istinct threads, generally mingled with thin
sparks, which probably correspond to the successive discharges
occurring between the knobs. But when the frequency is extremely high,
and the arc of the discharge produces a very _loud_ but _smooth_
sound--showing both that oscillation takes place and that the sparks
succeed each other with great rapidity--then the luminous streams
formed are perfectly uniform. To reach this result very small coils
and jars of small capacity should be used. I take two tubes of thick
Bohemian glass, about 5 centimetres in diameter and 20 centimetres
long. In each of the tubes I slip a primary of very thick copper wire.
On the top of each tube I wind a secondary of much thinner
gutta-percha covered wire. The two secondaries I connect in series,
the primaries preferably in multiple arc. The tubes are then placed in
a large glass vessel, at a distance of 10 to 15 centimetres from each
other, on insulating supports, and the vessel is filled with boiled
out oil, the oil reaching about an inch above the tubes. The free ends
of the secondary are lifted out of the oil and placed parallel to each
other at a distance of about 10 centimetres. The ends which are
scraped should be dipped in the oil. Two four-pint jars joined in
series may be used to discharge through the primary. When the
necessary adjustments in the length and distance of the wires above
the oil and in the arc of discharge are made, a luminous sheet is
produced between the wires which is perfectly smooth and textureless,
like the ordinary discharge through a moderately exhausted tube.

I have purposely dwelt upon this apparently insignificant experiment.
In trials of this kind the experimenter arrives at the startling
conclusion that, to pass ordinary luminous discharges through gases,
no particular degree of exhaustion is needed, but that the gas may be
at ordinary or even greater pressure. To accomplish this, a very high
frequency is essential; a high potential is likewise required, but
this is a merely incidental necessity. These experiments teach us
that, in endeavoring to discover novel methods of producing light by
the agitation of atoms, or molecules, of a gas, we need not limit our
research to the vacuum tube, but may look forward quite seriously to
the possibility of obtaining the light effects without the use of any
vessel whatever, with air at ordinary pressure.

Such discharges of very high frequency, which render luminous th