A new theory of galvanism : supported by some experiments and observations made by means of the calorimotor, a new galvanic instrument ; also, a new mode of decomposing potash extemporaneously ; read before the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia / by Robert Hare, M.D. ; ... accompanied by an engraving.

  • Hare, Robert, 1781-1858.
Date:
1819
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A new theory of galvanism : supported by some experiments and observations made by means of the calorimotor, a new galvanic instrument ; also, a new mode of decomposing potash extemporaneously ; read before the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia / by Robert Hare, M.D. ; ... accompanied by an engraving. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    De Luc's column they had become completely pre- dominant ; and, on the other hand, when the pairs were made larger and fewer, (as in Children's appa- ratus,) the calorific influence had gained the ascend- ancy. I was led to go farther in this way, and to examine whether one pair of plates of enormous size, or what might be equivalent thereto, would not exhibit heat more purely, and demonstrate it, equally with the electric fluid, a primary product of Galvanic combinations. The elementary battery of Wollas- ton, though productive of an evanescent ignition, was too minute to allow him to make the observations which I had in view. Twenty copper and twenty zinc plates, about nine- teen inches square, were supported vertically in a frame, the different metals alternating at one half inch distance from each other. All the plates of the same kind of metal were soldered to a common slip, so that each set of homogeneous plates formed one continuous metallic superficies. When the copper and zinc sur- faces thus formed, are united by an intervening wire, and the whole immerged in an acid, or aceto-saline solution, in a vessel devoid of partitions, the wire be- comes intensely ignited ; and when hydrogen is libe- rated it usually takes fire, producing a very beautiful undulating or corruscating flame. I am confident, that if Volta and the other investi- gators of Galvanism, instead of multiplying the pairs of Galvanic plates, had sought to increase the effect