The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-08-17 00:00:00

Mr. Preece'e letter has evoked the following eorre-

spolidenee
I confess I to not understand Mr. Preece. The woe
" ignorance,' however, is so ready in the vocabulary of
modern philosophers, that like eels who get used to skinning
so do we get familiarised with the opprobrius epithet. Mr
Preece says that 'lightning is like thunder. the effect
electric discharge. It Moot the destructive itself."

--es•
When one looks at a flash of lightning and aces the mass
of fight in the clouds with the blue sigziguing line, one is
apt to say that this Is the electricity passing from the
cloud to the earth, while the diffused light is its reflection.
If this thin zigzaiging line comes in contact with, ray, a
metal cross or the top of a stone pillar—which it did a year
or to ago near my own house—we are taught that the
lightning preferred to try its passage into the earth
through a conducting metal, but meeting with 11011.0011-
ducting stone it smashed the column, and we were
taught that the lightning was soinething—vis ,
mass of electricity. If this electricity is the effect of " electric
discharge," what is the electric discharge itself 1 "Loin, 31r.
Preece tells on that it is an absurd niiaconception to talk
of "electric fluid " as being attracted by this thing
or that. But if so, why put up a metallic conductor
or why does 3lr. Preece talk of " frequent and power-
ful cements " prevailing the wires of the electric
telegraph 1 A conductor most take something winch
would otherwise saraiih your hous.., and, I presume, a
"current," must have a stream of "someViing." It is quite
time I flask wlleTt we should be told What is "something"
and what it " nothing ," what is an "electric discharge;"
what produces the "effects" of smashing one's chimney.
Many thanks to Mr. Preece tor his advice about Col6Uoturt.,
which is excellent. I wish, however, he had 'oat thrown us
off our equilitnium by propounding such very profound
philosophy ai to cause and effeek—Your obedient servant,
Colchester, Aug. 13. M.D.

Mr. Preece, in his practical letter on lightning conduct, re,
tells us that the postal telegraph instruments, being supplied
with lightning conduct, es, ore free from damage, and
scarcely half a d0z..11 hove lieu i,Jor. 1 during the recast
severe storms. Pr babel:, he rosy hove heard of a ease
which occurred in Hain, store, by which se, n instruni ;nts,
30 miles were destroyed by one dioehargi of
electricity. At three minutes past seven o'clock, a.m. in
Thursday, the 25th of July, the" electric fluid" (Sir. Preece
must pardon nos for using the term as ho has failed to sup-
ply. better) struck the tele,,,,rapli wlres v hiah or. es the
High street to the Post-office of Alton. Part of the dis-
charge destroyed the postal telegraph instrument in Alton
Post-office ; the remainder ot tho dischar..,e rushed at dig
the wires to Medsted, 11.,pytey, Alresford, Winchoster. and
Southampton, destroying the instruments at each of these
stations und although Mr. Preece has only known "one or
two dirks km-eked down, principally by fright," the clerk
at Alresford, who visa at the Instrument when the discharge
eccurred, was sent sprawling on the floor, but not by fright.
In my opinion the conductors attached to the telegraph
Instruments are too small to carry off heavy Clschar, es such
as the one described above, mot hence the accident of the
25th ult.—l am, eke., CHARA}.9 STEWART, LL.D.
Aekender-house, Alton, Hants, Aug. 1:1.