The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1890-09-18
WHAT is ELEcTRIclTYq
Prof. A. e. Doibear Agrees That There I
No Such Thing.

Prof. A. T.. Dolbear Agrees That There 10
No Such Thing.
People who have an idea that electric
ity is an entity, rather than form or
expression of energy, Will be interested
in statement in regard to it from
gentleman of such high scientific attain
ments as Prof. A. E. Doibear, of Tufts
College. In the last issue of Practical
Electricity, Prof. Dolbear has a short
commentary on that subject. He says
thatin that interesting book on Modern
Views of Electricity" by Prof. O. J.
Lodge, there is made the suggestive
statement that, after all the inquiries
have been made as to what is electrici-
ty, the answer may have to be: There is
no such thing. The words electric"
and 'electrification" may be retained,
he says, but the word electricity may
have to go, simply because it does not
stand for reality.
1t may be difficult for one who looks
at the phenomena, rather than to the
relations involved in the phenomena. to
imagine that electricity is not some sort
of an entity, and may be described, If,
one knew how, as One would describe
any other something. 1t would certain
ly be curious if it should turn out that
the reason no answer has been forth
coming to the question: What is cleo
tricity? is that there Is no such thing,
and the question is an improper one; as
if one should ask: What is odor, OF
brightness, or zero?
Historically there are several parallel
cases. A hundred years or more ago,
heat phenomena were attributed to
phlogiston or to caloric-each supposed
to be an entity Of some sort The latter
term is still retained for convenience,
but 1t has ceased to have any signifi-
canoe as something that gives origin
to heat phenomena. When it was
discovered that such phenomena
were due to atomic and molecular vibra
tions. or what is now often called
mode of notion" both the above
words ceased TO have any meaning; in
other words there was no such thing as
phlogiston or caloric. Again, light was
once thought to be an entity; now we
know that light is sensation, and
does not exist independent of the eye
What was treated as light is now called
radiant energy or ''ether waves"
Though the term Eight" is retained it
has lost the significance it had when it
was supposed to be a created something.
Tho Psychologists for very long
time explained the phenomena exhib-
tied by living things, both vegetable
and animal, as due to ''vital force
something supposed to be utterly unlike
and not necessarily related to the other
forces In nature, force that could con-
troll the others in a living organization.
Now that has been altogether aban-
tloned No biologist OF any repute now
believes in vital force" and the ques-
ton, What is life? which has baffied
every one in his attempt to define it,
now turns out to be an improper ques-
t on, as it is reducible to complicated
molecular motions and not to an entity.
As magnetism is known to be due to
the position of molecules; as chemism
may DO explained as due to ether press
ure, it really seems as II all along the
ltnc Of knowledge Of the physical uni
verse. what lave been called forces" as
peculiar something's, having individual
ity as matter has, have no existence at
all, and that matter and ether and mo-
lions OF one sort or another are all fact
ors in phenomena Lodges statement
then, has degree Of probability added
to II by the antecedents In the history
Of physics-