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The Royal Society: Science in the Making

Paper, 'The electrolysis of steam' by Joseph John Thomson

Reference number: PP/21/5

Date: 1893

Description

Thomson writes: 'It is well known that steam is split up into hydrogen and oxygen when an electric discharge passes through it. A very careful examination of the laws of this phenomenon was made more than thirty years ago by Perrot; as his results are very remarkable, and seem to be not at all well known, I will describe, as briefly as possible, his apparatus, and the results he obtained with it.'

Annotations in pencil and ink. Includes four pages of diagrams of experimental apparatus.

Subject: Physics / Electricity

Received 18 February 1893. Read 9 March 1893.

A version of this paper was published in volume 53 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'The electrolysis of steam'.

Reference number
PP/21/5
Earliest possible date
1893
Physical description
Ink and graphite pencil on paper
Page extent
24 pages
Format
Manuscript
Printed
Diagram

Creator name

Joseph John Thomson

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Citation

Joseph John Thomson, Paper, 'The electrolysis of steam' by Joseph John Thomson, 1893, PP/21/5, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/pp_21_5/paper-the-electrolysis-of-steam-by-joseph-john-thomson, accessed on 11 April 2026

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  • Proceedings Papers

    The archival collection known as 'Proceedings Papers' is comprised of manuscripts and occasional proofs of scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which were read before meetings of Fellows and printed in full in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

    Dates: 1882 - 1894

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