The desideratum: or, electricity made plain and useful / by ... John Wesley.

  • John Wesley
Date:
1871
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The desideratum: or, electricity made plain and useful / by ... John Wesley. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Air, the Fire mingled with it is instantly dispersed thro’ the pulmonary Vessels into the Blood : Thence it is diffused thro’ every Part of the Body, even the most minute Arteries, Veins, and Nerves. In the mean Time the Lungs inspire more Air and Fire, and so provide a constant Supply. 6. The Air seems to be universally impregnated with this Fire, but so diluted, as not to hurt the Animal in Respiration. So a small Quantity of a Liquor dropt in Water, may be friendly to an human. Body, tho’ a few Drops of the same Liquor, given by themselves, would have occasioned certain Death. And yet you cannot conceive one Particle of the Water, without a Particle of the Medicine. ’Tis not impossible, this may be one great Use of Air, by adhering so closely to the elementary Fire, to temper and render salutary to the Body, what would other- wise be fatal to it. 7. To put it beyond dispute, that this Fire is largely mixt with the Air, you may make the fol- lowing Experiment. Take a round Lump of Iron, and heat it to a Degree called a welding Heat : Take it out of the Fire, and with a pair of Bellows blow cold Air upon it. The Iron will then as effectually melt, as if it were in the hottest Fire. Now when taken out of the Forge, it had not Fire enough in it to conquer the Cohesion of it’s Parts: But when this Fire is join’d with that which was mixt with the Air, it is sufficient to do it. On the same Principle we account for the Increase of a Coal or Wood Fire by blowing it. 8. And let none wonder that Fire should be so connected with Air, as hardly to be separated. As subtle as Fire is, we may even by Art attach it to other Bodies; yea, and keep it Prisoner for many Years: And that cither in a solid or a fluid P'orm. An instance of the first we have in Steel: Which is made such, only by impacting a large Quantity of Fire into Bars of Iron. In like Manner we B 2 im-
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