The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-08-29

LONDON. Aug. 2s-The electric suark
has IT last been photogvap hea, and q
scientific Er0blFm solved over which saw
ants bave puzzles for centuries. This
wonder has been accuEuH itghed BY Lord
= -Ensrroglg one q the Uiost famous STU
deats II c8ectvfcity known u Europe. and
the results o. his studies FOR years have
5usf been made public English savants
hold that Hlnee tbe day arnLsr Nas dis
covered - b. the parent ~ so-calied ar
tlllclaI electricity. nothing has been learn
cd which promises % be 80 great an aid
r. solving she problem Il the origin and
composition Of electricity.
IN the FIRST place. Lord Armstrong con-
clusfvelv proves tsat ve can no longer IN
truth speak of the electric fluid. There
g. no such thing Electricity IS nothing
but n purely yorte movement. just such
q movement as we -. wher we watch
the rings % smoke that laz!iy drift from
TIE mouth % the smoker. A vortex
movement means that the electricity like
ire smoke moves over and over the cir
eumfeTence Of the ring; that = is sucked
in BY one face OF tbs ring and shot ont
by the Other The fact 81 wonderful IN
It's simplicity. Like aI the basic pTtn-
cipies' 81 science the closer we get To
them the HoFe simple we find they are.
Ard ~ It Is with this one which may
rev0lulionize many theoras estabi shed
centuries ago.
Every electrical current has two ends
the positive and the negative poles. Of
course there Is n difference between them.
Scientists knew that long ago. The
trouble hiss been that they have been uD-
able to learn exactly what that difference
was. Nov however. come Lord Arm
str0ngs photographs showing the exact
difference TO the eye. The hrst OF the
reproductions ~ photographs taken by
Lord ArmAtrong. which accompany this
article. Is - the lay mind the most inter-
estlnE, even If to science II possesses
hardly SO great value gas that Of the 9TH
ers II IL the one with the black spot
1n tho center from which streams OF light
are seen radiafing.
camera and a very powerful electric
machine were placed In a darkened room.
The camera contained a sensitive plate.
over which light and fine powder had
been sir ed thus iusuring the fact that
when Tie electricity was discharged the
dust up0n the plato would b. driven about
by the electric streams. and the light
would at the same time affect the plate
] he electricity would thus give the lumi-
Mostly which would enable II 10 be caught
~ the act Of setting the dust in eommo-
ton, the tine required FOR It's imprint be-
Ina but the small fraction Of a second.
Never did calculation prove more correct,
and the result = shown In the plate first
referred To- The black spot in the center
or the picture Is ne metallic disc which
rested upon the photographic plate. and
received the positive discharge from the
electrical machine. Tire light streams
which branch out IN feathery beauty like
the Illuminated roots OF a plant are really
the electricity. which radiates from the
disc in this fashion. II shows couclusively
that electricity in the original Il were.
r. vastly different in general appearance
from the current after Il has accomplished
a certain portion OF It's mission. Take the
electricity az Il comes from tho human
body and Photograph g. and II will be
found that while Il radlates under proper
circumstances II has sharper and short
or appearance
Another Photograph taken by Lord Arm
strong shows the electric currents when
two opposite dischargtne discs were
brought near "a one another. The radia-
tion from the positive disc Is seen 20 De
maeh The same as IN the first Illustration
or the outer side, bat on the inner side the
rays arc irawu toward the negative disc
and consolidated into thicker lines The
Illustration also shows clearly that the dis
charge has different characteristics az tho
two poles
This latter fact Is one Of the most valu-
able results Of Lord Armstrong; discov-
eriea, Not. as previously stated that Che
world has not long known the abstract DIFF
ference between the positive and negative
poles OF a current. but the matter OF de-
tan haa IN great measure been surrounded
by mystery. Now &c s. as clear 8s dav.
Not only s the difference exactly known.
hut 81 is exactly seen and any scientific
man counts the labor wei spent which re-
suits IN making apparent 20 che eye fact
heretofore only patent TO the mind.
Perhaps. however. the most important
feature ~ the whole truth outlined by
these photographs ~ electricity is found
81 the sbattsriug II the theory that elec-
trlcigy Is q fluid F0r nearly three ceutu-
r.es. or since the tifne when Gilbert o. Col
chu.l.r &c al.-Lricl-N q MN. aml rnala