New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-06-16

"....j,o,o, q xed and insulated on table. when
-. aocrstons became dangerously great, con-
;vance permtted him to turn oil the current anu u'-
charge II into the earth without entering the champer'
A. or-.,gement of balls enabled him TO detect tue
..a.,lo. ouantity of electricity in the atmosphere
rh..o halls gave token of an approaching thunder
.,oud LONG before il made itself known to the multi
nd SHARK following spark and explosion succeed
inc exposou rapidly repeated and increasing In en-
eroy AZ the commoton gathered force, enaoiea Tue
odysrurous observer to look into and dissec the cloud
ond listen TO its language In his chamber long before
,bose outside could distinguish even its mutteringS'
Az the margin Of the approaching cloud overnunB tue
network of wires In the treetops spark was seen,
detouation heard and these flashes ana explosions
we're repeated at intervals pause ensued ana then
the apparnus gave forth another set OF sparks anu
snappings but differing from the first, when were
negative. while these were positive After seconu
nause more energetic display succeeded, out Oh
negative electricity TO be succeeded by another display
Of nositiye Then followed more numerous ana ori'-
liant succession of flashes announcing tha' sno'ner
zone of vapor was sweeping by, ODE followed altef
brief interval, by corresponding zone OF POSITIVE
electricity As the cloud drew nearer the intervals Oh
repoee became shorter and stream OF living IRE was
seen 10 pour from one conductor to the other Wnen
the center of the cloud stood directly over the
the effect was awful The wires, plun8ing into the
electric atmosphere which invariably preoedes and sur
rounds thunder-cloud sucked ont the lightning IRON
;ts very heart, and leaped madly from ball to ball.
instant death being in every explosion to him who I'M
nrndently approached too This terrific exhibition
Of the forces embodied in the cloud continued for
longer or shorter period according to the magnitude OF
the storm and the disturbance of the electro
cal equilibrium As the excited vapors rolled by, tho
explosions diminished in number and series OF twin
erupons alternating with periods of repose, showed
that the latter half of the cloud coresponded in its
electrical arrangements with the former half Gradually
the aneid fash and snap announced that the disturb
ance had ceased and that the storm was travelling over
some new locality, there TO let loose the unexpended
remnant Of its wrath.
This dangerous but really successful effort 70 explore
the mysteries which are locked up nthe thundercoud
has yielded no practical result. The science OF pro-
tectinp human life from lightning remains precisely
where Franklin left it, His single discovery placed II,
at single bound in the front rank Of the definite arts,
and we know no more now than he taught usa CEN
fury ago. His first lghtningrod he put up ON his own
house in Market street, Philadelphia This rod de-
scended to the second story window where entered
the chamber of the philosopher. Here, being dlscon
neeted the distance of few feet, the Intervening
space was occupied by string of bells. AT the APP
proach OF thunder-cloud the same disturbances were
noticed and recorded which Mr. Crosse has 80 eabo-
rately caused to be repeated. The bells were rung oy
the electricity passed IN silent stream through
the rod 10 the earth. is curious to note how aoso'
lutey perfect in all its details this wonderful dscoye-
nv came from Franklin's mind. He has given in his
own brief directions not only the germ OF his great In
vention but q specification so minute and accurate
that the advancing science of an entire century has
been unable to improve on it. In his Poor Richards
Almanac for 1853 he publishes the following:
How TO SECURE HOUSES, nc, PROM LaHTSiso.1it has
pie in his Goodness to Mankind at length 70 deoye
h % ss Of bnaSt s ssa hsh The
this Provide small Iron Rod 81 may be made Of the EG ms
BENZ three or four Fee, in the Ground the other e
eeh. Fee. sbCye the highest Ps Of the BuiiIs 10
Knitting needle shsrpened TO nus Point.
Tue Rod be secured 4. the House BY few small sspe.
each and .ddn MIs along The aSss S Sps L the
ons being attracted by the Points tho Metal
s Root on iH Il. Tss s
Fs: Rod f be- Sa4 ser Of the
These directionsars correct in every particular butone
and that is they seem to contemplate the protection
of small houses only He should have added that the
the number of outlets through which it might be dis
charged into the earth should be multiplied in proper
ton to the dimensions or magnitude of the building to
be Iro,ected for the greater its size the greater should
be the number of receiving and discharging points.
But, brief and simple they are, they have been the
means OF saving numberess lives land and sea, and
il is only when they have been violated neglected
that the ghtnngrod fails to be complete protection.
A ,Lota oobo al bouoa
had been struck and nearly demolished by explosion
Of extraordinary energy and teacher and scholars
Knocked senseless the floor. Such rod az Frank
lin describes would have eectuslly protected the build
ing and its inmates. The shock would have been re-
ceyed on one Of the two points he recommended.
Being supplied with two outlets, and the rods con-
nected BY another rod across the rdgepole, the dis
charge intense as il was, would have been instantly
broken up and distributed from rod TO the other,
diluted as i, WERE great surface, and being thus
divided into two streams each having only half the
destructive energy of the original would have passed
off harmlessly by two dischargng points into the earth
Such rod would not have cost the school committee
more than 81, yet it is probable not more than
schooLhosse, academy, OF church in five thousand, is
provided with this cheap and reliable protection.
striking illustration OF this occurred at Coopers-
town, in this State in July Of last year. hop-ysrd
at that place, covering 81 OF ground had the
vines supported on strings, which attached to
iron wires running from post 10 post. These wires
were connected by other wires, forming sort
of metal lace-work overhead but having no outlet to
the earth. The wooden poles which supported il were
non-conductors it was therefore, the spot on which
lightning would play the most riotous havoc. A
thunder eoud coming up, it let fly single bolt one
of the outside poles and from this point the lightning