F.W.M. to Faraday   8 June 1853¹

June 8h 1853.

Sir

I ought to apologise for the liberty I am taking in writing to you, particularly as altho’ much interested in Scientific discoveries, I am very ignorant upon these subjects, & I fear it will be thought great presumption in me to offer any suggestions. I am told that when lecturing upon subject of “Table moving” you stated that there was not enough electricity in the human body to act upon the table.

Is it not possible (I ask with the greatest deference) that the electricity may be, as it were, renewed or accumulated in our bodes as fast as we part with it? if so it may take 20 minutes or 1/2 an hour for a sufficient quantity to have passed through our hands to charge the table. Supposing this to be true, I venture to hope that an idea which occurred to me on first seeing this extraordinary phenomenon may also have some truth in it. My idea is this. 1st It is the room which moves & not the table. The room goes round with the Earth from West to East, & thus accounting for the apparent movement of the table from East to West. 2dly the electricity in our bodies acting on the table, lifts it slightly from the ground, (the 100th part of an inch would do), and 3dy this being the case, as we use no force, but passively submit to follow what I must call the power of Electricity, we are obliged to rise from our chairs as soon as the room goes on without the table (which has been released from the power of attraction by the power of electricity), & we continue to follow it or rather to keep pace with the Earths movement.

It is difficult to realise the abstraction (or insulation) of the table; but some idea may be formed by remembering that a ball thrown high up in the air quite straight comes down a little further on one side or the other, & not on the exact spot it started from owing to the Earth’s having moved on. Of course the attraction of gravity is only slightly overcome, & the least movement of our hands may give a check to the table, & even send it round a little the other way - this is no doubt done when people “will” it to go this way or the other. The pressure of the hands may be almost involuntary & yet produce this effect. The “Tipping over” may be caused in the same way or more probably by the weakening of the power of electricity in that direction (the table always appears to move towards the west till influenced). I am so ignorant about electricity that I feel great diffidence in making these observations, but my anxiety that the reason of this extraordinary movement should be discovered, has led me to wish that one capable of judging, should tell me whether there is any truth in them, if there is, perhaps you will kindly write at your leisure a few lines directed to F.W.M. | Post Office | Marlow | Bucks. as I dont like to sign my name. Once more apologising for taking up your valuable time by so long a letter,

I am Sir | Your Obedient &c | F.W.M.

I ought to have said the electricity might be renewed (possibly) because I imagine tho’ perhaps very ignorantly, that it is supplied from the atmosphere as we breath in.