The solenoid was above the iron cylinder, the supporting rod of which passed through it as a core.
Ampere had already previously shown that a spiral conductor or solenoid when traversed by an electric current possesses magnetic polarity, and that two such solenoids act upon one another when traversed by electric currents as if they were magnets.
At once the attractive force of the solenoid on the iron cylinder was automatically reduced, and the falling of the latter caused the negative carbon to rise, starting an arc between it and the metal in the crucible.
Any change in the resistance of the arc, either by lengthening, due to the sinking of the charge in the crucible, or by the burning of the carbon, affected the proportion of current flowing in the two shunt circuits, and so altered the position of the iron cylinder in the solenoid that the length of arc was, within limits, automatically regulated.
In the second, or " braking off " method, the brake is automatically applied by a spring or weight, and is released either mechanically or, in the case of electric cranes, by the pull of a solenoid or magnet which is energized by the current passing through the motor.
Such a filament is called a simple magnetic solenoid, and the product aI is called the strength of the solenoid.
If the magnetization is parallel to the major axis, and the lengths of the major and minor axes are 2a and 2C, the poles are situated at a distance equal to 3a from the centre, and the magnet will behave externally like a simple solenoid of length 3a.
The fixed and suspended coils of the dynamometer are respectively connected in series with the magnetizing solenoid and with a secondary wound upon the specimen.
This rod was connected with the negative pole of the generator, and was suspended from one arm of a balance-beam, while from the other end of the beam was suspended a vertical hollow iron cylinder, which could be moved into or out of a wire coil or solenoid joined as a shunt across the two carbon rods of the furnace.
Immediately the current passed through the solenoid it caused the iron cylinder to rise, and, by means of its supporting rod, forced the end of the balance beam upwards, so depressing the other end that the negative carbon rod was forced downwards into contact with the metal in the crucible.
A counterpoise was placed on the solenoid end of the balance beam to act against the attraction of the solenoid, the position of the counterpoise determining the length of the arc in the crucible.
