Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-12-08
ELECTRICITY.
Prominent Workers with the Mysterious
Force, and Its Future Field.

Force, and Its Future Field.
tBY DUANE DOTH
What electricity Is no man yet
knows. We deal with certain phe.
nomena, produce startling results by
means of some element Of matter or
force In nature which we do not un.
derst nd, and in our experiments we
are grouping along an obscure and
mysterious way Mr. Thomas A.
Edison once said Of the late Prof H.
Hertz, of Bonn, one Of the ablest In.
vestigators in this fled Of research:
III think Prof. Hertz will by and by
be able to tell us what electricity IS"
The Greek Thales, 9, 500 years ago, Is
credited with the first experiments
In this fascinating field. TheOphras-
tus, Aristotle, and Pliny alluded to
the element, but nearly all the
very valuable work In this depart.
mont has been done since Franklin's
time, and the Applicant ions Of electricity
TO the uses OF man have principally
been made during the l Ct twenty.
I've years The telegraph, of course,
preceded that date. Early in the
century an eminent scientist burned
an arc light In Paris but told
his hearers that It would always
prove too costly 30 come into general
use, and was only Of interest as "a
laboratory experiment. Sir Isaac
Newton's experiments 200 years
ago were not OF much
value, but the discovery Of
the Leyden Jar was long step In ad.
vance. Our illustrious franklin
clearly showed tho Identity of light.
ming and electricity. In 1900 Gal.
vani discovered that the contact Of
metals produces muscular cOntrac.
ton, and in 1900 Volta made his cele.
brated vOltaic pile; the chemical ef-
fects of this pile enabled Davy to IN.
augurate q new era In the science Of
chemistry. COulomb experimental
about the close of the last century
inventing the torslon balance which
has been OF value In the subsequent
study Of this subject The investi.
cations Of Ampcre will always stand
among the most brilliant IN this de.
partment; he was an epoch making
man a. the late Prof Hertz has been
during the last decade. But II was
lett to Michael Faraday to do for this
science what 1t would be useless for
US to attempt even to summarize
here; he began his experiments In
1921, and by his labors 10 pure science
made tho telegraph and telephone
possible ana made clear the way for
our electric lights and electric motors
More recent men, headed by such
names as He'll, kdison, and crush,
have taken out many patents upon
mechanical devices for using cleo.
tricity, but have done little for pure
science, though they have &C
Quired fortunes upon applica
lions made possible by the
work OF Faraday. Faraday could
spare no time, though offered large
| sums to d. so, to apply his discovcrie.
to the uses Of man. always sayine
that that lass OF work could be done
Just as we'll by others. Tho immedi
ate utilities and commercial phase.
of his discoveries did not c0ncerI
| him. Faraday might have said o.
: these mere utilities:
2 1hey arc but sailing foa,n.beiis
Along Thoughts coursing stream,
: And tske their shape and sun.coior
a From him who sends tho dream.
t Like Agassiz, Faraday 'could no
0 afford to waste his time making
!. money" but he left the race wealth
; > Of discoveries and suggestive state
. ments OF priceless value. DR. Ohm
? the German naturalist, also mad,
\ valuable contributions to electrical
y science during the life of Faraday
8 Electricity as q science In its presen
d state, and In Its applications IL tn
b product OF scores OF able thinkers
] The men who have done the most l.
!. advance II aro unknown to tn
- masses OF mankind, while others ar
). widely advertised on the mechanical
{ and counting house side u the subiec
though making few real c0ntrl
t buttons to pure science, hut usin
o the results Of tho labCrs Of some Q
the really eminent mon who ar
named In this brief sketch. w
would not for q m oment detract fr0r
|, the merits of the inventors who hav
y made practical applications Of elet
It tricity to mans uses, for they are IL
% deed bcnefactors OF the race thong
u not OF tho Atlantean proportions Of
y Faraday. Within fifteen years "Ele'
- trical Engineering" has become
4 separate profession; hundreds {
r millions0 OF dollars have 10 that perio
been invested In electric plants,
power plants, aud In motors. aud
demand has been created for Inc
=" specially trained In what Is known {
;, the subject and Its application to tn
= date.
n FINALLY.
10 Great forces alone accomplis
u, great results In early times as
" Egypt and later 10 Rome such fore
was attainable only by human sla'
q cry aggregatins In this way III
i, power OF large numbers of men. I'll
'g great force by means Of which OF
10 modern civilization IL evolved
steam. Men are forced into organ
Zati0n around such a lower ana hay
to adapt and adjust themselves
the condition which that power an
9, lis applications engendeE Stea
:. may soon give way to the new fore
o. electricity" and VIC may now
q viewing the dawn II an age whiC
v shall be known as the age of ele
a. tricitY 1t Is more In the nature OF
logical deduction from the prOgre
% made in the applications of Gle
n. tricitv during the paSJ fifteen yea