Abstract
As the result of experiments described in the December number of the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Messrs. Bastow and Bowden conclude that “When a finely polished plate is lowered on to another polished surface...the top plate will sink until the two surfaces are in close contact. The apparent ‘floating’ at a height of 4μ is due to dust or particles between the plates”. The implication is that the floating is due to particles with a diameter approximating to 4μ. With the conclusion I agree, since, in spite of many attempts, I have never succeeded in reproducing Sir William Hardy and Miss Nottage's results with carefully cleaned surfaces; with the implication I disagree entirely. In the case of metal plates, the somewhat elaborate apparatus used by Messrs. Bastow and Bowden is quite unnecessary. All that is required is to clean the plates with reasonable care, exposed to the air of the room, and lay one on the other as gently as possible. It will then be found that they are in electrical contact.
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Proc. Roy. Soc., A, 123, 195, 1929.
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WATSON, H. Contact of Smooth Surfaces. Nature 129, 437 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129437c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129437c0
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