Quantity of electrical elementary particles

Quantity of electrical elementary particles

424 ]sherwood. [J. F. I., h o w e v e r , is v e r y g r e a t a n d t h e i r c o n s u m p t i o n o f fuel ~ n o r m o u s . I n view, t h e n ,...

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424

]sherwood.

[J. F. I.,

h o w e v e r , is v e r y g r e a t a n d t h e i r c o n s u m p t i o n o f fuel ~ n o r m o u s . I n view, t h e n , of t h e p o s s i b l e e c o n o m i c v a l u e of t h e p r o b l e m to t h e w o r l d , a n e a r l y effort s h o u l d b e m a d e t o e x h a u s t i v e l y solve it, for t h e i m p o r t a n c e of a n y m e t h o d t h a t will l e s s e n - - t h o u g h e v e r so l i t t l e - - t h e c o s t of fuel for t h e g r e a t m o t o r of c i v i l i z a t i o n on w h i c h t h e p r o g r e s s of o u r race s e e m s to d e p e n d , is so g r e a t t h a t t h e e x p e n s e of t h e s o l u t i o n a p p e a r s c o m p a r a b l y as n o t h i n g . I f a n e x p e r i m e n t be m a d e with m i x e d a i r a n d s t e a m , b y d e l i v e r ing t h e c o m p r e s s e d h o t a i r i n t o t h e s t e a m r o o m of a boiler, t h e air s h o u l d b e d e l i v e r e d first i n t o p e r f o r a t e d p i p e s a r r a n g e d in g r i d i r o n form o v e r t h e e n t i r e a r e a of t h e s t e a m r o o m ; a n d it s h o u l d t h e n e m e r g e t h r o u g h t h e s m a l l h o l e s of t h e s e p i p e s i n t o t h e s t e a m room, thereby obtaining a more intimate mixture with the steam in t h e s h o r t t i m e a v a i l a b l e for t h a t p u r p o s e , t h a n if d e l i v e r e d into t h e s t e a m r o o m in bulk. T h e s u b j e c t is of sufficient i m p o r t a n c e a n d p r o m i s e t o w a r r a n t an e x h a u s t t v e e x p e r i m e n t a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n , a n d o n e of t h e Objects of t h i s p a p e r is, b y s u p p l y i n g t h e facts t h u s far o b t a i n e d , to g u i d e t h e future e x p e r i m e n t s b y t h e s h o r t e s t a n d s u r e s t p a t h . (~UANTIT¥ OF I~:LECTRICALELEMENTARY PARTICLES.--Herwig attempted to estimate the magnitude of electrical elementary particles, but he made some very arbitrary assumptions, and confounded the ideas of " m a s s " and " quantity" of particles. E. Budde proposes the questions : (I.) Are there in nature discrete elementary particles of electricity ? (2.) What is their magnitude ? According to the analogy of conclusions drawn for carbon, the questions may be answered as follows : If there are in nature discrete elementary particles of electricity, it is to be expected that an absolutely definite, very small quantity of electricity occurs, and plays an important part in a.large number of processes. If experiment shows us such an amount, then that amount of electricity is the probable quantity of the particles of electricity. The region in which we must investigate, is that of those processes in which electricity interacts with ponderable atoms, and defines the action of those ponderable atoms ; that is to say, the region of electrolytical decompositions and combinations. From considerations based upon Faraday's law, he deduces the value E ~ 0oooo0o51 mg. ½ mm. ~ sec. - - I. This value is the probable "Atomic Quantity of Electricity." It may be a multiple, but with the same proba.bility with which C = I2, and not 6, or 3, is E the quantity of electrical elementary particles, l~or, even if electricity can be split into smaller parts than E, it is not clear why such a smaller part is never met with in experiment.--l/Vied. Annalen, No. 8, z885 ," P. Mag., Sept. ,'885.