Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1884-04-17
The Older Electricity.

Yesterday afternoon Prof. Iyndal
delivered his third royal institution
lecture on "The Older Electricity, III
phenomena and Investigators befor,
a full theater He began with som,
supplementary remarks and expert
mcnts illustrative OF induction, OF
which Epinus, as he showed, had SHED
a good deal of light. 1t was next dem
.onstrated that the charge Of a con
ductor depended upon the extent oI
its surface, and not upon its weight
Monnicr proved this. He found that an
anvil weighing 200 pounds gave 4
smaller spark than spcaking-trumpet
weighing ten pounds. DE Rei and
Darcy observed that Il hollow sphere
accepted the same charge when empty
as when filled with mercury. The lee
turcr illustrated the perfect efficiency
of Il hollow conductor by the expert
mcnt of Suspending Il hat fiom silk
strings. Electricity was poured into
the hat, but produced no effect upon
the clrctrOscOpc, the two gold leaves
of which, however, flew asunder the
moment the nap of the hat was clectri-
fled, proving that all the charge was
distributed upon the surface. He re-
peated also the demonstration devised
by Franklin. who placed long metal
lie chain in Il silver teapot, which he
electrified. Then connecting this tea
pot with an clectroscope he produced
divergence but on lifting the chain by
Il silk string the electricity spread in
part over the outside of the chain. and
the divergence was very scnsibly
diminished. Faraday built himself Il
chamber Of laths covered with paper
and wire gauzc, and suspended it by
silk ropes Within this chamber no trace
of electricity could be detected, while
from its outside edges and corners
the electricity Strcamcd vchemently
into the air. The importance of the
electric action of points, as illustrated
cNpcrimcntally by Franklin, who af-
tcrward turned that action to such mo-
mcntouS account in his invention of
the lightning conductor, was next adj
vcrtcd to. The lecturer rctraced the
American philosophers reasoning, and
justified his deductions by cOrrObora-
tive demonstrations pointing trium-
phantlN to the clcctroscope charged by
Il point. The fluid passed through his
own electrified body, through the nee
die he held in his hand, and out at
the steel point swift as lightning to the
delicate index of action. Of course,
aS the live conductor, he was standing
on the insulating glass-leggcd stool.
His electrical condition was plainly
shown by the paper thongs, yards
apart, OF the mimic whip in connection.
Then, as he stopped down forthc stool,
ilabbiIy enough, thus demonstrating
the instantaneous discharge of clcc-
tric charge by point. There followed
the clcctriicatiOn Of the air in the the
alter by Il point. The electricity was
next carried of at point through the
discharging power of flame. Prof
Tyndall here remarked that by the
discharge of electricity from II point
the surrounding air bccamcelectriicd;
it became rs Il consequence self-rcpell
ed, that 4 pcrccptiblc "wind" was felt
when the hand was brought near a
point whence the electricity thus is
sued. 1t was on this principle that
Hamilton founded his electric mill,
which the lecturer forwith showed in
action. a pretty experiment which
followed was often performed by Far
aday. 1t was the fusion Of scaling-waX
under the action of electricity, which