Miscellaneous papers . these thecathode rays have freeends. In b the pressurewas reduced so muchthat the battery couldonly barely keep up acontinuous discharge ;hence in this the cathoderays end perpendicularlyupon the opposite regard to theseequipotential curves wehave to remark: (1)That in constructingeach figure some fifty Fio. 32, a (* nat. size). ^ ^^ deflections were used; these were not distributed uniformly over thewhole surface, but were mostly taken in the places whichseemed most important.(2) The uncertaintywhich remained is in-dicated by the numberof equipotential curvesd
Miscellaneous papers . these thecathode rays have freeends. In b the pressurewas reduced so muchthat the battery couldonly barely keep up acontinuous discharge ;hence in this the cathoderays end perpendicularlyupon the opposite regard to theseequipotential curves wehave to remark: (1)That in constructingeach figure some fifty Fio. 32, a (* nat. size). ^ ^^ deflections were used; these were not distributed uniformly over thewhole surface, but were mostly taken in the places whichseemed most important.(2) The uncertaintywhich remained is in-dicated by the numberof equipotential curvesdrawn. For just somany were drawn thatthe uncertainty as tothe position of anysingle one was equalto the interval betweentwo neighbouring ones. (3) In order to obtain the actual current-lines from the equipotential lines here drawn, we must imagine the end-points of the latter joined to the electrodes, and the lines themselves compressed somewhat more together towards those places in which they are closest. It is clear. Fig. 32, b (J nat. size). EXPERIMENTS ON THE CATHODE DISCHARGE 245 that the actual current-lines could never cut the sides of thevessel, as the lines in our drawings do. The figures show without any doubt that the direction ofthe cathode rays does not coincide with the direction of thecurrent. In some places the current-lines are almost perpen-dicular to the direction of the cathode rays. Some parts of-the gas-space are lit up brilliantly by the cathode light,although the current in them is vanishingly small. Koughlyspeaking, the distribution of the current in its flow from poleto pole is similar to what it would be in a solid or liquidconductor. From this it follows that the cathode rays havenothing in common with the path of the current. 1. Against the preliminary experiment the objection maybe raised that since amagnet deflects thecathode rays, converselythe cathode rays mustdeflect the magnet. Butwhen we come to con-sider the expression amagnet deflects this
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectphysics, bookyear1896
