Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-01-06

singular result could have been duo TO
the personal peculiatities.
1t became necessary, therefore, to
explain the remarkable uniformity
with which the bullets appeared to
have been DETECTED. The wind could
not have produced the effect noted,
since, in the fret place, allowance had
doubtless been made By the riff emen
for Il, II sction by aerial currents; and
ON the other hand, II the wind had
diverted the missiles the detection
would have been in the same direction
on both sides of the range. An ex-
animation OF the eleei.Clad bullete
extracted from the targets disclosed
the fact that they had become may
netlc; and this let the committee to
entertain the theory that the phenom.
enon might have been due to electric
influence exerted by the large number
OF telegraph and telephone wires run
along both sides Of the range. Fur
Their experiment at the ranges at other
places proved this theory to be- correct;
and this remarkable discovery may
effect complete change in military
tactics.
At Thun, the authorities established,
parallel with the rife range, at dis.
lance Of little more than forty yards,
an electric current Of 5000
vnlts, carried along four steel cables.
With view OF tracing the whole
{ Il ct, paper circiets were placed at in.
iefvals of ten yards along the line OF
fire. The first experiments were made
with the Swiss model rifle OF 1889.
With this the Influence Of the electric
current was Mt once apparent. In a
distance OF 260 yards the bullet took a
lateral deviation OF twenty.four yards,
and after that the curve OF the trsjec-
tory was still more marked. The
second experiments were made with
the japanese 33mm. rife OF Count
Yamagata and they were stlll more
decisive, the bullet being rapidly at.
tracted TO the electric wires and fol.
lowing their course with absolute
servility. Further attempts were
m ade with the artillery. The range
selected was one of 5000 yards. Two
hundred yards In front OF the targets,
but forty yards to the side, was placed
the electric battery. Every shot was
diverted by its Influence far to the side
Of the target-to be exact, the devia-
ton was one OF IA degrees.
From the results OF these expert.
mente several interesting conclusions
may be drawn. A dynamo or nc-
cumulator OF the requisite power placed
| on the Il INK OF q company OF Infantry
would insure the men complete i'm.
munity from the fire OF small arm,
within range OF $40 yards and up.
ward; for all the bullets would be
diverted toward the magnetic field
creatsd by the electric current from
the dynamo or accumulation. Similar
Iy, artillery fire could DO rendered
harmless at u range of l 1000 yards and
over. 1t would, perhaps, be premature
10 assert that the consequence OF this
discovery will be the doom OF the
modern small-bors military rifle, with
its steel acketed bullet; for 1t might be
practicable to enclose the leaden mis-
sile Ia hard bronze or come other metal
not affected by magnetism. Artillery
would probably remain destructive
enough on the battlefield by the u'e
of explosive shells. 1t ia in naval
warfare that the discovery may have
tue most important consequences.