He has just
mounted metallic piles to the number of 2,500 zinc plates and as many of
rosette copper. We shall forthwith speak of his results, as well as of a
new experiment that he performed yesterday with two glowing carbons.
[Illustration: SIR HUMPHRY DAVY'S ELECTRIC LIGHT EXPERIMENTS IN 1813.]
"The first having been placed at the base of a column of 120 zinc and
silver elements, and the second communicating with the apex of the pile,
they gave at the moment they were united a brilliant spark of an extreme
whiteness that was seen by the entire society. Citizen Robertson will
repeat this experiment on the 25th."
The date generally given for the invention of the electric light by Sir
Humphry Davy is 1809, but previous mentions of his experiment are
found in Cuthberson's "Electricity" (1807) and in other works. In the
_Philosophical Magazine_, vol. ix., p. 219, under date of Feb. 1, 1801,
in a memoir by Mr. H. Moyes, of Edinburgh, relative to experiments made
with the pile, we find the following passage:
"When the column in question had reached the height of its power, its
sparks were seen by daylight, even when they were made to jump with a
piece of carbon held in the hand.
Pages:
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71