The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-16
CATCHING LIGHTNING.
Queer Electrical Apparatus to BE
Seen In the Patent ONCE.

Seen In the Patent ONCE.
From the Philadelphia Times
Many recent patents issued by Uncle
Sam indicate that men who study the
effects of lightning for practical purposes
differ widely as to the safest means of
! thwarting it. An Ohio man would erect
IN each village or cluster Of houses one
| or more gigantic towers, each supporting
long lightning rod running vertically
through its center. The towers are to
! be Of skeleton design and the upper ex-
tremities of the rods are 10 be continued
considerable distances above their sup
! ports. These structures should in the
opinion of the inventor, be built to nights
exceeding those OF any church spires
or towers In the community
FOR ike purpose a Philadelphia ge-
mus would send alott over threatened com
| munities, balloons equipped with series
OF metallic points prOtruding from their
| tops. cable carries the current to the
ground, as well as holding the balloon
| captive. Each balloon also carries a hv-
| promoter for detecting the moisture of
| the atmosphere This instrument con-
meets with an electric bell. If the balloon
| IS in dry atmosphere it ceases to sound
| on the approach of an electrical storm
| the balloons are raised from the ground
| and are allowed TO ascend until they
ledch a damp strata of air. The theory
contains
electricity IN latent state. The balloons
! act as a series of drains for carrying off
/ the excess before IL has time to leap
! from the clouds to the earth below.
| A JefSeyman with original notions de-
/ signs, as one form of preventive, a thin
/ box filled with coot TO be placed over the
housetop about MIDWAY an the length Of
! the vertically protfudlng rod The rod is
! broken above and below this receptac.e
| allowing the electric fluid to pass through
| us contents. The inventor claims that as
| soon as the electricity enters the SCOT
! the particles of the latter fly apart some
! or all being charged BY this means the
| potential Of the bolt is said to be great
! ly reduced before it continues through
! the rod to the ground
! me same inventor further claims that
| the lightning rods as heretofore made
! have been designed to furnish paths for
! attracting lightning. He, on the other
| hand, would construct a rod to offer CON
| siderable resistance and which might be
| readily destroyed by the electricity. The
| rod has different degrees of conductiVity
and texture throughout its length 1t is
| also broken in several places. The idea
! Is that the lightning, when dangerous,
! viii expand its power in destroying the
rod after being attracted by a point at
| the tor.
A Boston man claims that an ordinary
| lightning rod protects only a small area
| Immediately around it. According to his
| scheme an electric wire extends from a
battery in the front of his house and
! over and around it, special attention be-
| ing given TO the edges of the house and its
| high points After nclosing the house in
! a framework the wire returns to the bat
| terry. The great length of wire is not
! only supposed to stand in reach of thun-
derbolts falling on amy portion of the roof
! or sides, but to disspate and distribute
| Them in all directions, That an eXtraOrdi~
nartly severe current may be allowed to
escape TO the earth metallic ground
connection is added. The lightning rod
although outside the house is to be util-
lied also as the circuit of an electric bell
and hence the value of the battery The
| bell serves a double purpose also, mas
much as 1t indicates whether the wiring
| Is intact or not.
An interesting fact concerning lightning.
and lately discovered by meteorologists
| Is that this force does not only leap from
| cloud to earth, but very often from earth
necessary to provide against an under
shock as an overshock, by inserting as
many wires and rods under the foundation
as above the roof of a structure
| Another strange fact is that buildings
may be seriously damaged by lightning
! without having been struck at all The
famous Hotel de Vile, Brussels. was pro-
nounced by scientific men to be the best
! protected building in the world agains,
| hghtnlng. Yet, during thunderstorm,
| I'M which it did not receive even a side
flash, this building was destroyed by fir,
caused by a small spark induced near cs-
Gaping sas. For protection against this
| danger DIR. Oliver Lodge, an eminent an
thority on this subject lately recommend
ed that lightning rods should be connect
ca TO water or gas mains, if they are
anywhere near them.
Statistics collected for the past five wears
show that country people are in five times
as great danger from lightning death -
city people. statistical inquiry made
last summer shows that telephone teIe-
graph and trolley wires in large cities
greatly diminish the destructiveness Of
lightning strokes by distributing the cleo
tricity evenly over the area covered a
well known electrician recently said thar
on this account seat in a trolley car is
one of the safest places to which a per-
son can resort during an electric storm
The continuous underground piping an1
tile rohng of city houses likewise sid in
the distribution of the lightning.
Recent meteorological and astronomical
observations have given rise to an inter
esung theory accounting for the source az
electric phenomena displayed in storms
as well as for the latent atmospheric -
terrestrial currents always present CO.
in winter This theory is that such com
motions as htning are only r,ossil,,
when the sun spots are in a particular ii
calty over the surface of the SIM op+
when the earth occupies a certain position
in relation to them. 1t is further beHe,rej
that the masses of matter thrown Of 10
the sun when the latter is Violently a a.;
tated at certain times constitute the me.
alum through which electrical energy is
conducted from the sun TO the earth This
same cause has been attributed 10 tba
aurora bOrealiS, thought by some autb0ri-
ties TO be form of lightning
Scientists in different parts of the world
are at work deYising means Of detern,in-
ing the horse power, lengths. diametars
and durauons of lightning flashes. The
most accurate computation of the mower
of an exceptionally severe flash is said