Excerpt from Treatise on Electricity, Vol. 2 of 3: In Theory and Practice It is three years since the First Volume of the Treatise on Electricity in Theory and Practice appeared. This long interval, which has elapsed between the publication of these two volumes, is due to the desire, that I have entertained, of not allowing the Second to appear, until after my having succeeded in giving a satisfactory theory of the voltaic pile. I hope to have solved this difficult and contested question, in a manner that will be accepted by all who have turned their attention to it. I have also to justify myself on another point; it is the necessity in which I am placed of publishing a Supplementary Volume. The very great development, that I have felt it necessary to give to the subjects discussed in this volume, on account of their importance, and of the very great numbers of works of which they have been the object, have rendered it impossible for me to include in it the Applications of Electricity. I have therefore determined to devote to them a supplementary volume, which will enable me to give to them the extension, which they merit. This change in my original plan has led me to introduce a second change, namely, the addition of a new Part to the Six of which the Treatise should have consisted. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.