The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-11 00:00:00

On Saturday Professor-Faraday concludeil his short
course of lectures on electricity at the Royal Institu-
ton in the presence of a very crowded audience, in-
cluding the Prince of Wales. Eled,ric discharge,
with its accompanying heat and, light, formed
the special subject of the lecture, which was
almost entirely occupied with, exhibitions of
the different conditions of discharge to illustrate
the effects of electricity in its most active state.
The varying forms in which electric discharge takes
place were first shown by taking sparks from the
machine on rounded metallic surface?, by discharg-
ing,the electricity silently by means of points, and
by the peculiar emission of rays, accompanied by a
roaring noise, called the brush discharge, when a
blunted point was brought near the prime conduc-
tor. The heating property of the electric spark
was exhibited by the explosion of gunpowder, and
by the explosion of oxygen and hydrogen gases.
The latter experiment was performed in a novel
manner. Numbers of bubbles were inflated with
the mixed gases in a saucer containing soap and
water, and Professor Faraday, taking a quantity
of the bubbles on his hand, held them to the con-
ductor of the electric machine, when, on the passing
of a spark, the gas in the soap bubbles exploded
with a loud report. The deflagration of metals
was illustrated by discharging a Leyden jar and the
electrical battery through strips of golf leaf and
through fine copper wire of different thicknesses,
for the purpose of exhibiting the effects when the
metal is sufficiently thick to conduct a charge with-
out injury, and when it is so small as to be de-
stroyed during the discharge. These experiments
illustrated the various effects of lightning according
to the quantity of the electricity discharged from
the clouds and the size of the conductors through
which it passes—the force in some instances being
too great to be transmitted safely by conductors.
which will be sufficient for protection from less
powerful discharges. Several objects that had
been struck by lightning were exhibited ; among
which were the handle of a hay-fork that had been
split into several pieces whilst striking on the
ground, and a portion of a thick iron cable which
had been partially melted during a terrific thunder
storm in the West Indies. As an illustration of
some of tha peculiarities of electric discharge, a
strong charge was sent through a fine silver wire
twisted round silk, by which means the wire was
completely deflagrated, but the silk remained
uninjured. This effect is attributed to the
rapidity with which the electricity passes
through the wire, the action being so in-
stantaneous as not to impart heat to the
silk. Several illustrations of the rapidity of the
action during electric discharges were shown, among
which the circumstances attending the filing of gun-
powder by electricitywere most remarkable. When
a Leyden jar was discharged by a metallic conduc-
tor through some loose gunpowder, the powder was
only thrown aside by the sudden concussion, and
not fired ; but, on prolonging the time of the dis-
charge by the introduction of a skein of wetted silk
into the conducting circuit, the gunpowder ex-
ploded. The two opposite effects were shown by
discharging a Leyden jar through a circuit in which
a thin strip of gold leaf and some gunpowder were
introduced. When the discharge was prolonged,
by using the wetted silk, the gunpowder was fired
and the metal remained uninjured ; but when the
charge was sent through the same arrangement with
an entirely metal conductor, the gold leaf was de-
flagrated, and the gunpowder was only blown away.
As au illustration that time is required for the
action of heat in non-conducting bodies, Professor
Faraday directed a gas flame on to some loose gun-
powder, but no explosion took place for several
seconds, until the gunpowder had become heated
by the flame. The beautiful forms of electrical
discharge of which Ruhnekorff's induction coil-
machine is capable wire exhibited by a powerful
instrument of the kind constructed by Mr. Lad. A
continuous flow of dense brilliant sparks was first
shown, then the more rapid succession of flashes
and their heating effects were demonstrated. The
action of this continuous discharge of electricity on
the muscles was illustrated by bringing it to bear
on a large eel, which had been kept in a torpid state
in a tub of water during the lecture. The instant
that the charges were transmitted through the
water the creature became violently active and
jumped out of the tub on to the floor of the lecture-
room, to the great delight of the juvenile portion of
the audience. The concluding experiments exhi-
bited the splendid streams of purple-coloured light
in exhausted receivers, produced by the induction
coil-machine. Hearty applause at the conclwion
indicated the gratification which this short course
of lectures had afforded ; and the young Prince, on
shaking hands with Professor Faraday, spoke to
him, apparently, in expression of the same senti-
ment.

COWES, ISLE OF WIGHT.—Jan. 9.

A VESSEL ON FIRE. —A good deal of excitement
was created here this morning by its being reported
that there was a ship on fire in the harbour. It
proved to be the schooner Mary; of Fowey, which
had taken in a cargo of bark in Brading harbour,
and had anchored in Cowes Roads. Soon after 10
o'clock a.m. the crew discovered her to be on fire,
and hailed some other vessels near to send their
assistance. Capt. Broad, of the Stag, revenue
cutter, immediately put off with his boat's crew, as
did the captain of the Camilla with his. The
schooner was run into the harbour, and grounded
on shrapo sand. One of the town fire-engines was
sent off in a carriage boat, with a number of hands
with buckets, &c., and a great body of water dis-
charged on the burning mass. Carpenters were
also set to work to scuttle the vessel. The Messrs.
White sent three boats full of men and a fire-engine
from their ship-yard, which was soon in full play
under the superintendence of Mr. Hamilton White,
but it was not till after three hours' hard work that
the fire was effectually extinguished. During the
whole of this time the captain of the schooner did
not make his appearance. A vessel loaded with
bark also took fire at Barsledon, and was obliged
to be scuttled to save her. The cargo was, of course,
spoilt.
DIED.--On the 9th inst., at Trafalgar House,
West Cowes, Mrs. Sarah Goodwin, aged 80. Mrs.
Goodwin built and endowed Trinity Church. She
was the proprietor of the Royal Yacht Squadron
House, and a great deal of other property in West
Cowes.

TITHE COMMUTATION.