The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-02-15
sUNsrRoKE BY ELECTRICITY.
The Great Electrical Furnace at Creuzot
MoWs Spectators Down Like the Sun.
ST. James Gazette,

The Great Electrical Furnace at Creuzot
Mows Spectators Down Like the Sun.
st. James Gazette,
In the Journal des Debats, NJ. Henri de
Parville gives an account of some extraor-
binary medical observations on electric
sunstroke collected at the famous French
foundry, Creuzot.
Ordinary sunstroke we all know. But
there is another kind of sunstroke indeti-
nitely more strange, yet scarcely known,
and that is the electric sunstroke. Now,
what is electric sunstroke? DR.. Defontaine,
in his character of head physician at Creu.
zot, has peen called upon to examine its
effects. 1t is already known that electricity
is employed in the form of an intense 70.
Gus (foyer) to smelt certain minerals, and
especially 10 melt and solder metals. Thus
a metal placed in the electric arc is fused
as if by magic. Steel melts like butter in
q few seconds. Now Creuzot, where the
progress of science is followed step by step,
has for some time possessed Its electric fur
mace. Steel is soldered directly by the
high temperature produced by electricity.
The electric arc in which the metal is
placed is of marvellous radiance. Its lu-
minosity focus upon a few square inches
exceeds 10 600 Carcel lamps and surpasses
10000 candles.
1t happens that spectators standing st a
distance of (say) ten yards feel no heat; bat
presently they become conscious of acute
pain. "Very odd," said a bystander, II
feel no heat, but l have q sense of being
burnt which recalls the sunstroke / had
last summer" Therefore he stood of, but
Lot before he had in fact experienced
something like second sunstroke. 1t al
most always happens that, after an hour or
two, persons witnessing the experiments
feel burning sensation, with more or less
pain in neck, face and forehead, and their
skin at the same time assumes a coppery
red tint. 1t is customary to protect specta-
tors eyes with blackened sun glasses; yet
their retina is affected to such an extent
that blindness supervenes in broad day
light for several minutes, and for nearly an
hour all objects are seen in deep saffron
color. Other symptoms are headache aud
sleeplessness. Afterward the skin of the
face gradually peels of ia broad flakes,
when the complexion is left of fine brick
color. This We take to be the description
of severe cases.
In ordinary sunstroke it is reasonable to
attribute the suns share to heat, If for no
other reason than that the solar heat is
felt. But here there is no sense of heighten-
ed temperature. Nay, thermometer,
placed within five yards of the arc which
is n eltlng steel like butter, is hardly affect
ed at all. All the heat seems to remain
concentrated and while at five yards
distance the thermometer hardly moves,
bystsnders suffer stroke even at fourteen n
yards. To what else can we appeal, there
fore, but to light pure and simple? The
fact is interesting IN many ways, but 1t IL
illustrates once more the active part played
by light in a variety of biological pheno-
mena 1t may now be asked, is the skin
affected by the red and yellow rays of light,
or is it not rather to the chemical rays,
the violet and purple rays, we should look ?
nj. de Parville incllnes to the latter hypo-
thesis. M. Defontaine is silent; but NJ. de
Parville thinks that by trying the alternate
effects on the skin of the red and yellow
rays and the violet rays, respectively isola-
ted, the problem may be capable of easy
solution.