People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1896-04-30
DE NOTES LECTURE.

- III NiNNL44NlD lO7 -'%
Possibilities. The lecture was Illus
trated with the insst and costliest o.
apparatus, two large stereOpticons
and powerful reflector being used t.
throw the illustrations on the canvas.
Each view was explained in language
so simple tna. all could understand,
spiced at intervals with just enough
wit and humor to keep the mind in
pleasant Mood while receiving scien-
tifc facts.
He first showed the different modes
of intercommuuicatiOn OF man from
the iinriksha Of the japS. where man
is the motive power, down to the lat
est f1rty-tOn locomotive. He SAID We
had tried all methods and had reached
their limit. First the man. then the
OK, then the horse, the elephant, the
camel, the rOwboat, and then the sail
bJet and STAKE coach had been tried
and proved to- SLOW for the madden
ing rush of advancing civilization.
The stage coach had been put to such
a speed as to kill the hCrseS, being be
vOnd their powers Of endurance, but
still they were much too slow. AND
now we have about OutgrOwn steam,
Three steam engines, built in differ
ent countries, were all tried and did
not differ materially in their speed
which proves that we have reached
the limit The steam engine has
been made to 90 ninety-two miles an
hour, but this is beyond its safety
mark, as an obstruction not much
larger than pin would hurl it into
eternity. But even this speed is too
slow Tor the rapid whirl Of progress.
and man wants something faster.
The electrical engine is the only
thing that gives promise Of satisfying
this demand, and is rapidly coming to
the front. Steam is too noisy, too
dirty, too dangerous, ald does not
give back enough energy, as half of
its motion is backward and against
itself. Hence steam must 90. He
showed, upon the canvas, a steam en-
CINE in motion, which illustrated this
fact. Tie steamship is dangerous
and its high smoke stacks make it un-
stable and deter its speed, hence the
steamship must go aud electricity will
take its place,
The more rapid forms of electricity
are taking the places of slower ones:
we are even OutgrOwing the telegraph,
as the long distance telephone proves
by materially lessening the receipts
Of the telegraph companies.
Electricity runs. heats and lights
our cable cars, as was admirably illus
trated by his diagrams. 1t is used
for headlights of locomotives, fires
and operates the cannon on our men,
Of-war, and is superseding every
method Of power. He showed the
Niagara falls in motion and gave an
intelligent description of how its
energy, wasted for centuries, was to
be changed into electricity.
1t would be impossible to give
even an outline Of the many instruc-
tive experiments and facts which he
presented in his lecture. Probably
among the most interesting was his
experiments with the new Y rays.
He first showed that sound, heat,
color and electricity vera only differ
ent intensitieS of motion. His proof
Of this was conclusive. He showed
by various experiments that color was
only vibration. He explained the Y
rays at some length and showed sew
eral ShadOwgraph photographs made
by Rentgen'S new light. His most
interesting experiment was made by
taking an electrical ear and fastening
to it a CroOke's tube which, when
held near a bright spark of electric.
ity. generated by powerful dip bat
terry, was diffused with light. He
then placed large board of hard
wood between the spark of electricity
and the CroOke'S tube and in the
darkened room the light given off by
the CroOke'S tube was plainly visible,
proving that the rays had passed
through the board and thus been
conducted, by the electrical ears,
into the CrOOke's tube. This was
the principle of Rentgen's discovery
and he explained that the photographs
made were merely shadOwgraphs, just
the same as when you hold your hand
up to the wall, the fingers make a
black shadow, because the ordinary
rays of light cannot penetrate them.
The Y rays, however, do penetrate
right through the flesh and simply
make shadow Of the bones and other
impenetrable substances, which was
the simplest explanation we ever
heard.
For nearly two hours the immense
audience listened in close attention
&hfr