Faraday to Charles Manby   12 June 1845

Private

Royal Institution | 12 June 1845

My dear Sir

Chemists are well aware that when metals corrode in water or sea water the air which these waters contain is the oxigen of the metals[.] They know also that Brine & saturated solution of salts generally contain little or no air[.] Davy made out the difference of Brine Sea water & common water & referred that of the two first to the difference of air1 - so whenever we want to corrode copper by salt water we dilute the solution that it may absorb air[.]

In like manner I think the Voltaic effects generally are known & Grove has recently worked out the effect of atmospheres about voltaic circles beautifully2[.]

It is difficult for me to judge for you but as a paper3 consisting of principles it would not do for the Royal Society & I do not see that any practical application is drawn from the results[.]

Ever Truly Yours | M. Faraday

C. Manby Esq | &c &c

1
Davy (1824).
2
Grove (1845a).
3
Adie (1845) read to the Institution of Civil Engineers on 3 June 1845.

Bibliography

ADIE, Richard (1845): “On the Corrosion of Metals”, Min. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., 4: 323-33.

DAVY, Humphry (1824): “On the corrosion of copper sheeting by sea water, and on methods of preventing this effect; and on their application to ships of war and other ships”, Phil. Trans., 114: 151-8.

GROVE, William Robert (1845a): “On the Application of Voltaic Ignition to Lighting Mines”, Phil. Mag., 27: 442-6.

Please cite as “Faraday1750,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday1750