Yes, I think perfectly; it is the attraction that subsists between bodies of a different nature, which occasions them to combine and form a compound, when they come in contact, and, according to Sir H. Davy’s opinion, this effect is produced by the attraction of the opposite electricities, which prevail in bodies of different kinds.
MRS. B.
Very well; your definition comprehends the first law of chemical attraction, which is, that it takes place only between bodies of a different nature; as, for instance, between an acid and an alkali; between oxygen and a metal, &c.
CAROLINE.
That we understand of course; for the attraction between particles of a similar nature is that of aggregation, or cohesion, which is independent of any chemical power.
MRS. B.
The 2d law of chemical attraction is, that it takes place only between the most minute particles of bodies; therefore, the more you divide the particles of the bodies to be combined, the more readily they act upon each other.
CAROLINE.
That is again a circumstance which we might have supposed, for the finer the particles of the two substances are, the more easily and perfectly they will come in contact with each other, which must greatly facilitate their union. It was for this purpose, you said, that you used iron filings, in preference to wires or pieces of iron, for the decomposition of water.
MRS. B.