XX. An account of some galvanic combinations, formed by the arrangement of single metallic plates and fluids, analogous to the new galvanic apparatus of Mr. Volta

I. All the Galvanic combinations analogous to the new apparatus of Mr. Volta, which have been heretofore described by experimentalists, consist (as far as my knowledge extends) of series containing at least two metallic substances, or one metal and charcoal, and a stratum of fluid. And it has been generally supposed, that their agencies are, in some measure, connected with the different powers of the metals to conduct electricity. But I have found that an accumulation of Galvanic influence, exactly similar to the accumulation in the common pile, may be produced by the arrangement of single metallic plates, or arcs, with different strata of fluids. The train of reasoning which led to the discovery of this fact, was produced by the observation of some phænomena relating to the connection of chemical changes with the evolution of Galvanic power.