The New York herald., 1851-08-26

4 tric In one case, simultaneously with the dls
charge, vivid spark is seen to take place; in the
other case, some movable body, such as bell clap
per, pith ball, or blast Of air, issuing from a
projecting point, is made to convey electricity ron
one surface to the other, until disch irge is ac-
complished The latter process has been desig.
mated by Faraday as the connective discharge,
from cOnvehO to carry, while the for ner IS dests
as disruptive from dirumpoto to break through;
spce in this case the opposite waves break through
the air, conveying the whole charge at once; while,
in the other process, the opposite exctements are
gradually neutralized by successive contacts with
torously, either Of these discharging processes
may be substituted for the other by slight va
ration of distance.
Thus in the experiment in which pith balls are
made to resemble hail, by drawing between oppo-
sitey electrified disks; an approximation OF one OF
the disks towards the others induces q spark or
diruptive discharge, and thus causes dancing to
movable ball approaches that which is stationary,
in obedience to the connective process but
the distance betHeen the balls is reduced within
the striking distance, dnuptve discharge ensues,
! indicated, as usual, by spark
| 1t follows, that By slight variation as to dis
tance, the same degree OF electrical excitement
may be productive either of connective or of n
diruptive discharge. Excepting pro igous dis
parity in magnitude, the diruptIve spark discharge
Is universally recognized as perfectly similar to
lightning. Both are admitted to be due to dis
charges Of electr,al accumulate DIN 'ring only as
to magnitude. Under these circumstances, sus;ep-
tibility Of communication exists as respects the
drupive discharge in its minuter form and convec
tive discharges upon the same scale does 1t not
follow that the diruptve discharge as produced by
the gigantic processes of nature should be commu-
table with a corrective process Of corresponding
mmensity. But if the spark or diruptiye discharge
is exempl6ed by lightning, how is the latter to be
exemphfed Where is there any gigantic meteoro-
logical process which can supply the deficiency,
excepting that of the tornado or hurricane, which
last may be viewed as tornado on scale OF per
manent grandeur
IT, from nont eIectrifed by n m achine a blast
of air may proceed as strong as from blow pipe
supplied by a bellows, may not an enormous blast
be emitted from every terrestrial prominence, cleo
trhed by the powerful apparatus OF nature as much
greater than that OF blowppe, as spark of light
ming, of mile in length, exceeds that yielded by an
excited conductor or charged jar. so long as there
is an ascent of air, consequent to electrical convec
tion, there must be confluence OF the same fluid,
from two or more opposite quarters, to supply the
deficit thus created and the air, as 1T follow the
electrified column, being successfully similarly
electrified, that enduring trunk column is for ned
and sustained, which characterizes tornadoes or
waerspouts.
Whether this travelling trunk, which, in its form,
contorti )ns and deleterlous power, resembles that
of an enormous elephant, as mschievous as gigan-
tic, bodies not only subjected to the same con-
victve influence the air. but are also exposed to
the upward force arising from vertical blast. On
each side of the track which marks the progress of
I the trunk, bodies are subjected to the continent
blasts which rush in to supply the upward current.
Eur icanes may be considered as the consequence
/ II
extensive scale than tornadoes. Evidently, there
can be no conceivable limits to the extent which
such electrical accumulatons may have. All that
is essential to an accumulation of electricity to that
which may be secured by means of coated pane
Leyden jar, is that there shall be suitable electric
to fill the office performed by the glass in those in
struments, and two conductors competent to act as
! coatings.
mosphere, which lies between the storm clouds and
the EARTH is competent to act as an electric, snce
otherwise there would be no thunder gusts, nor any
atmospheric discharges as displayed in the form OF
lightning. That air, rarfed to certain degree,
becomes capable of acting as coating does in the
instance of the Leyden jar, is proved by the fact
that the inner surface of glass globe, within
charged like Leyden jar, Il to the outer surface
conducting body be applied and due comm unica-
ton made with an electrical machine in operation
1t is well known that the earth is q Conductor
1t follows that in the earth and the rarfed medium
above the denser substratum Of the atmosphere
and the air which lies between them, We have I
competent electric. Using the language Of tn
Franklinian theory, urged that in the concentIi
spaces occupied by the earth, and that occupied b.
the rare conducting medium above alluded tt
there must be two oceans OF electricity which coul
5 not fail, from mechanical or chemical causes to
!, in different States. But, assuming that electrcit
is result of the polarization Of the ethereal hu
Q to the undulation of which light is ascribed, Y
are led to substitute for oceans Of specific FIJI
d the idea of boundess ocean Of ethereal matte
. which by peculiar affections may become comp
tent to perform within the concentric spaces al
: ded to, the part assigned by Franklin to one aui
Consistently it may be inferred that an atmo
Q pherc change may extend all around the globe,
as to make one great battery analogous to tn:
above described OF the exhausted glass globe-tt
Tefraction being in one case internal, in the oths
external. Agreeably to these considerations the
are mits to the possible extent Of osph er
accumulaions of electricity, while the rspdity wit
which discharges pervade is such
| dav ahsfa A OF tn ha I0
estimate of the velocity OF the electric waves Pre-
0 du.ed by galvanic apparatus (of worry low in,er
/. sity compared with frictional accumuatons) in tw
5 seconds the waves would encompass the earth. Bu
0 according to Wheatstone, a discharge from . Ley
den jar, would, during the time, 90 round tn
Q globe ten times.
From all that have urged, infer that there
no necessity for our taking other causes for eec
the province Of that allimportant agent in the ply
sical creation, which we call electricity; and fur
ther, while 1t has been shown, trust, that in at
, mospheric accumulations there is an ample sourc
of stormy action In It's most violent FORMS hop,
TO prove that tho assigned by Mr.. Espy is In
. competent to produce zach violent reaction.
IL is well known that, when moderately rarifed
air is refrigerated hence. when q receiver is frs
subjected to exha 1stion, cloud appears within it
arising from the con iensation Of aqueous vapor
Dalton found that when the air, thus rarined, wa
devoid Of aqueous vapor, ii became much colde
than when this vapor was present. This he sscri
bed to the latent heat given out by aqueous vapo
on condensing. Before had the pleasure of kno "
ing that there was such person Mr.. Espy,
contrived an apparatus for showing the cloud anO
cold produced by rarefaction.
This apparatus, as well as that employed b,
Dalton. dues not differ essentially from Espy's ne
philiscope, which is the name given by hils TO AT
instrument answering the same purpose ss tha
employed by Dalton. Notoriously, the density o
the air dIminisbes, in q geometrical ratio, as tn,
Place Of examination is hi sher: that at the ati
tade Ct three miles it is only half dense as upor
the esith's surface.
Davy, in his elements, ascribed the formation Of
clouds TO the refrigeration arising from the rarifc
tion Of ascending columns Of air and TO this used
to advert in my lectures nearly thirty years ago.
using tie nephiliscope, which | had contriyed, as
above mentioned, 20 illustrate the idea
Thus II became evident, from the experiments
and suggcttion OF Dalton and Davy, that when the
different portions of air, in upward current sue.
cessively reach height sufficient to rarity and cool