The theoretical and experimental consideration of electrical precipitation

Theory of electrical precipitation of suspended matter in gases is inseparably connected with the phenomena of ionization and the laws of electrically charged bodies. The motion of the suspended particle is like that of the charged pith ball in the familiar experiments, but the charge is obtained by ionization instead of contact. The paper shows that electrical precipitation occurs in nature and then by calling attention to the structure of matter shows how ionization is brought about, how the ions, nuclei and aggregates are formed, and the final precipitation of these is effected by gravitation and the electric field. Experimental apparatus for electrical precipitation is given and attention is called to the differences between the appearance of the positive, negative and alternating corona. The experimental data have shown the superiority of the negative corona and the relative effectiveness of the size and shape of electrodes, temperature and conductance of gases, polarity and uniformity of corona.