William Whewell to Faraday   23 November 1835

Translation W.W

"On Faraday's most recent Discovery¹.

"At the public meeting of the R. Acad. of Sciences (at Munich) on the 28 Mar 1832

"by F.W.J. von Schelling² &c &c &c"

[Accident has a certain part in scientific discoveries. Succeeding time eliminates this accidental portion. Thus in Galvani's expt the animal organs were an accidental condition. Volta got rid of this condition. Davy used the new instrument in analysing alkalies &c. Here were three sets of phenomena in physics, magnetic, electric, chemical. The Voltaic pile has proved the identity of electrical and chemical polarities. After a long dreary time Oersted proved the connection of Voltaic electricity & magnetism, but the connection was only imperfectly shown. Science required a transition from magnetism to electricity. But this could hardly be hoped.]³

"And yet this is recently fulfilled through a Discovery of which the first general announcement sufficiently vouches for the essential fact of the matter, that has reached us without any further statement of the means employed in the experiment*. This experiment was reserved for the English philosopher Faraday; the same who had pursued the Oerstedian experiment with as much perseverance and zeal as his great predecessor Davy had at an earlier time followed out the electro-chemical side of the Voltaic discovery⁴[.]

"It appears that the festival of the foundation day of our Academy could not be more worthily opened than with the announcement of such a discovery, which is a triumph of science, an event in the annals, and moreover, at least as appears to me, the most happy which has for a long time occurred in the domain of science"⁵. He then goes on to general reflexions on the prospects and principles of science.

*"The first and so far as I know, the only announcement hitherto published of this discovery is contained in an article in the Austrian Observer"⁶ which he quotes to the effect that Faraday has discovered that a magnet can produced all the effects of electricity⁷.

My dear Sir,

I have written out above a few sentences from the speech of Schelling which I mentioned to you which as he is a great philosopher in his own land and in a department which at first appears to have little to do with your greatest researches may perhaps interest you. My main reason however for sending it you now is to put to you some of the puzzles I have met with in reading your papers 7th and 8th series⁸ which I have been doing with indescribable delight though I fear I am not chemist enough to understand all the facts of them, as you will easily find by my questions.

<⁹> You have pointed out (art. 327)¹⁰ that Wollaston's expt of chemical action by machine electricity is not closely analogous to the effect of voltaic electricity. What is the theory of Wollaston's experiment.

<¹¹> If chemical affinity be identical with electrical action as you have so beautifully shewn in the case of voltaic action, how are we to expound¹² to ourselves the cases (so many) when we have chemical action and no voltaic effect. You seem to speak of this difficulty in (959)¹³[.] But what strikes me is that it is no difficulty in these cases where the elements liberated make new compounds immediately, ie a very great one when they do not do so[.] If you had light or heat evolved in all such cases I should be more satisfied.

I have also one or two puzzles in particular expts which I will not bore you with now. If you are to dine with the President of the R.S. on Saturday¹⁴ I shall see you and will not trouble you to write an answer to my queries. I hope you are going on with your researches. With a generalisation in your laws of which the atomic theory is only one branch you cannot want inducement to do so. I have a strong persuasion that crystallisation is the next capital subject of enquiry.

Believe me | yours very truly | W. Whewell

Address: Dr Faraday | Royal Institution | Albemarle Street | London

Postmark: 23 November 1835