ABSTRACT
In experimenting upon the action between a rectilinear oscillation and a secondary conductor, it is observed phenomena that seemed to point to a reflection of the induction action from the walls of the building. For example, feeble sparks frequently appeared when the secondary conductor was so situated that any direct action was quite impossible, as was evident from simple geometrical considerations of symmetry; and this most frequently occurred in the neighborhood of solid walls. Generally the sparks differ greatly in the two positions. If the experiment is arranged at a distance of about 0.8 m from the wall, the sparks are much stronger when the spark-gap is turned toward the wall. The length of the sparks can be so regulated that a continuous stream of sparks passes over when the spark-gap is turned toward the wall. That Maxwell’s theory, notwithstanding its great intrinsic probability, cannot dispense with such confirmation as it has already received and may yet receive, is proven.
