XXVI. On Volta's experiment of the electricity produced by the contact and separation of different metals

Abstract

A short time since Prof. Tyndall asked one of us to lend him our Thomson-Becker quadrant electrometer for a lecture illustration of the electricity developed by metallic contact; as the bifilar electrometer in question had been purposely rendered much less sensitive than usual by the wide separation of the suspension-threads, it was thought advisable to test the instrument before sending it. This was done with a disk of copper and a plate of zinc, each fastened to a stick of sealing-wax; the action even with this rough appliance was so great that it seemed desirable to pursue the experiment further.