The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-04
ELECTRIC METERS.
HOW ELECTRICITY is MEASURED FOR
THE CONSUMER.
Plain and Easily Comprehended De-
script;on of an Interesting Process
Not Generally Understood, Even by
People Who Have to Pay the Bills.


script;on of an Interesting Process
Not Generally Understood, Even by
People Who Have to Pay the Bills.
There is no doubt that consumers of cleo.
tric light and others interested have fire.
/ quentiy wondered how the ingenuity of
man has succeeded in measuring the
| amount of electricity used in stores and
. private dwellings
Open one of the meters of the Edison
company and you will find that it consists
OF two compartments; in the upper you
viii lind thin piece of German silver run
! ming In zigZag line across the compart-
| ment; in the lower compaItm ent, separated
| from the upper by a bar, the latter being a
/ part OF the cast iron construction of the
meter, there is spool of copper wire and
( a bottle; in the latter there are two pieces
( OF zinc, separated from each other BY
| means of a piece of rubber. These three
things constitute the meter. Some meters
contain two of each kind, and are called
double meters, being capable of doing
double the work done by a single meter
The principle underlying the measuring
OF electricity is that of eIectropl3ting The
/ latter Is done by means of an electric bat
terry, piece of copper being placed in the
( battery on the opposite pole or wire, and
the object to be plated being placed on the
negative wire; by the action of the cleo
tTlcity the copper is eaten away from the
positive wire and deposited on the article
fastened to the opposite wire. In the cleo
trlc hight meter two pieces of zinc are
used; this zinc must be chemically pure,
IN order that the measurements may be
perfectly correct. These two pieces of zinc
are separated by rubber and joined by rub
her bolts, so that they may be near each
ether and sill not permit of passing of the
electric current
Que piece represents the positive pole,
the other the negative pole Now. the
more e-ectrlclty passes through these pieces
Of zinc the more zinc viii be taken from
the positive 10 the Negative pole, 80 that L
enough electricity is used. in course OF tine
ali the zinc would beEoa che pole. Here
You have the principle of measuring elec-
tr'cIty. After the pieces Of zinc have been
IN operation for some time one viii weigh
more than the other. and II Is just matter
Of mathematical calculation bow much Is
charged. the Charge being relative 10 the
amount OF zinc decomDosed
But If the bottle were all that WIS used
for the measuring Of electricity, i would
require bottle the size Of a house TO
measure the electricity used in the average
residence or store. and the consumption Of
zinc would be something eBoTEoGS il Is
FOR this purpose that the piece CT German
silver IS used, this metal beng ss!ocied Is
beSi fitted for the purpose This riece q
metal Is called 3 shRnt. because i saG1ts
cti most Of the electricity and prevents il
:ruen going through the bottle.
This piece Of metal is 80 s.cg.-atelv all-
Iusted that il taxes Just go p-IEts q e.ec-
trieity TO ore which passes through tie
bottle. the electricity from tie eiecz &c
light wire, before II GOES TO the lamps,
passes through the meter: here cae-thou-
sandth part passes through the bottle with
its pieces q zinc, the rest being shunteC
OF through the German silver - Is CT