Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1892-06-23
SCIENCE AND INDUSTR Y
DUSTRIAL MATTERS
How Electricity Is Measured
Electric Lighting In Time OF
War Photography In
the Detection OF
Crime.
How Electricity Is Measured.

Many people find il difficult to con
ceive how electricity can be measured,
The process is not hard to compre-
bend. In an ordinary Edison meter
two compartments will be found in
the upper of which is a thin piece of
German silver running across in n
yigzag line. In the lower compart-
ment, separated from the upper by u
bar. which is part of the cast.iron
construction of the meter, is a spool
OF copper wire and n bottle. The
bottle contains two pieces OF zine,
separated by piece of rubber. These
three things constitute the meter.
The principle underlying the measure
meut Of electricity is that OF electro
plating, This is done by means of an
electric battery, piece OF copper be-
ing placed in the battery on tho posi-
tive pole or wire, and tho object to
be plated being placed on the mega.
tive wire. The action OF tho current
eats away the copper from the posi-
tive wire and deposits it on the arti.
Gle fastened TO tho opposite wire. In
tho electric light meter two pieces OF
rinc arc used, On the chemical purity
OF this zinc tho accuracy
OF the measurement depends.
These two pieces OF zine
are separated by rubber and joined by
rubber boits, 80 that they may be
hear each other and still not allow OF
the iuterpassage of the current. One
piccs represents tho positive pole, tho
other the negative. The more electri-
city passes through these pieces ofzinc
the more zinc will DO transferred from
the positive 60 the negative pole, 30
that il enough current be used In
course OF time all the zinc will be on
the pole. This il the principle OF
measuring electricity, After the pieces
Of ZINC hGvG been used for some time
one viii weigh moro than the other,
and tho amount OF tho customers bill
Is exuGtly hn proportion to this differ.
ence In weight, which IL arrived at
with mathematical exactitudo. But
ii the bottle were NIL that was used in
the measurement OF current il would
require u bottle OF immense size to
measure the electricity used in the
average Residence or store, and the
consunawtlo1 Of zinc would be enorm-
Gus. Here the piece of German silver
comes I'm useful This piece OF METALS
called n ahtut, because it stunts of
most 0f tho electricity and prevents
1t from guStul Through tho bottle, THIS
strip of ncGal in so accurately ADJUST
ed THAT IL lakes just 900 parts OF olec.
tricity TO nue chat passes through
the bottle. Tho current from
the elccsric light wire, before it goes to
the lGmps, passes through the meter;
hcrethc 1-1000th part passes through
tho hottie with itspeces Of zinc, the rest
being Bhua,cd or through the German
kilvtr. The weighing of the zine plato
Is very delicate operation. The bot
Ties ara collected by the agent OF the
electric light company, the pieces oil
Einc are separated, and the negative
picco Is carefully washed and hung up
TO dry. After this their record IL
looked up, and the operator knows to
q millcgramme how much each piece
OF zinc weighed before it left the works
and was put in the meter. The zinc is
weighed on most delicate scales, and
the difference in weight is noted down.
The decrease in weight is multiplied by
q figure known as the constant, and
the bill OF the consumer in dollars and
cents Such pefect accuracy is essen
tial that only the most nicely adjust
cd scales can be used in the weighing
OF zinc. Before the weighing is begun
every door and window is closed, al
though the operation is carried on IN
IN inside room. The least movement
in the air would add several hundred
dollars to some consumers bill. The
scales are then covered with glass and
the weighing in proceeded with.
The Telephone And Polyphased