Feliciana sentinel. [volume] (St. Francisville, La.) 1877-1892, 1892-11-19
IN THE ELECTRICAL WORLD.


adopted copper bronze wires and is re-
placing all its iron and steel wires by
the new metal. which is used of a small
diameter and weighs about $50 pounds
to the mile.
"A movement has been originated In
the French senate regarding the intro
duction of electrical execution in France
for capital criminals The final success
of the moro recent New York trials is
the direct cause of this, and q promi-
nent member of the French body has
recently been advocating the question in
a manner which may result in its adop-
ton. The time honored guillotine
would in such event be relegated to .
place among other historical relics.
1t Is said that the more recent forms
of telephone apparatus produce Won
derful results compared with those
in use, but the reason why they are not
placed in everyday use arises from the
fact that to replace the half-million tel
ephones now in use in the country
would cost many millions of dollars OF
the newest form OF receiver it is stated
| that, IL placed on a table in a small
room, it will reproduce speech spoken
over 200 miles away, SO loudly that it
can be distinctly heard by persons sit
ting about the room.
One of the first effects of introduce
ing parliaments into Japan has been to
stimulate the inventors to discover
some means of doing away with lobby
divisions. Prof Zamakawa, of the Uni.
versity of Toxic, has devised an cleo.
trical machine by which each member
can record his vote without leaving his
seat There will he q board placed
back Of the presidents chair, like a ho-
tel bell-board. The yeas being first
called, each member desiring to vote
yea presses his aye button and re-
cords his vote, and the same way with
the noes.
"A thunderbolt from a clear sky is
proverbially rare, but it was lately seen
at Oberhausen, Prussia. The Berlin
correspondent OF the London Daily
News says THAT, while the sun shone
brilliantly and the sky was absolutely
cloudless, several flashes of lightning
were seen striking the earth from
above, and they were followed by I'M
usually loud claps of thunder of a rare
violence. A telegraph pole was struck
and the wires were damaged, and at
0sterfield, n place in the near neigh bor-
hood, lightning struck house and a
woman was seriously hurt"
The comparatively rare metal glu-
cinium has been suggested as a suitable
metal for the construction of electrical
apparatus. It is lighter than alum
inium, resists oxidation, possesses great
rigidity, tensile strength and mallea-
bil.ty, and is even better conductor
Of electricity than silver. 1t is esti-
mated that the metal can be furnished
at a cost of about one dollar an ounce,
but. on account of its extreme lightness,
the actual expense of using it would be
much less than that of silver. 1t is to
be hoped that experiments may be I'M
dertaken to determine the practical val
ne of the metal for such purposes Pop
ular Science News.
"A new method of counting words
in n message was instituted some time
ago, by the Western Union Telegraph
Co. All dictionary words, surnamcs of
persons, initial letters, names of cities,
states and territories will be counted
and charged each as one word. Figures,
letters. commas and bars of division or
any com bination thereof will be count
ed, each group being taken separately,
three letters, figures or signs to the
word. and group containing less than
three letters will be counted as one
word. Managers of the company, il is
said, claim that the new mode of count
men, and that it will materially lesson
their telegraph tools.
A new underground system for cleo
trio railway wires was recently exhib-
tied in the New York Chamber OF Com
mcrce. 1t is the invention of Mr.. E. w.
Mitchell, and is thus described: The
feed wire, heavily insulated, is hidden
beneath the surface of the track in an
iron conduit q foot square. A few
inches above it is Il vibrating wire, upon
which hang at short intervals ''plung-
ers." From the motor beneath the car
and down through the slab extends an
iron rod, ending in set of wheels,
which ride the vibrating wire. This
wire is in sections of two feet each.
The weight of the car bears the vibrat-
ing wire down sufficiently to bring the
''piungers" in contact with the feed
wire, and the current passes up through
a wire in the iron rod to the motor, and