The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-01-23
TRUMP ON ELECTRICITY.
THE PEOPLE LEARN OF ITS
WONDERS.
Young Men Rally to Wilmington
Boys Maiden Lecture-our Peo-
pie Receive Valuable and
Interesting Instruo-
tion.


commonly forced upon their attention
will at least read. and perhaps pre-
servo for reference, q few notes OF the |
practical and remarkably Instructive
lecture of Mr.. C. II. Van Trump, gen.
eral superintendent OF the Whining
ton Electric Company, delivered be
fore a membership meeting of the Y.
nj. G. A., which had Rood-sized |
audience out of its 404 members, pre-
sided over by Messr5. Charles Baird,
president, and j. r. King, general Sec
retary, Tuesday evening.
Mr. Van Trump, who Is promising |
young man OF rising genius, with ex-
traordlnary power OF mental concen-
tration and other special talent adapta-
BILE 70 his subtle and difficult subject,
said In part:
NOTES OF HIS MAIDEN LECTURE.
The Electric current Is not a cheap |
form of energy, but It's capacity OF |
cheap distribution admits OF a central
station, the ideal of engineers, where |
power may be consolidated and the
several small plants may be united
into the always more efficient large
plant.
Besides It's distributive qualities the
Electric current has capacity OF trans
formation so we can carry 1t TO great
distance and there transform II at once
into light or power or heat with less
loss than any other form OF energy.
IL has been predicted that II Is feast
BILE by this method to run a car from
Philadelphia to New York in thirty
minutes and that, when fuel Is as ex-
gensiye in New York City as Il Is III "
Paris to-day, the great metropolis Will
be furnished with light, heat and power
from Electricity developed by water
mower nj Niagara Falls,
Electrical engineering shows field
open to our view that appears lin-
bounded, and never even dreamed OF
by the engineers Of the past.
IT sUFFERs CRITICISM
because men say: ut Is deadly" In
New York they have strung wires pro-
miscuously, without proper precau-
tions and system. Each competing
company has striven in the business
rivalry until there Is a maze Of wires
in many street, and no map can tell
one from another, Then 96tpe Teck-
les llnemBn is sent post hgste !a
tfouble. He climbs the pole, slashes
his plyers into wire without knowing
whence IL comes or whittier 1t goes.
No wonder that the WetaAcs Qcluis
when he strikes a wire, fayeiveS q
shock, loosens his hold and falls either
into the net work of wires or to the
ground below. Is IL then because the
Electric current is deadly or because
linemen are reckless that we have a
fate like Meaks to stigmatize the wires
Us deadly
THE ELECTRIC CURRENT
Is form OF energy like light, like
heat, like mechanical energy. We
know that IL is so because 1t Is perfect.
ly inter-convertable as between these
forms.
All energy obeys fundamental laws
that are briefly stated:
l. In a system OF detached masses
Che quantity of energY.fs always Inc
same. This u cHlltccI the conservation
OF ,en1.ssy.
III. Energy tends to diffuse itsel
throughout the system. This Is calleC
the law OF dissipation.
Ill. Energy may be transformed
FROM one form into another with {
uniform measure. This is the law O
Transformation.
AS to energy existing In dllfer1 n
degrees of Intensity in the sevcra
masses composing system the degre
OF intensity Is called the potential o
mass and the difference of potential
between two masses is the measure o
the useful work that We may obtain
from the unit quantity owing to TIN
relative conditions.
The speaker cited such forces as AT,
exempliiied by stone suspended
steam in boiler and difference o
temperature between a boiler and it
refrigerator.
We speak Of generating energy,
generating heat energy ''geners
ting mechanical energy etc. II woul
be more correct to speak OF stear
engine as a transformer rather than
generator OF power. What we reall
do Is to establish and maintain di
ference of potential and to use thi
capacity for doing work through suit
bic transmitting and transforming d.
Vices until we get the work we requir'
The several methods of establiShin
an electrical difference OF potential {
pressure are by chemical action dlreC
as In a galvanio battery, by heat dire'
rs in a thermo pile and, the one thu
concerns US most induction.
FAnApY IN 1881,
Discovered II wire were moved tran
versely across a field OF magnet
force an electrical difference OF pOtel
tial would be established between Il
ends of the wire and a current woul
tend to How In the wire in given
reetion.
The strength of magnetic field
imaginary quantity the number p'
square eentfmeter OF which ls propo
tional to the strength of the field.
Now each wire carrying u current
found TO be encilcled by this magn
field like whirls of the lines of forl
and when curve Is moved aero
these lines OF field 1t sets up Il
whirls about the wire thus establis
ing the electric difference Of potentia
A coils q number of wires retur
ing upon themselves-moved so th
the lines OF force piercing it a
changed while through 1t the currei
will tend to How.
The speaker gave experiments
coil cutting magnetic lines, and Il
current was shown on a galyenomete
The dynamo machine Is series
coils arranged to operate In a ma
netie field so that the lines OF for
would be successfully cut in and o
of the several coils and the diiferen
Of potential would be established
two points from which an elect
current would How.
THE ARC LIGHT.
In 1900 Sir Humphrey Davy exhibit
the arc light before London audien
out the battery power, used to apr
the current, did not admit Of comm,
nial use of the light.
In 1880 Erstead OF Copenhag
threw the first light upon our scien
when he discovered the magnetic re
tions OF the electric current. Ampe
vas contemporary with Grstea
Afnnmra djaoavarad' the ,,aIatinD ~ :,