Abstract :
It has often been demonstrated that when an electric current is passed across certain sliding contacts the friction undergoes a change. In most cases the flow of electricity across the junction is accompanied by an increase in the friction, but in a few instances a slipping action is produced. Both these effects have been applied, to the operation of telephone devices, etc., but only a tentative explanation has so far been given of many of the complicated phenomena with which they are associated. In this paper are described a number of experiments designed to elucidate these intricate processes, and in the light of these investigations an attempt has been made to build up a comprehensive theory of their action.
