Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-01-02
ELECTRICAL.
How lightning shivers a Tree.

To the Union ard American.
In your issue of Dec. 4 appears re-
spouse dissenting from my hypothesis
ON this question; but no better solution
Is proposed. In fact. no answer is at
tempted, except some triumphant IN
terrOgdtiOns uttered. IL steam il
the principal agent in the rending
effect of electricity, my friend asks,
"Why is it that a solid rock may be
burst by the electric spark" We an
swer. the solid rock does not need steam
to burst it. 1t only needs heat, and
electricity furnishes that heat. Acorn
mon fire Of wood built upon a rock, viii
burst it. But heat, per Sc, viii not
burst tree. Again. he asks: why
is it that when the human body is
struck by lightning, it is not shivered
10 atoms, as is the trcc:" This Is his
question. not mine The tree Is my
text. Win my learned friend give us
theory accounting for all the pLenom-
ena attending the human body struck
by lightning, and tell us why it was
not shivered rs is the tree? This is a
question for the doctors to solve.
Next. my learned friend says: bot
any tells that the tubes of woody fibre
become filled with particles Of morgan
lie matter, and in process Of time be-
come solid. Facts prove the contrary.
Has he never seen a board, apparently
dry. or the stave of an old barrel. with
one end thrust in the fire. coplously
pouring out fluids ut the other? His
botany is not correct. The pores of
the wood are never Obliterated. But
after he has ascertained by the aid of
botany that the tree has become solid.
and that all its pores are closed up. and
no room left for aqueous matter. he
finds out that porosity is universal
property cf all bodies, and that of
course the very, reTy small amount of
steam which could be generated from
this small amount of aqueous matter.
would lose its power by finding egress
through the interstices of the wood.
Solid wood full of interstices would be
a phenomenon worthy Of Barnum's
Museum. The truth Is. wood is only
porous longitudinally. Il is impervious
10 water, and almost all other fluids
laterally. Otherwise no wooden vessel
could be made to contain fluids. This
being the case, all the force of the
steam contained in one or more of the
longitudinal cells is pent up Hit bursts
out in the weakest part.
l have Ifow, [ think, fairly met all
my friends objections, and am more
thoroughly convinced of the truth of
my hypothesis. 1t deals with the facts
in the case, and meets all the phenome-
ma arising out Of them, in a scientific |
way. First. 1t exhibits a power ade-
quate to the result. Second. 1t. tells
why one tree is shiyered to atoms, while |
another is only grOOYed ont on one
side. Third. 1t demonstrates why this |
groove always follows the twist of the
grain of the wood, and why this groove |
IS always uniform in depth the whole
length of the tree.
But our good editor asks, care dead |
trees ever riven by lightning, and under |
what circumstances" We answer, |
yes, and oftentimes set on fire. But, |
in general the same law holds In the |
dead, rs in the green tree. \ dead |
tree does not always indicate a dry |
tree. In fact, it is almost impossible |
to eXpel all the moisture out of timber. |
Mechanics are obliged to subject their
lumber, for months, and sometimes for
years, TO the actiOL Of heat for this
purpose.
But admit that the timber is perfect
ly dry, such as may be found in frame
buildings, and not particle of humid
ity to be found in it, still the pores or
cells would be there. And as nature
abhors a vacuum. - these cells would
be full of air, and the electricity pass
ing down the cells of the wood expands
the air contained in them and produces
an explosion identical with that of
steam. C..
WooDvILLE, Haywood county, Tenn.