The Sun.
London, England, 1848-06-07 00:00:00

FARADAY'S LECTURES ON ELEC-

T RIC ITY.
On Saturday Professor Faraday delivered his fifth
lecture at the Royal Institution, 'on the allied pheno-
mena of the chemical and electrical forces. In the
preceding lecture he had exhibited some of the effects
of the voltaic battery, when the passage of the elec-
tricity is interrupted ; in this one he showed the
phenomena that occur during the regular flow of the
electric current through the wires without any
interruption of the circuit. The simplest evidence
that a constant action is going on in the conducting wire
is aff irded by the deflection of a magnetic needle, when
a wire that connects the two poles of a battery is held
over it, parallel to the direction of the needle. Small
pieces of bent iron, resting on the wire, became mag-
netic when the electric circuit was completed, and when
the u wire was twisted several times round a thick piece
ofiron, to increase the effect., the magnetic power
became so strong, that it lifted an anvil of at least
fifty pounds weight. The heating power of the voltaic
battery, when the current is passing uninterruptedly
along the wires, was shown by its making charcoal,
and various thin wires red hot, in which state they
would have remained so loeg as the battery continue's'
in vigorous action. Tile conducting power of gold
being greater than that of platinum, a wire of gold
became a much brighter red by the passage of electricity
throueht it, than one of platinum ; and yet, when the
two wires were joined together, the platinum wire
became red hot, whilst the gold was not perceptibly
heated. This anomaly Professor Faraday explained, by
stating that the platinum wire obstructed the passage of
the electricity, consequently the gold wire, which was
capable of conducting a larger quantity, did not become
sensibly affected by the small quantity which the pla-
tinum allowed to pees. The increase of heat diminishes
the conducting power of metals, and several experiments
were shown, for the purpose of illustrating this peculiar
property, the red heat of one part of a fine communi-
cating wire being brightened when another part of the
wire was cooled, and the contrary effect being produced
when the wire was heated by a spirit lamp. A great
part of the lecture was occupied in explaining the two
most popular theories respecting the nature of electricity,
neither of which, however, Professor Faraday is inclined
to adopt. One supposition, is that electricity is an ethe-
real imponderable body, distinct from the substances in
which it is excited, and that it is transmitted along wires
in like manner to the rushing of fluids through tubes ;
the other, and the more beautiful theory is, that
the phenomena of electricity are produced like round, by
vibrations. The Professor performed several experi-
ments, for the purpose of showing the facts adduced
in support of each of these theories. One of the diffi-
culties to be overcome in any theory that purports to
explain the nature of electricity, is to account for
the instantaneous transmission of the power,
which has been ascertained to exceed the rate of
five thousand miles in a second. In support of the
first theory, it is urged that as there is an im-
mense difference in the rapidity with which different
fluids pass along tubes—water, for example, flow-
ing slowly in comparison with air, and air slowly in
comparison with hydrogen gas—so it is asserted that
the assumed imponderable fluid may pass with a ra-
pidity vastly greater than hydrogen gas. The vibrations
of sound, however, present much greater similarity
to the transmission of electricity. Though sound
passes in sir at the rate of only thirteen miles
a minute, it passes through water four times
as quickly, and through glass sixteen times faster
than through air. There is this resemblance also be-
tween the passage of sound and the transmission of elec-
tricity, that sound may be transmitted insensibly through
solid bodies and become audible at the end. Two curi-
ous experiments were performed to illustrate this pro•
perty of sound. A thin strip of deal was suspended
from one end of the lecture-room to the other, and
at the farther end it bore against a box. A tuning-
fork when struck and applied to one end of the
strip of wood caused the box at the other extremity to
emit a loud musical sound, though the tuning fork itself
could scarcely be heard. In the other experiment a
rod of metal passed through the floor of the lecture
room, and was placed in connexion with a pianoforte
in a room beneath. When the instrument was
played, scarcely any sound was heard, until a
guitar case was . placed on the rod, and then
the notes were distinct and loud, as if proceed-
ing from the guitar. There is a similarityalsroel
(be-
tween vibrations and electrical shocks, as may be proved
by striking a bar of iron when holding it near one
of the points of vibration, the jarring sensation bear-
ing a close resemblance to an electric shock. This
vibratory sensation is felt yet more strongly when
a wet string is fastened round the wrist, and some one
pulls the end of it through the fingers. Having thus
mentioned the two prevailing theories respecting the
nature of electricity, and supported them by various ex-
periments, Professor Farady left the explanation of his
own views for a future lecture.

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Thir long-expected work has at length appeared,
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FOREIGN FRUIT.—The arrivals of fruit from some
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The steam-ship Giraffe, from Rotterdam, has brought
ten baskets of cherries, and also some melons. Tho An-
twerpen steamer, from Antwerp, has brought twent) -
four baskets of cherries ; and the Columbine, from
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y etilly.e pro-
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