Faraday to William Thomson   19 November 1859

[Royal Institution embossed letterhead] | 19 November 1859

My dear Sir

Your experiment is most beautiful & striking¹ and a wonderful proof of the extent to which experiment may be carried by those who engraft it on principle. I think I understand the whole of it and I conclude you can make the dropping water bring away either P or N electricity according as the nozzle from which the jet issues & the cylinder round the jet are of this or that metal.

I conclude I am right in assuming that static induction is set up all the time across the air between the breaking stream & the surrounding cylinder but what a curious variety of cases may be devised in that case since water issuing from the same vessel with different jets & these surrounded by cylinders of different metals would give so many changes from one water source[.]

Suppose Voltas experiment of contact and separation were made in perfectly dry naphtha or out of schist it ought to give no result if contact were made at dry places of the metals. Whereas if a portion of the surface were wetted & then contact made a result should be obtained. I shall be anxious to hear of your educated results[.]

There are five fridays after the 7th of May - but do not delay your evening longer than is necessary²[.]

Respectful remembrances to Mrs. Thomson

from Yours ever truly | M. Faraday