Page:Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Vol 60.djvu/187

172 secures a great saving of space. Two jointed electrodes carry the two beads at their ends; the distance between the beads and the interposed ball can be thus adjusted. This is a matter of importance, as the receiver does not properly respond when the spark-length is too large. Small sparks are found more effective with the receiver used. After a little experience it is possible to tell whether the discharge is oscillatory or not. The effective sparks have a smooth sound, whereas non-oscillatory discharges give rise to a peculiar cracked sound, and appear jagged in outline.

The wires of the primary coil are in connexion with a small storage cell through a tapping key. The coil, a small storage cell, and the key are enclosed in a tinned iron box. It must be borne in mind that a magnetic disturbance is produced each time the primary

circuit of the induction coil is made or broken; a sudden variation of the magnetic ﬁeld disturbs the receiver. The iron box in which the coil is enclosed screens the space outside from magnetic disturbance. On one side of the box there is a narrow slit through which the stud of the press-key projects. In front of the box is the radiator tube, which may be square or cylindrical. The radiating apparatus used in the following experiments has a square tube 1 sq. in. in section. The apparatus thus constructed is very portable. The one which I often use is 7 in. in height, 6 in. in length, and 4 in. in breadth. To obtain a flash of radiation it is merely necessary to press the key and then release it. The break is made very sudden by an elastic spring.

The Spiral Spring Receiver.—The receiving circuit consists of a spiral spring coherer in series with a voltaic cell and a dead-beat galvanometer of D'Arsonval type. An account of this form of receiver has already been given (vide "On the Indices of Refraction of