The New York herald., 1876-09-19
From the Batteries to the Mine
by Many Lines of Wire.
SOMETHING ABOUT CONDUCTORS
Apparatus for Closing the Elec-
tric Circuit.
A CUR1o US sc A R E

Point reef excavation is. perhaps the most interesting
of al those conducted IN connection with improve
nent Mining and blasting by fuse easily under
stosd, even BY persons of limited powers Of compre-
hension who have seen such work or heard II
described But IN trying explain tho nature
Of the agency employed to explode stimuli
taneously many cartridges fixed IN
isolated positions it is difficult to convey the
necessary information in the limited space obtainabe
In the columns OF great daily newspaper. Although
Of the most important agents OF our time, eiec
srcity, its and properties little understood,
although the most profound philosophical researches
being constantly directed TO that end. II was
known the ancients indeseribable phenomenon
which baled the wisdom of their sages to givo it
. that would express its nature The word elec
irc,ty derived from the Greek "Electron, amber.
substance described by Thales. Of Metus. six CEN
turtles before Christ possessing the property when
rubbed with piece Of silk Of attracting light bodies.
Pliny Aristotle also mention this property in
substances where subjected to friction, but made
attempts at solving tho mystery. Fishes wero
known have tho power of producing certain physlo
logical effects by merely touching the bodies Of
other animals, chief among them being tho elcs-
Irical eel. tho 0ynsnosus electricsss Of the nat
uralists Until the end OF the sixteenth
century, or 1900 years after the tme Of Thales,
The philosopher, little was known about electricity.
when DR.. Gilbert. of England, made series of OK
periments, which laid tho foundation OF the modern
science of electricity. After Gilbert came Boyle, Won
Guericks Newton. Brewster and host of other
Savants who made deep researches INTO tho phenom-
Of electricity and gradually accumulated data
which TO construct the laws which now recognized
governing action matter Notwithstanding all
lhts, tho nature OF this mysterious force Is still
. secret We only know that 1t exists in all
matter in greater or Lesser quantities. but beyond
this fact and that 1t be developed and conducted
with facility, ignorant OF Its natnrc
Thaes and Pliny. Ganot modern French writer
natural philosophy and physics, describes electricity
~ "a powerful physical agent, the presence of which
is manifested by attractions and rcpusions by lumin
appearances, by violent connections, by chemical
iccompositions and great number OF other pho
Aomenn Tho which develop electricity
friction, pressure chemical action, heat, magnetism
and electricity itse.' And again notwithstanding
lhe number OF works on electricity we know nothing
Df tho origin or the nature Of that agent. F"
In treating therefore of electricity as . physical
sgent, we must deal with It only from the knowledge
possess Of its effects matter. This knowledge IS
very comprehensive, and modern invention has
mccecded In reducing the powers OF electricity into
,erhaps the most easily controlled Of all tho great
natural agencies employed in mechanism and the arts
Among tho first steps toward obtaining
iul knowledge OF tho properties OF electricity
vas that which demonstrated its cCnducti-
piiity. Experiment alter experiment proved
Nst while substance extremely sensitive to its
presence others wholly unaffected by it. The
yormer were recognized conductors and tho
onconducors Of the electric fluid Thus all
Iho metals have the property of conducting electricity
also have charcoal plumbago. concentrated and d.
luted acids saline spring and rain waters snow. living
vegetables, vegetable nbros, hemp and fax, liv
ing animals, moist earth aud stones, and even flame
Some Of tho on-conducting bodies are amber. rosin
ulphur, wax, glass; gutta percha, silk, wool feathers
Try paper leather marble, indiarubber chalk. oil and
metallic oxides
THE DEVELOPMENT OF KLEcrRIcrrr
As stated above, chemical action Is powerful de-
veloper of electricity and Is generally employed tor
that purpose. The invention OF the voaic pile by the
Italian sciontist Volta. the first step toward this
end He found that metals placed in close proximity
separated only IN fact, by thin layers Of CLOTH satu
with accduiaed dwatcrdeveoped electricity that
could be conducted Tor great distances by means OF
metallic bodies arranged for that purpose
But important feature or this development is that
when pile formed the Voltac principle Is put in
operation kinds Of mutually repelant electricity
arc developed which separate each other
on the pile much possible and consequently accn-
muatc at either end; the energy OF separation being
again governed by the OF surface acted by tie
The lower par. OF the pile is charged with negative
electricity and the upper with positive, both separating
the pile, but tending to rccompoSe again with equal
energy when conducted from the two ends toward
point where they can again meet and unite This
tendency To recompose and change condition from
dynamic 10 static electricity gives us the
ali the effects familiar to science The battcry
piles that to be at He'll Gate works
Is known as the zinc carbon battery, with a single
liquid To explain tho meaning OF these terms 1t IL
only necessary 10 that tho two substances named
are found among the conductors OF electricity. One
10 easily affected bv the chemical action OF acids the
other s ndestructibls in that respect When toth
are placed in Juxtaposition in the aciduated water
in the acid the latter acts tho zlnk
Immediately and electricity ut once developed
which separates into the two opposing conditions
n each end Of the pile Now the only thing that
be
tcnncct It's positive and negative ends by means OF
conducting wrcs and at the point Of connection the
electric nud rscomposes into lis original state Sup
pose the ends Of the conducting do not actually
touch, but are placed very near each other spark IS
seen to leap from one point TO the other with snap
ping noso IL Is this spark that will fire tho great
mine at Haetts Point.
rnx CONDUCTING AND coxsHcrIxG WIRES
Wherever positive meets a negative wiro the
point vi contact that al which the eecrices unite
In like manner, by any chance the ends OF the wires
allowed to touch tho earth or any other conduct
ing substance that will lead the nud from the
the other, recomposluon VIII also occur 81, IL
direction and movement oi the electricity,
to prevent the wires from touching any
conductor In regular telegraph lines carried ON poles
Will be observed that the wire is made To rest on
gssscovcred wooden pin. ,be wire bearing directly ON
he glass, which is nonconducior II the wire touched
the wood of the OF the pole or the pole Itself the
electricity would pass The latter into the
earth and lie lost Bat in operations like that at He'll
Cato, whore polus he used, necessary 70 tn
sunte tho wire by surrounding IL with coating IN
s'sssr,os suu psrcna Now which noneonaae.Or q, %
explode each cartridge at the moment,
very nearly so, the wire leading the positive cur
rent OF electricity from tho battery woulu have to pass
successfully INTO each hoc and be arranged IN the
primers in the manner explained In the HERALD OF
yestcrday-that is small space would be lett be-
tween the ends of the conducting each primer
that the spark before described would be emitted
in tho exploding cap filed with illuminate of
mercury, when Is surrounded by tho tyna-
nite charge This would entail an immense length
wire. and uch confusion leading II to each hole
succession The engineers have, the, .orc divIdcd
the holes To be hred INTO series OF - ups, OF
which s connected with separate battery, but all
deliver their electricity at the moment thus
rendering the explosion Simultaneous he accouipa-
nying diagrams snow the manner Ia which tho wires
the groups OF holes from point to point or
the rock columns, and tue winch tho touch
ing CT the positive and ncgativs ends OF Ia
Affected Al the firing key, to which these ends
tached-