The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1880-05-21
THEORIES.
ProE Tiee say They are cAa.ea b,
Eieetrieify.

OF the great tornado in Missouri, on
saturday, April Is. Prof. Tee writes:
l brought away specimens OF limbs,
stems from Usage orange hedges, and
tops OF brush that were IN the track Of
the tornado. They are not only diyest-
ed OF their bark, but the ends Of the
limbs and the smallest twigs even are
rifted into fine fbres, 50 that they look
like paint brushes OF little brooms.
There is = significant fact accompany
ing this rifting which gives a clue that
u~nravels the whole mystery. This fact
Is, that only green branches and twigs
are rifted into hbres, the twigs to the
very stems TO which they are attached.
The dry and dead branches and twigs
are intact.
What explanation nj be given Of
these phenomena, and what cause can
be assigned for their occurrenceY
That electricity is the cause Of them
Is evident from well established electric
Laws and from well known modes OF
electric action. Beccaria, lis years
ago, perforated a solid glass hall two
inches in diameter. In one end OF the
.perforation he put a wire and a drop OF
water on the end Of il; In the other end
he put another wire in contact with the
water. Both wires were part OF q cir
cult in connection with n Leyden jar.
In passing a discharge through the cir
cult, the glass ball was dispersed into
dust. What was the cause OF this ex-
plosion and consequent dispersion?
One pound Of water measures p. 752
cubic inches II the water be gasiled,
1t will make 44.S32 cubic inches Of gas
that is. 1894 cubic inches OF oxygen
gas, and 29,sS8 cubic inches Of hydro
gen. The water, therefore, in being
gasihed, dilates about 1900 times In
volume. The passage OF the electric
current e~lectrolyzes, that is, CASTLES,
as instantaneously the water as FIRE ex-
plodes gunpowder. The drop of water
hence was instantaneously expanded to
1900 times its original volume, and
this shattered the glass ball into 6ne
dust.
The sap under the bark and In the
body OF green wood was in the tornado
instantly gasined by the bursting up
from the earth Of a negative electric
current TO meet the positive electricity
descending on the cloudspout. An ex-
plosion was the consequence; the sap,
or rather the water in 1t, was expanded
by Justification 2,009 in volume. throw
ing on the bark, shattering the trunk,
and rifting the green twigs into minute
fibres. That this was what took place
is proven conclusively by the fact that
the dead and dry limbs and twigs were
not affected, and, though In immediate
contact with green ones, remained in
tact.
The great affinity Of tornadoes for
bodies Of water, for railroads, for me-
tallic roofs, for anything made Of metal
or containing 1t, Is explained upon the
same principle. Metals are the best
conductors Of electricity known. They,
hence, respond with the greatest alac-
rity to the inductive action of the cleo
trio cloud, and confront 1t with higher
charges Of electricity than any other
object upon the surface OF the earth.
The most violent electric explosions,
hence, occur at the points covered by
metals. Everyone ~conversant with
electric laws knows that this will be the
natural and inevitable result.
l could take up seriatim all the phe-
nomena attending Tomatoes and de.
monstrate that they are the effects of
electricity, but i have neither time O
space to devote to that purpose. One
more remark, and / will close. That
~tornadoes are electric phenomena is be-
yond controversy. All experience and
observation prove it conclusively.