinous part of the atmosphere of the cushion is at the same time
repelled by its vicinity to the combined resinous ether of the glass.
From both which circumstances a vitreous ether alone surrounds the
part of the glass on which the cushion is forcibly pressed; which does
not, nevertheless, resemble an electrised coated jar; as this
accumulation of vitreous ether on one side of the glass is not so
violently condensed, or so forcibly attracted to the glass by the
loose resinous ether on the other side of it, as occurs in the charged
coated jar.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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