New-York tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1841-1842, 1841-12-23


the homer Of ENJOYING, published : beautiful Ne
NOR or Elcge ii the great electrician VoLTA. Ia
isis Eloge ne osk occasion 20 refer the circum-
stances OF the discovery imputed TO Franklin.
franklin experiment to ascertain the identity OF
lightning and electricity he said useless. for 1t
was sufficiently established BY the flames which
appeared The spears o; the Roman soldiers OF
the Fifth Legion mentioned by Cesar The ex-
pcrinsn; therefore he said, was not called for
since It gave no knowledge not already possessed
franklin suggestion OF their identity moreover, he
said, mere conjecture. and such II was,
he had been anticipated in it by the Able Ne1LET,
/ whe had made the same suggestion in work pub
ii.hed in l7i9 Thus, in the view Of Arago
Franklin was not only deprived OF the merit OF the
experiment but OF the discovery itself This pas
sage in the Eloge caught my attention while was
in Philadelphia, and then the original work.
which rankin used ana which contained lis manu-
script notes. slicd the whole question and here
are the results. The work OF the Abbe Noei con-
tanning this suggestion published al Pan. II
December, l7i9. The hint I mere conjecture
atfording none OF those anaogies BY which Frank
lin tested and established the identity of electricity
and lightning. But suppose Noets declaration
had been explicit and his reasons conclusive; 1t l.
scarcely possible that scientific wo,k published
at Paris in Dec. l7f9 should have reached Phila-
delphis the date of Franhlin's letter to
Coifnson which first announced his discovery.
Let Us now see how stands the Experiment.
Arago maintains thai the credit OF this Is due not
to Franklin bat To French electrician named DA-
LIZARD, who. Arago SAYS, made the experiment at
Marv-e-villr near Paris. about a month before
franklin had gone through with his This is oil
true so tar as the mere tact OF the experiment
huvI-y been tried at that time /, concerncd but
let the circumstances under which NJ. Da-
lizards experiment made. In 1870 trankl'n
lssucS letter in which he requests the atientlonot
electricians the identity OF lightning aud The
electric fluid. He describes the apparatus BY
which the Quc>tionmay Be settled directs the cree
non of sentry box and metallic rod, and details
minutrly the whole process By which the expert
mert may be made This letter goes to the Royai
Society Of London, Is printed, translated into
French goes to Paris and mas general circulation
all over Europe. Ii falls INTO the hands OF Dali
hara who hmsetdid not dream OF the honor which
after six or seventy years was to BE- eoneIred
upon him. He determined to try the experiment
and made his Preparations in strict accordance with
he directions of Franklin He accustomed
TO -pend the most oi MS time iS Paris and wishing
10 be in hat city he gave his experiment into the
hand. OF one CoWFiER, carpenter TO whom he
repeated the directions given by Franklin He
left the whole in his hands and returned to Paris.
While ne there there arose thunderstorm
during which COiiiier practsed the directions LAID
down, applied his knuckle to the butt OF the rod
and received a spark. Forcibly struck with this
phenomenon he flew to the village TO find the cure
as he was u of reputed learning and science.
The cure came, the experiment repeated IN
his presence and he Immediately dispatched
process Uer5GL with fall account Of the matter to
Dalib,rd AT Paris. Dabard Immediately sent it
20 London, where it F.blished in the Philose
phical transactions precisely 1t has been re-
lated. In this account it was mentioned as tLs
experiment; OF Franklin, performed at the expense
OF Dabard by the carpenter Coifler and that il
was entirely successful. With this plain statement
OF the facts, YOU are all in Il condition To form
judgement as well as or NJ. Arago himself can
do IT, how far the merit OF the discovery due
the one or the other.
Another discovery, for which Franklin has not
received proper credit, is that OF the principle OF
induction. Having 50 much before me upon which
AIN expected to lecture, and having, perhaps
somewhat imprudcHtly, announced great variety
Of subjects It will be necessary TOR me to pass
rapidly over the ground laid out. can therefore
only briefly notice the discovery of this prin-
ciple the nature OF which will be evident from
nv remarks. Suppose brass cylinder be sgs-
pended by silk threads At one end suspead BY
ID moist silk cord a sken tasse. no cylinder and
,asse are both IN their natural state Franklin
found that II he took glass; tube, which mad been
electrified and held 1t near the extremity OF the
cylinder, the opposite END. became electrlhcd-
without bsiag touched by any electrified body. Inc
fact was known by the divergence OF the threads
of the tassel. Franklin explained this IN accord
ance with mis- own theory OF d single fluid thus:
81, 49, ,l. i.,ad,
near the end of the cylinder, ii drove off It's nstu-
raj electricity to the other end-snd that the fluid
took refuge III the tassel and caused Its divergence.
When the glass tube was Withdrawn, the fluid
rushed back and again spread ever the coz
ductor. This is the principle OF induction; that
the electrical state Is produced BY simply bringing
an electrified body to one in is natural state.
Ii is true that Frankns mode OF explaining this,
based as It's upon MS own theory, is not generally
received. And here let me say that perhaps | ~
serted too positively last evening that Franklin
theory OF electricity WIS obsose: there Is g sec
tion OF the philosophical world which adheres TO
the theory OF single fluid. But believe am
correct in saving, that the mathematical section Of
the world adopts the opposite Theory 81 TWO fluids
from the lmposslbity of explaining by ranklins
all the circumstances that occur. franklin be-
yond all doubt Is entitled TO the merit of having
discovered the principle of inducuon-ose OF the
mos, important IN the whole history OF science
fully equal TO that OF the principle of conductors
and rou-conductors.
must now pass on to another discovery in
electricity Of vast Importance. There lived IN
Como in the lliIznesc, an individual at that time
obscure and unknown but since most distinguished
named vo1rA. This philosopher, since SO emf
neut, directed his attention early period 70 tins
.ubjecr of electricity and especially to atmospheric
electricity. Franklin had observed thrt the atHos-
phsre, where it was clear and free from clouds,
was always charged with positive electricity, and
to this he found no exception. 1t is true ihst
rhsn he air /. f-d with closds is electricity Is