NOLLET, (JEAN ANTOINE). - THE THEORY OF THE "DOUBLE FLUX" IN ELECTRICITY.

Recherches sur les Causes Particulieres des Phénoménes Électriques, Et sur les effets nuisibles ou avantageux qu'on peut attendre. Troisieme Edition.

Paris, Freres Guerin, 1753. Small 8vo. Cont. full mottled calf. Top of spine with wear. Raised bands, richly gilt spine. Some wear to titlelabels. Small tear to hinges at upper compartment (hinges not loosening).. Spine a little rubbed. Small loss of leather at at lower right corner of frontcover. XXIII,444 pp. and 8 large folded engraved plates (showing apparatus and experiments with electricity). Internally clean, printed on good paper. From the library of le Comte de Caumia Baillenx, "en son Chateau d'Andrain" and with his mongram, blindtooled on both covers.

In this work Nollet, the discoverer of the theory of double flux, describes, among other experiments, the famous experiments with the Leyden jar. "The author lay down a theory, according to which the cause of electrical phenomena is the effluence and affluence of a subtile fluid which is everywhere present. Some interesting experiments are described with vacuum tubes also on the influence of electric charges on the growth of plants." (Wheeler, 355, but not listing this edition). - Poggendorff II:296.

"Nollet's system (effluence and affluence) was much superior to earlier theories of double flux. such as Moliere's or Hauksbee's. A cheif difficulty with them (as with the theory of pulsating atmospheres) had been to explain why attraction occurs first.follwed by contact and then repulsion. Nollet answered that the effluent and affluent flows differ not only in direction, but in velocity and spatial distribution as well.The effluent stream consists of many jets, each of which spreads out into a cone with apex at one of the scattered exit pores. The affluent current, being a hodgepodge of differently directed effluent streams, is approximately isotropic."(Heilbron, p. 284)

Order-nr.: 44319