_Electrolytic Liquid._--Commandant Renard's experiments were made with
15 per cent, solution of caustic soda and water containing 27 per
cent. of acid. These are the proportions that give the maximum of
conductivity. Experiments made with a voltameter having platinum
electrodes separated by an interval of 3 or 4 centimeters showed that
for a determinate E.M.F. the alkaline solution allows of the passage
of a slighter intenser current than the acidulated water, that is to
say, it is less resistant and more advantageous from the standpoint of
the consumption of energy.
_Porous Partition._--Let us suppose that the two parts of the trough
are separated by a partition containing small channels at right angles
with its direction. It is these channels alone that must conduct the
electricity. Their conductivity (inverse of resistance) is
proportional to their total section, and inversely proportional to
their common length, whatever be their individual section. It is,
therefore, advantageous to employ partitions that contain as many
openings as possible.
The separating effect of these partitions for the gas is wholly due to
capillary phenomena. We know, in fact, that water tends to expel gas
from a narrow tube with a pressure inversely proportional to the
tube's radius.
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