Experiments and observations on electricity, made at Philadelphia in America / by Mr. Benjamin Franklin.

  • Benjamin Franklin
Date:
1751
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Experiments and observations on electricity, made at Philadelphia in America / by Mr. Benjamin Franklin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1. The non-eledtric contain’d in the bottle differs when eledtrifed from a non-eledtric eledtrifed out of the bottle, in this: that the electrical fire of the latter is accumulated on its furface, and forms an eledtrical atmofphere round it of confiderable extent: but the eledtrical fire is crouded into thefubjlance of the former, the glafs confining it. 2. At the fame time that the wire and top of the bot¬ tle, &c. is eledtrifed pojitively or plus, the bottom of the bottle is eledtrifed negatively or minus, in exadt propor¬ tion : /. e. whatever quantity of eledtrical fire is thrown in at top, an equal quantity goes out of the bottom. To underftand this, fuppofe the common quantity of Eledtri- city in each part of the bottle, before the operation begins, is equal to 20 $ and at every ftroke of the tube, fuppofe a quantity equal to 1 is thrown in; then, after the firft ftroke, the quantity contain’d in the wire and upper part of the bottle will be 21, in the bottom 19. After the fecond, the upper part will have 22, the lower 18, and fo on ’till after 20 ftrokes, the upper part will have a quan¬ tity of eledtrical fire equal to 40, the lower part none: and then the operation ends: for no more can be thrown into the upper part, when no more can be driven out of the lower part. If you attempt to throw more in, it is fpued back thro’ the wire, or flies out in loud cracks thro’ the fides of the bottle. 3. The equilibrium cannot be reftored in the bottle by inward communication or contadt of the parts; but it muft be done by a communication form’d without the bot¬ tle.