The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-07-15
AN ANCIENT SCIENCE.
EXPERIMENTS WITH ELEcTRfC-
Try CENTURIES AGO.

Ehales Of Milstus, Wrote of Electricity
600 Years Before ~Christ-siow
Development OF Knowi-
edge Of the Fluid.
The study Of the origin Of q science
Is never without interest Some
curious details. upon the science OF
electricity are found in the Nouveau
Magasin Francois published in 1851.
This publication in the middle Of the
eighteenth century was what the sci
entifc Journals Of to-day r to the
end of the nineteenth.
It is known that it is not less than
600 years before the Christian era
that Thales Of Miletus, found that by
rubbing yellow amber it would at
tract light bodies. No more was
known for 1000 years until DR.. Gil
bert, physician to Queen Elizabeth OF
England, discovered that glass, resin,
silk, etc. had the same properties as
amber. 81
1t was not until the eighteenth
century, or about 1922, that scientists
commenced to seriously investigate
electricity. formerly" says LIE Cat,
the author OF the treatise, ..there
was but little known on the subject. -
In 1927 the Englishman Gray dis
covered that any substance whatever
attracts light bodies when 1t is placed
at the end OF q piece Of glass or resin
and rubbed with a piece of cloth. He
concluded that all bodies could be-
come electrified by friction and he
classed them as good and bad con-
ductors of the unknown fluid.
1t was about 1880 that DR.. Wall
first obtained an electric spark by
holding the finger a short distance
from a piece OF amber that had been
rubbed vigorously. The discovery
of this fact marked the commence
ment of q series of experiments by
Gray, Able Nollet, Dufay, Reichman
and others. In 1888 Dufay invented
the electric pendulum which enabled
him to distinguish vitrious or posi-
tive from resinous Or negative cleo
tricity. In 1746 Cuneus. the in
ventor of the Leyden jar, assisted by
Muschelbroek, made some expert
ments, the fame Of which resounded
throughout Europe. " =. ;
We now come to the year 1861,
when the Nouyeau Magasin Francois
published the results of the expert
ments of LIE Cat. The first electric
machines Of Otto de Guericke con
sisted of a large sulphur globe ira
versed by q metallic axle, to which a
crank was attached. BY laying the
hand upon this globe and turning the
crank electricity was obtained. The
electric machine of Le Cat was of the
same kind. He says: ..In place OF
rubbing a tube. WHICH is tiresome. a
hollow glass sphere is turned rapidly
by the same mechanism used hy cut
lers to turn their gr14dstones."
Scientists have examined phos-
phorus, a body that gives out light in
the dark. The flow Of sparks is only
a new kind of phosphorus to be added
to those already known: Sparks
drawn from an electric body or elee-
tralizer is not electricity, at least, it
is not the same kind of electricity as
the body from which the sparks come.
Reciprocally, when sparks cannot be
produced from q sub lance, it is be-
aus 1t is not electric or that it is
not imbued with the same kind Of
electricity. Electricity tends to pass
off from its SOURCE hy q species of
centrifugal force: Electric sub
stances of different kinds have among
them q kind of ineompatibility which
up to a certain point prevents them
from mixing ~
The author gives 10 this property
the name of Municipality. Says he:
s'Somewhat similar to that found be-
tween water and OIL"
"After rubbing with Spanish wax q
cone Of sulphur, resin. or any other
electric substance, covering Ii with
papers, flannel. OF similar material,
the electricity Of the substance can
be kept for several months, and even
for more than 9 year"
Upon the results OF hisexperiments
the author bases his hypothesis. He
had q number OF detractors and felt
that he must answer them They
object to my applying the electrical
phenomena to the system of the
world and other physical effects. /
think these applications are not
wrong, as Lam supported by Messrs.
Gray, Dufay, and Desaguliers, who
have shown me the example. Oh
what use is electricity and twenty
years p~ersevering work If we only
find that a tube attracts light sub.
stances?"
The most curious part of the work
is the conclusions. The author already
~foresees Gin 1751) the great future
that is opened to the science, then,
Is they say now, in its infancy.
He says he is every, happy In his
knowledge OF the sublime science
with which all the nations of Europe
deeply sympathize, a matter which
is open to new discoveries whose end
cannot be SEEM Further he adds
Should we wait to make greater
discoveries in this science Of cleo
tricity, whose beginning is glimmel
rather than .lightPn
And the Glad bells Rang.
With q joyful cry she threwiher
self upon her fathers bosom.
Tho old man stroked her COLDER
brown tresses, but dared not press
her for her motives.
.Oh. pa" she murmuredssDNstat
cally.
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