Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-21
ELECTRIC EXECUTION
How the Killing of Kemmler Might
Have Been Made Much More
Successful.
A CONSTANT CURRENT NEEDED.
The Dynamo Furnished Constant Pressure
and the Current Varied With
the Resistance.
A PROPER MACHINE EASILY MADE.
The Trouble Is That the Human Body Doesn't Always
Have the Same Resistance
WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPArcH.I

profit by the experience gained In kemm-
ler's case. 1t has been charged that the
narrowing scenes in the execution room
originated in the minds of correspondents
whose imagination was stimulated by parties
interested; but it has not been proved.
Nevertheless, leaving this out of sight, it is
an established fact that the current was APP
piled the second time upon Kemmler, and,
to that extent at least, the execution was
failure. Why was it so?
There is not the shadow of doubt that
people have been instantly killed by electric
shocks, and these from dynamos OF the same
character as that used to kill Kemmler.
This fact alone points strongly in favor of
electrocution. But can the current not be
used to better advantage, and are there not
methods of applying it that will preclude
the possibility OF failure?
POWER OF THE COMMERCIAL DYNAMO.
Electrocution is a new and novel applica-
cation of electricity, but suppose it was not
newo Suppose it had come into use about
the time OF tn, commercial dynamo. Would
it be reasonable to expect a dynamo built
and designed for incandescent lighting to be
equally well adapted to produce q death
dealing shock? Just because your powder
used in blasting rocks will kill, is no reason
whv a more suitable powder should not be
used in gun. Just because locomotive has
power is no reason for using its power other
wise than on the rails. Engines are built
TO suit the work they are intended to do.
Dynamos are built and designed with the
same object in view. One dynamo is de-
signed for electric plating; another for street
l,,, har
for iucandescent, and so on almost without
end. But dynamo designed for electro
plating would not work at all on an arc
circuit. Can we wonder then, that electro
cution with dynamo designed to work on
an incandesceut circuit has not proved a
grand success?
The dynamo used was a constant potential
machine; that is, it gave constant pressure.
To under stand what this and that which is
to follow MEANS it will be necessary to
understand the simple law of the flow of
electric current, called Ohm's law. 1t is
this. The pressure or the force pushing the
current through the circuit is always equal
to the current flowing multiplied by the re-
siStance of the circuit That is, suppose the
pressure were 1000 volts and the resistance
/ 600 ohms, then the current would of neces-
sity be 2 amperes. II the pressure were
1000 volts and the resistance 1000 ohms,
then the current would be only ampere.
IT'S THE CURRE IT THAT KILLS.
Thus it will be seen that with a constant
pressure the current will vary inverseiv as
the resistance, in other words if the resistance
is doubled the current will be halved. Now
it must be distinctly understood that il is
the current that kills. not the pressure.
However, as the resistance of the human
body is very high, 1t takes great pressure
to force the needed current to produce in
slant death through the body. Exactly
what this death-dealing current is. l do not
know, nor does anybody else. However,
for the convenience of arguing the point in
question, let US assume that one ampere is
the needed current to produce instant
| death, and do not think tnat this can be
| far out of the way.
The DYNAMO used on Kemmler was a con-
slant pressure machine. Now, if we assume
that it gave = pressure OF 9, 900 volts and that
the resistance OF kemmler's body was 1000
ohms, then the current passed through his
body would have been one ampere, which.
| according to our assumption, would have
produced instant death. But, on the other
hand, if the resistance of kemmler's body
| had been greater than 9, 600 ohms, then the
| current would have been correspondingly
less, and death, according to our assump-
ton, would not have been instantaneous.
| Now, is it an undisputed tact that the cleo
trical resistance OF the human body is chang
ing all the time, and that, too, through very
| wide limits. A constant pressure dynamo
might, therefore, at one moment yield the
death-dealing current of one ampere and the
next moment entirely fail, due to the change
OF the resistance o. the body placed in the
circuit.
A CONSTANT CURRENT THE THING.
Ere this it must have become perfectly
clear to the reader that what is needed Tor
the purpose in question is a constant cur
rent dynamo, be the death-dealing current
what it may, l, 2, 2H or amperes. 1t is
| just rs easy to build a constant current
dynamo. The use of constant pressure in
candescent dynamo for eIectrocution is to
INV mind like using shotgun to shoot a
I man to death, in so far that the instruments
in either case are not designed for that kind
of work, and, consequently, when used FOR
this purpose, they fail TO give entire satIs-
faction. There is also one other way OF
looking at it. A 1lunderbuss will kill a
man, but pistol will do the same work
better and with less powder.
The incaDdescent machine used on Kemm-
Ter was, if 1 remember rightly. 5OO-light
machine, and this means a capacity OF
about 40-horse power. But machine de.
signed for the purpose aud having a capac.
ity of about four or five horse power, would
do the work better and bear the same rela-
tion to the 40-horse power machine that
the pistol does to the blunderbuss. Let us
now take closer view of a constant current
machine and see what can be done with it.
We know that constant current machine
can be made, and we know that it is the cur.
rent which causes death, and not the pres
sure. However, we do not know the exact
current needed to produce death. 1t may
not, in tact it is quite likely that it is not
the same for everybody. The proper cur
rent can only be determined by experiment
and for this reason it is very much to be re-
gretted that this data was not furnished BY
the Kemmier experience.
GIVING PLENTY OF MARGIN.
Now, we have assumed that one ampers
of current is sufficient to kill man. L
that is so, then two amperes will more thar
likely cover every possible case, and using
the style of dynamo that propose, this cur.
rent OF two amperes will be quite independ.
ent of the resistance or other conditions o
the subject. 1t seems to me, therefore, thai
the proper dynamo ior the purpose in ques
tion is one that will WELD constant current
of two amperes (or to put it more broadly, 9
constant current sufficient to cause instant
death) and an electromotive force (pres
sure) capable Of rising as high as 10,00(
volts.
The application of Ohm's law will show
how such dynamo will invariably adap
itself to the resistance of the subject auC
cause instant death. One or two examples
will illustrate. Suppose the subject, II