Galvani
LUIGI (gäl-vä'nē), an Italian anatomist; born in Bologna, Italy, He studied theology and Sept. 9, 1737. 37. of Anatomy. Galvani owes the wide celebrity attached to his name to his discoveries in animal electricity. He published his "Commentary on the Electrical Forces in Muscular Motion" in 1791. Most of his writings were published in a quarto edition in 1841-1842 by the Academy of Sciences of his native city. He died in Bologna, Dec. 4, 1798. His statue was erected there in 1879.
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Galvani, Luigi
gal-va'nee, Luigi (1737-1798), an eminent Italian scientist. He occupied a chair of physiology at the University of Bologna. From the twitchings of a frog's hind legs when placed in an electric circuit, he was led to investigate the subject of animal electricity. His researches were extended by Volta. In the frequent revolutions that swept over northern Italy, he was subject to annoyances that drove him from his position. In his honor the name of galvanism has been given to that branch of the science which treats of currents arising from chemical action, as from the combination of minerals and acids, i. e., to current electricity generated by batteries. See Volta
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Galvanism
the branch of electric science to which an experiment by Galvani gave birth. His wife, who was making soup from frogs, happened to put them, after being skinned, in proximity to a charged electrical machine belor belonging to her husband. On touching them with a scalpel their legs became greatly convulsed. From this Galvani came to the erroneous conclusion that animal electricity existed in the nerves and muscles of GALVANOMETER frogs, etc. In this explanation Galvani ignored the metallic connecting wire. His contemporary, Volta, gave attention to this, and found that the contraction of the limbs is more energetic when the connecting arc is made of two metals instead of one. He therefore inferred that the metals took the active part in producing the contraction and the disengagement of electricity was due to their contact, and that the animal parts constituted only a conductor, and at the same time a very sensitive electroscope. In 1793 he published these views, and in 1800 first described and constructed what has since been called after him the voltaic pile. Now voltaic plates have nearly given place to voltaic or galvanic batteries, of which there are many varieties. See GALVANI, LUIGI.
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Galvanized Iron
sheet iron coated with zinc. The ordinary commercial article is prepared in the following manner. A sheet of iron is first cleansed with hot sulphuric acid to remove rust and other impurities, and is washed in cold water. It is then plunged into a bath of molten zinc covered with a film of sal ammoniac to prevent its surface from turning into dross. Upon taking out the sheet of iron, it is found to be covered with a coating of zinc, deposited in crystal-like powder, such as may be seen on a frosted window. A more expensive article is prepared by a coating of tin, followed by one of zinc. The plates are treated with sulphuric acid and washed as before. They are then piled in a tank with layers of finely granulated zinc between the plates. The bath is then filled up with a dilute solution of muriate of tin, consisting of about two quarts of the muriate to 300 gallons of water. A sort of galvanic action is set up. At the end of two hours the plates are found to be coated slightly with tin. They are then treated to a zinc bath as before. Galvanized iron is proof against all ordinary attacks of weather. It requires no paint. It is much used for outside walls and roofs, for water pails, and other purposes, eaves, troughs, cistern pipes, smokestacks, furnace jackets, and the like. Bolts used in shipbuilding are galvanized as a protection against rust.
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Galway
a municipal and parlia- , mentary borough of Ireland, a seaport and county of itself, at the mouth of the river Corrib, on the N. shore of Galway Bay, 50 miles N. N. W. of Limerick. The old town is poorly built and irregular. The new town consists of well-planned and spacious streets, and is built on a rising ground which slopes gradually toward the sea and the river. Galway is the see of a Catholic bishop, but is in the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Tuam. The principal buildings are the cruciform church (Episcopal) of St. Nicholas (1320), St. Augustine's Catholic Ch Church , Queens College, monasteries, nunneries, the county court house, barracks, etc. Galway has flour mills, extensive salmon and sea fishing, a good harbor, and a lighthouse. During 1858- 1864 a line of steamers plied between Galway and the United States. The exports consist mainly of agricultural produce , wool, and black marble. It was taken by Richard de Burgh in 1232. From the 13th till the middle of the 17th century it continued to rise in commercial importance. In 1652 it was taken by Sir Charles Coote, after a blockade of several months; and in July, 1691, it was compelled to surrender to General Ginkell. Pop. about 16,000.
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Galway Bay
a large bay on the W. coast of Ireland, between County Galway on the N. and County Clare on the S., about 20 miles in length and from 20 to 7 miles in breadth. Across its entrance lie the Aran Islands.
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Gama
DOM VASCO DA, a noted Portuguese navigator, who first made the voyage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope; born of a noble VASCO DA GAMA family in Sines, Portugal, in 1450. The voyage had been projected under John . II , and his successor, Emmanuel the Fortunate, having fitted out four vessels, intrusted Gama with the chief command. He sailed from Lisbon July 8, 1497, and doubling the Cape, visited Mozambique, Mombaza, Melinda, and Cali- Vol. IV-Cyc-Q cut, returning to Lisbon in 1499. For this exploit he was named Admiral of the Indies. In the year 1502 he was placed at the head of a powerful fleet, with which he provided for the r the security of future voyagers by fou lishments at founding estab- Mozambique and Sofala He established the first Portuguese fac- . tory in the Indies. He re-entered Lisbon in 1503 and passed the next 20 years in obscurity. In 1524 he was appointed Viceroy of India by King John III., but his administration lasted only three months. He died in Cochin, India, Dec. 24, 1524 .
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