The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-17
THE ELECTRIC CURRENT.
HOW IT OPERATES AND BOW MEN
CONTROL IT.

| TO the unscIentlfc mind and il might be
added to the scientific also, as the substan.
tlal characteristics Of the current itself
Could current be directed in a line with
out the medium of conductors, the commo,
ton, horror, lodging and dread that il
would cause would be sufficient 70 psralyze
human energy and drive humanity of the
face Of the earth. 1t is, however. carried
with comparative safety by the multi.
plicity Of wires that are used in its trans
mission over a large portion of the earth's
surface. In large cities like Baltimore il
rsmiies and intersects almost every thor.
oughfare.
Invisible aud noiselessly it does its work
the commotion il creates not being es
81 eat as the arc lights that it brings into
existence, the machinery it propels or the
| telegraph instruments that it operates. A
curious substance that can permeate the
densest piece Of steel, stone or wood, it can
yet be dehecsed with the frailess piece Of
glass or other so-called uon-conductiug ma
terlals For some material il has an affinity,
and will Jump" q considerable distance to
| reach IL, while for Others it has such q re-
pulsive hatred that it will not touch IL
under almost any circumstances
DANGEROUS TO HUMAN LIFE.
Electricians, however, say that there Is
no material that is absolutely q non-con-
| ductor, although In some the amount of
the force taken up is so small as to be almost
| imperceptible. and does not in any perceiv =
able degree interfere with the regular cur
| rent. That the electric current generated
| from the dynamo or undiluted from the
clouds Is dangerous to human life is unQues-
| toned. The currents used by the electric
railways, despite the theories of Prof. Fran
els Nipher Of the Washington University
according TO the statement of electricians,
is fatal if come in contact with under ordi-
nary conditions, and the same can be said OF
the arc light system.
The abiding place of the current appears
to be the ground, and it takes the most
direct route to get there whenever an op-
portunity presents itself. and 20 through a
| human body as quickly as an iron rod if
occasion demands. This applies to all high
tension wires used upon the streets. Where
| they enter buildings for the purpose Of in
candescens lighting appliances are ATTACHED
to them to modify the force of the current
and render 1t comparatively harmless An
expert on the subject, in discussing the mat
ter, stated that an individual on dry day,
with silk socks and good boots on, might
escape death when coming in contact with
high-tension wire, but on a wet day he
would not be liable to escape. The pre-
ventives and precautions used by the cleo
trio companies to protect the linemen and
other employees verify the statement.
LIEEMEN's PRECAUTIONS.
Under the regulation of the electric light
and power companies no employe is allowed
to ascend telegraph pole unless he wears
rubber boots-rubber being a non-oon-
ductor, and carries with him q safety belt
This belt is hooked around his body, and
he fastens IL TO the pole and begins opera
| lions. Should he come In contact with an
exposed wire and receive a shock the belt
will keep him from falling. A number of
| linemen in the city owe their lives to this
| safeguard, as it enables their companions
to remove them to the ground with oom-
parative safety. This precautionary sys-
tenn is also used by the telegraph and tele-
phone companies
| panies are generally placed on the lower
arms Of the poles. and are required by law
to be heavily insulated. The operating
wires Of electric railways, while being
placed in the middle Of the streets, are pro-
tected by guard wires" Those wires are
intended to prevent such telephone and
telegraph wires as may chance to fall from
coming in contact with the electric wire it
| self-an occurrence very much dreaded by
the telephone and telegraph companies.
ARREsTING THE CURRENT.
Eab VIC ObAosb wall uldHo y DToak
for the earth by way OF the telegraph or
telephone wire to reach its destination, il
would, if not arrested, 60 through the in-
| struments in the operating offices of those
companies and burn them out. The compa-
MES, to guard against such accidents, use
what is called ''lightning arresters, I" which
are intended to avoid lightning as well as
stray currents. Attached to each wire In
the central office of the Chesapeake Tele-
phone Company is No. Sc insulated wire
| that runs across a small piece of tinfoil,
| held in it's place by two small brass sup
porters at either end, one end of which con-
I meets with a ground wire.
While this little wirel ia large enough to
pass a current sufficient for telephone pur-
poses current OF higher power will
instantly burn 1t in two, and the intruding
current, instead Of getting into the build
ing, will take the ground wire for the earth.
| There is also device of similar oanstruc-
| ton used by telephone companies that will
"open the current" and expose the breakage
| the first time an attempt is made to use the
telephone with which it is connected after
ward. This places the possibility of an &C
cident at the minimum. Telephones in
buildings are not so protected, and hence an
occasional stray current will reach them.
They are 80 constructed, however, that no
| serious danger can result to the operator Ii
| is said, however, that an instance is on
record wnere man was Filled by lightning
when responding to a telephone call in Chi
| cago about two years ago
I PROTECTING TELEPHONES AND CLOCKS.
The telephone box comes out Of such or
deals without comparative injury, the bell
coils, which are easily repaired, being about
the only things damaged. Telegraph com
panies use as lightning arresters an appli-
| ance similar to that used to protect tele-
phone offices. It is based on the fuse"
theory-that is, the arresting wire is 30
constructed that 1t will burn out should il
come in contact with q current larger than
it was created TO carry and cause the stray
current to defect to the earth.
A telegraph wire, however, being larger
than the wires used to operate the tele-
phone, some little difficulty has been ex-
perienced in the past in getting absolutely
safe apparatus. Quite a number of in
stances have occurred where instruments
have been burned out and fires occasioned
| by an invasion Of stray currents Of a high
tension. On some occasions the damages
have been inflicted hundreds Of miles away
from the point Of the original contact Of
the current and wire. The Western Union
now uses, it is claimed, a perfect safe pro-
teotor in it's general offices and that it is i'm
possible for a dangerous current to invade
them.
The protection of instruments and
buildings is not the only thing that has to
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