The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-08-01
Electricity's Possibilities.

There is a bright writer who con-
tributes to "Good News" a'boy's pa
Der, published in New York. He
heads his work "Talks," and in his
column gives some very excellent ad-
vice. The following is one Of the best
things recently from his pen.
The wonders wrought by Aladdin's
lamp are fairly rivaled by the work of
electricity (; perhaps in the course Of
time they may be surpassed by it.
Nearly every day, it seems to me,
some new achievement, accomplished
by this mysterious and all powerful
force, is made known. So much has
been done with it that we are no long
er surprised by the marvellous record
that it is making.
And let me say here that electricity
| is bound to be the force of the future,
the force by means of which all me-
chanical and economic results will be
achieved. 1t will drive our engines,
run our railway trains, our steamships,
road carriages and vehicles of every
kind, even as it now lights and heats
our houses and cooks our dinners.
And I do not doubt that all this will
be seen by even the old men of the
present generation.
So far as the boys and girls that |
am talking to are concerned, the wild
est fights Of fancy could hardly con-
ceive of the things that they will see
before they reach old age.
What do you suppose they are doing
now with an electric current and pail
Of water? Something that seems to
turn law of nature upside down.
Let me tell you about it.
Thousands Of you' have seen
blacksmith with his tongs take piece
of red-hot iron from his forge-fire and
thrust it into pail Of water to cool it.
What would you thinkif you should
see him thrust piece Of perfectly
cold iron into pail of water and bring
it out while hot? That is reversing
the laws of nature with caution, is
it not? tits, most certainly; butit is
being done all the time now, and it is
becoming quite commonplace.
know the statement staggers your
belief, but when I tell you that cleo
tricity is the magician that does the
| work, you will lose your incredulity.
The process is as simple as it marvel
ous Across the ton of an ordinary
| wooden water pail bar of iron is laid.
The negative pole Of a dynamo is at
tached to the bar by q wire, and an.
other wire connects the other pole Of
dynamo with a copper plate in the
bottom of the pail, and there you are.
Now, the blacksmith merely rests
the piece of iron or steel against the
bar across the top of the pail and dips
the end of it into the water in the
pail. Almost Immediately the end Of
the metal becomes very hot, and the
smith takes it out and begins to work
on it with his hammer.
That seems very much like magic,
doesn't it? But it isn't; it is very
practical piece of business done by
that wonderful electricity.
Here is what happens when the
smith places the iron against the bar
with it's end in the water: The electric
current is closed by that act, and un-
der the influence of the current the
water Immediately begins to decom-
pose into the gases that form it-oxy-
gen and hydrogen.
When that process begins, the hy-
drogen accumulation of the hydrogen
on the iron that is submerged, thus
preventing the water from coming in
contact with it. The accumulation OF
the hydrogen on the iron would cause
stoppage Of the current if the latter
were Of ordinary strength, but it is
quite strong, on the contrary, and, in
overcoming the resistance Of the hydro
gen, great heat is developed, which
passes into the piece of iron, making
it even white hot.
The surrounding water does not cool
the iron because, as I have said, the
hydrogen film protects it: ;.
That is the "water pail FORGE" as it
| is now coming into general use, and to
nv mind is one of the most astonish-
ing results that haye sprung from
electrical research. The blacksmith
no longer needs his forge, his great
bellows, and his coal fire, with its
smoke and its dust; dynamo and a
wooden bucket takes the place OF that
clumsy, expensive and dirt making
outfit.