St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-06
WEATHER TO ORDER
An Electrician Believes Sci
enee will Be Able to
Achieve This.
ELECTRICITY WILL DO 1T.
-
[
Prof. Croker, OF Columbia,
e, r. Tells How Climate Might
Be Modified.
s.
WATERFALLS FOR POWER.
RS
~
Pipe Line for Fresh Air
Straight From the Sea
- Shore.
WATERFALLS FOR POWER.


suit the personal convenience of the
greatest number? Will we make it |
rain when we wish rain, bring cool
ing breezes from the arctic circle
and balny breaths from the sunny
South? In short, is man-directed
weather one day to succeed the ca
price of Nature, just as the ocean
steamship has succeeded the sailing
vessel or as the mariners compass
succeeded the system of following
the stars?
In a word, so far as mans con-
venience and comfort are concerned,
has science just begun upon the Won
derfu1 things which one day it will
work out for him? Is the edge of the
future still a rosy dawn of unful-
filled promise.
A bold and daring electrical engi-
neer of London, in an article written
for one Of the London technical pa
pers, has advanced the proposition
that few years hence making rain
by electricity will be regarded as no
more wonderful than the endeavor
to supply the motive power for the
machinery of a half dozen states
from Niagara is today. Nor does he
see any reason why the climate
should not be modified by the same
agency.
The author of the article, Sidney F.
Walker, is among the younger and
more daring of English electricians.
He declares that, Judged by the age
of other branches of science, electricity
is still an infant, with all it's manhood
work yet to accomplish" He declares
that the future Of electricity holds in
view, first, the gradual utilization of
the forces of nature known as wind
and water power, to the gradual dis
placement of coal. At irregular periods
the world is startled by the cry, what
will become OF us when our coal sup
. ply fails?" Long before that period
is reached, Mr.. Walker asserts, coal
itself will have to fight for it's life as
an individual product, just as gas is
now doing, the antagonist being wind
and water power, delivered where re-
auired in the shape CT electrical
energy.
81 PROF. CROKER'S VIEW.
. Concerning Mr.. Walkers bold pre-
dictions, I sought the opinion of Prof.
#. B. Croker, of Columbia college.
Prof. Croker ranks with the most
eminent electrical scientists of this
country and Europe. In reply to my
questions he said: '''''' 49,
sIt is difficult for the ip,Sst conserva-
tive man to set any boI,ss5J to the pos
sfbilitieS of what electricity will one
day accomplish. Of course there is
one great fallacy in the popular mind,
and that is that we know very little
about electricity. On the contrary, we
know great deal. Electricity is to-
day one of the most exact of all the
sciences. On the other hand, it is per-
fectly fair to say that we have hardly
begun to put this agency to the various
uses which will be made of it in the
future. In a word, while we know a
great deal about it, we have only just
begun to perfect mechanical devices
for applying and utilizing it.
81 do not know that it would be at
all impossible to make rain by, cleo
tricity. The discoveries of Lord Ray
leigh and Prof. Oliver Lodgs are very
we'll known to science, and have led to
many interesting eSperi1hsrts. For
example, a current. OF electricity ap-
piled to broken or interrupted jet of
1
smooth and continuous. On" great
difficulty in making n py this means
would be that of securing an effective
discharge o. the h.fd. However, it
might be feasible to sead up balloon
from which could be suspended a. large
circular ring, with a large number of
points sticking outward, and connect !
ed by a fine wire with a cigh tension
dynamo or influence machine below.
Whether this would secure the desired
end I am not sure, as air, YOU know,
is a very bad conductor. 1t is a thing |
that that would have 20 be e1 haust- |
lively tested by actual experience"
Prof. Croker suggested that, per-
haps, the greatest difficulty to overcome
would be that OF effecting the discharge
of electricity in the proper places, and !
at the desired attitudes. I asked:
"Why not by means of air ships? Do
you regard the successful air ship as
more than ten years OFF,
mo, perhaps not" replied Prof. |
Croker. 81 think it is entirely prob
able that within another decade we
shall have solved practically the ques-
ton of aerial navigation. Not that this
problem is so very easy. But it pre-
sents no more difficulties than hun
.dreds of other similar mechanical prob
lens have, and there is no more reason
to suppose that we shall not build a
successful air ship than there was rea-
son to suppose a hundred years ago |
that steam could not be applied to the
propulsion of train of cars along a |
smooth track or of a ship across the
ocean. And, Of course, if we get an
air ship than be easily operated, and
will carry considerable weight, then
it will be very easy to load a ship with
storage batteries containing big cleo |
strical supply, sail up into the clouds
land discharge the electricity wherever
we want it. In a word, if it is found that
I've can make rain by an electrical dis
scharge, and We want to do it, it will
not be very long before we shall find
ways and means of doing it.
= 'sOf course, it would still remain to
be-, seen whether there is actually
senough moisture in the arid areas Of |
the great West to precipitate consid- |
cradle rainfall.
I'd MAKE TEMPERATE WEATHER
~ do not know that clearly I'M
derstanG the sne ae to utillz-
ing the heat Of the tfepies To modify
the temperature Ct. colder eiinaes. The
lsdsg TAN, may be simply 70 utilize
tn ,lsass PSF III sshsssas rays by means
GA sssoiar engiAs the sra ,'s.-oitted
ess2trie iI.ft This eonle IN he tor roT !
3 - : iisssansas. You k1S ore Intense
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si so,s s.o 3o s,(tl Square
TsFd q. sffe Fssnaesce exposed mas
E:nch rs ssge sgga:s action - very
:ssssly coi stSfiin .3laas IN the day TIME
ara but lfS4f3 INTERRUPTED BY et9EdS,