New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1857-07-13
Curiosities of Electricity.

| The peculiarities of that terrible but mysterious
agent, lightning, are made the subject of an interest.
ing paper IN recent number OF the British Quarterly
Review Two clouds are not necessary for the pro-
duction of lightning, which is frequently discharged
from solitary clump OF vapor, when connection
can be established with the earth. A French acade-
mcian, named Marcolle, describes a case where
mere coudlet about foot and a half in diameter,
killed poor woman by dropping thunderbolt upon
| her head 1t has been shown by Faraday that the
electric fluid contained in single flash might per-
haps be supplied by the decomposition of one grain
Of water alone M Arago has divided the lightning
into three sorts Thefrst includes those where the
discharge appears like long luminous lines bent into
angles and zigzags and varying in complexion from
white to blue, purple or red. This kind is known as
forked lightning because it occasionally divides into
| two branches. Carpenter relates case where a
flash severed into three forks, each of which struck
| on points several hundred feet apart Still more
numerous furcations have been reported for it is said
| that during tempest at Landernau and ST. Pol de
Leon, twenty-our churches were struck though only
three distinct claps were heard. This was eight
churches apiece for three explosions.
The second class of lightning differs form the first
in the range of surface over which the flash is
difnsed, and is designated as sheet lightning, Some
times it simply glds the edges of the cloud whence
it leaps; but at others it floods with lurd radiance
or else suuses its surface with bushes of rosy Or
violet hue.
The third class of lightnings are remarkable for
their eccentrcities and have been made the subject
of considerable attention among meteOrologsts many
of whom have denied their right to be treated as
legitimate lightnngs, they differ so widely from the
ordinary sort of flashes. They exhibit themselves as
| balls or gobuar Jumps of fre-not momentary appa-
ritions, but meteors which take their own time and
travel at a remarkable rate 1t is this incelerity
which gives them their doubtful character, as an
electrical bolt is supposed to be of the leading
emblems of velocity Among other anecdotes related
OF this kind of lightning is the following incident
I which occurred to q tailor in the Rue st. Jaoues
| Val de Grace, about the year l743. NJ Babinet was
| commissioned by the Academy of Sciences to nvesti-
gate the facts and reported substantially follows
After loud thunder clap, the tailor being finishing
his meal the chimney board fall down as if beset
by slight gust of wind and globe of fire the size
OF chd's head come out quietly into the room at a
small height above the floor the tailor said it looked
like good-szed kitten rolled up into a ball, and
moving without showing its paws. 1t was bright and
shining, but he felt sensation Of heat. The globe
came near his feet, like young cat that wants to
rub itself against its masters legs but by moving
them aside gently he avoided the contact 1t appears
to have played or several seconds about his feet he
bending his body over it and examining it attentively
| After trying some excursions in different directions
it rose vertically to the height of his head, which he
threw back to avoid touching his face. The globe
eongatng little then steered towards hole in the
chimney above the mante-piece which hole received
stove-pipe in winter but was now pasted over with
paper. The thunder he said, could not see the
hoe but nevertheless the ball went straight to the
aperture, removing the paper without hurting it, and
made its way into the chimney. Shortly afterwards
and when he supposed it had time to reach the top it
made dreadful explosion, which destroyed the up.
per part of the chimney and threw the fragments
the roofs of smaller buildings, which they broke
through The tailors lodging was on hethird story
the lower ones were not visited at all by the thunder
| bolt"
Lightning, when it meets with an obstruction in its
course, frequently skaters the noncondctng object
dispensing and bursting substances asunder in every
direction, as if they had been charged with guupow
der. The stone pinnacle Of a church in Cornwall
was struck by lightning and one fragment weighing
| 800 pounds was hurled so yards to the southwark
another 400 yards to the north, and third to the
southwest. In 1887 the tOpgallant mast Of her Ma
jestys ship Rodney was literally cut into chips by a
flash OF lightning the sea being strewn with the
| fragments as if the carpenters had been sweeping
| their shaviDgs overheard. Sometimes; in striking a
tree mast, the electric fluid will slice it into long
shreds or ilanents, so that it will appear like huge
broom bundle of laths. Lightning bolts will oc
casOnally dash through resisting objects by tearing
great openings as in Cornish church, where aper,
lures made in the solid wall Of the beltry ID
inches deep, and as if cut out by art In other in
stances small holes are drilled which are surprising
for their perfect crCularity of FORM Window panes
have been frequently pierced in this fashion, without
affecting the rest of the glass In forming these ap
ertnres burr or projection is left upon the edges.
Juvenile electricians are in the habit CT making
holes in cards by passing discharges through them
when burr or projection will be observed on both
sides Of the oritce Sometimes single discharge
will produce two holes in a card, each puncture
marked by single burr, one on the upper and the
other on the under side OF the card In instances
the results are such as to suggest that flash may he
split up into several fiery laments before it strikes
IN object. In Iii weathercock of timed copper
was hurled by thunderbot from the top of church
in Cremoua, and, upon inspection, was found to be
pierced with eighteen holes in nine of them the burr
was conspicuous on one side, and in nine it wa:
equally prominent the other, While the slope OF the
burr was identical in ALL
| Among the curiosties OF lighting are what il
termed fugurtes' or tubes which the lightning
constructs when it falls upon scious spot by fsins
the sand. They may be called casts of thunderboldts
In some hlocks OF sand in Cumberland, England
these hollow tubes have been found from oneItiett
to two inches in diameter, taperlng perhaps to inert
point The entire extent OF the tubes may be thirt,
feet but they usually separate into numerous branche
and have the appearance of the skeleton. of an in
verted tree. They are lined with glass, as smootl
and perfect if it had been made in glass-house.
THE SMITHS IN New YORK A New York lette
says this great fi1y in that CITY number only 1902