Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 2 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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In
The Same Manner, By Employing A Conducting Arc Composed Of Two Pieces
Of Zinc And Silver Soldered Together Endways;
And resting, as before,
one of the extremities of the metallic circuit on the femoral nerve,
it is necessary, in
Order to produce contractions, to bring the other
extremity of the conductor nearer and nearer to the muscles, in
proportion as the irritability of the organs diminishes. Toward the
end of the experiment the slightest stratum of water prevents the
passage of the electrical current, and it is only by the immediate
contact of the arc with the muscles, that the contractions take place.
These effects are, however, dependent on three variable circumstances;
the energy of the electromotive apparatus, the conductibility of the
medium, and the irritability of the organs which receive the
impressions: it is because experiments have not been sufficiently
multiplied with a view to these three variable elements, that, in the
action of electric eels and torpedos, accidental circumstances have
been taken for absolute conditions, without which the electric shocks
are not felt.
In wounded gymnoti, which give feeble but very equal shocks, these
shocks appeared to us constantly stronger on touching the body of the
fish with a hand armed with metal, than with the naked hand. They are
stronger also, when, instead of touching the fish with one hand,
naked, or armed with metal, we press it at once with both hands,
either naked or armed. These differences become sensible only when one
has gymnoti enough at disposal to be able to choose the weakest; and
when the extreme equality of the electric discharges admits of
distinguishing between the sensations felt alternately by the hand
naked or armed with a metal, by one or both hands naked, and by one or
both hands armed with metal. It is also in the case only of small
shocks, feeble and uniform, that they are more sensible on touching
the gymnotus with one hand (without forming a chain) with zinc, than
with copper or iron.
Resinous substances, glass, very dry wood, horn, and even bones, which
are generally believed to be good conductors, prevent the action of
the gymnoti from being transmitted to man. I was surprised at not
feeling the least shock on pressing wet sticks of sealing-wax against
the organs of the fish, while the same animal gave me the most violent
strokes, when excited by means of a metallic rod. M. Bonpland received
shocks, when carrying a gymnotus on two cords of the fibres of the
palm-tree, which appeared to us extremely dry. A strong discharge
makes its way through very imperfect conductors. Perhaps also the
obstacle which the conductor presents renders the discharge more
painful. I touched the gymnotus with a wet pot of brown clay, without
effect; yet I received violent shocks when I carried the gymnotus in
the same pot, because the contact was greater.
When two persons, insulated or otherwise, hold each other's hands, and
only one of these persons touches the fish with the hand, either naked
or armed with metal, the shock is most commonly felt by both at once.
However, it sometimes happens that, in the most severe shocks, the
person who comes into immediate contact with the fish alone feels
them.
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