The evening times., 1898-05-16
ELECTRICITY IN war.
Victory May Depend Largely ON the
Experts.


Experts.
New York. May 16.-It is the opinion of
Mr. s. H. Short. an eminent electrical
expert, that the result of the war with
Spain will depend more upon which side
has the best electricians than upon the
question of the biggest ships and heaviest
guns.
1.-The novel and startling uses to which
electricity may be put in the next great
naval war;" says Mr.. Short In the Golden
Penny, "are likely to play a decisive part
In the struggle.
ut is possible that direct verbal COM
munication. without electrical connection,
may be established between a fort or a
flagship and a vessel miles out at sea-
beam of light may be pressed into
service to carry the words Of the ad-
miral in default of a telephone cable.
The same commanding officer may equip
a harbor or roadstead with an invisible
battery Of magnets which shall seize
hostile ship and hold her motioniess. in
spite of the most frantic efforts of her
crew. right under his guns. He may even
sit in dark room and by a camera and
a mirror have her movements photograph
ed on the mine chart in front of him, un-
til, when her miniature sails over the pa
per map, he shall, by pressing a button
explode the mine, which at that moment
must infallibly be Immediately under the
actual ship herself. These are only a
few Of the coups his electrical experts
may enable him to strike.
"A o0-horse power engine will generate
electricity enough for searchlight Of
100, coo candle power. No such tremendous
light would be necessary, however to en-
able the commanders of two ships. or the
commanders of ship and shore for;. to
talk to each other, If the experiments
with selenium already worked out prac-
ticaliy on land and on a small scale shalt
prove to fit the conditions of modern
naval warfare. The sensitiveness of the
metal selenium Is such that the instant
a beam of light falls upon its surface the
selenium gives out distinct electrical
click its resistance has been changed.
When the beam of light Is removed its
resistance is once more changed, and the
selenium gives out another click.
1.-The admiral who talks into the tele-
phone mouthpiece on the battleship or In
the fort opens and closes by the vibra-
tions of his voice the slit in the metal
plate. Every word and tone the admirai
utters into il will be carried by the VI
brations of the beam of light and repro
duced exactly in the ear of a listener at
the telephone receiver. There would be
telephoning along a beam Of light instead
of along an electric wire
THE destructive agency of high explo-
sives was made effective some time since
in the Russo-Turkish war. and has been
more recently used in the Chilean and
Brazilian revolutions, and in the war be-
tween China and Japan. The effects of
such an explosion on or near a modern
steel ship were most lamentably exhibit
ed in the ruin of the Maine and the
vana harbor. The astonishing results to
be achieved by the alliance of electricity
and high explosives are. however. yet to
be only imagined. Such combination
holds the potential ruin of entire fleets
Assuredly electricity may be made to
work yet unthought of horrors in the next
clash of steel navies. Indeed. i believe
there will be no great difficulty in send
ing directly through salt water a current
of electricity strong enough TO explode a
mine some distance away. without tho
use Of wires to connect the mine to the
shore.
The magazines of battleships are too
well protected and surrounded by venti-
lating spaces to be in danger of explosion
from a current of electricity conveyed TO
them directly through the water in which
the ship Is floating. although such an ex-
plosion Is conceivable were a high explo-
sive allowed TO res; in direct contact with
the steel side of the ship. Nor could her
electric lighting plant be destroyed from
without by electrical means. bur her decks
might be charged with electricity enough
TO kill all on board who came in contact
with it by some such device as this:~ From
a station on shore equipped with a Hower-
full electric plant a motor might bs made
10 fire two solid shots over the ship. each
shot having a copper wire attached TO it.
That would be easy enough. If these
wires fell on the metallic structure of the
vessel, resting in contact with il. and a
J, ,ooo-volt current were sent through from
shore. they would fuse to the ship and
the current would be short-circuiied
harmlessly. But if either of the wires
should rest upon some non-metallic por-
ton of the ship. or object or structure on
deck, then all persons who came in con-
tact with that wire would be instantly
killed. as their bodies would complete the
circuit.
IF it were desired TO stop and hold i'm
a hostile ship over mine or in
1 certain position peculiarly exposed to
ire from the shore, that result could be
readily accomplished. A magnet exerts a
pressure of $50 pounds for every square
nch of the surface of its poles. An enor-
nous magnet could be made very quickly
oy winding two big guns with wire and
Joining their larger ends in a horseshoe
shape by bolting on plates. 4 sufficient
number of these magnets to grip a steel
ship and hold her remorseiessly motion
ess at a most dangerous point could
.ither be fioated out to her like torpedoes
,r could be anchored at the place desired.
of course. and connected
1y wires with shore battery. The pres
sure of a button in the battery would be
Ill that would be necessary to arouse the
,orce of the magnets, whether they were
foated out or were anchored by chains to
he bottom. Nor could all the ships crew
md officers and machinery release her.
The most effective way to use mine
or coast or harbor defense that / can
conceive of involves the use of fixed
which should be set into the
walls of an observation station or dark
Dom on shore. its lens covering the en-
ire panorama of the bay. but especially
he surfaces under which the mines would
re placed. There might be a score of
hese mines. each connected with a key
n the operators keyboard. and numbered.
The operator would have his own dyna-
no right by him in the station, and a
,rojectale cable would connect him with
he mines, the ends of the wires resting
n the powder in the heart of the mine
.ases. The points at which the wires en-
cred the mine cases could, of course, be
with bushings.
'.In his absolutely dark room, save for
he light that would be admitted by the
ems and be reflected down on his table
" mirror properly adjusted to the lens,
he officer would sit with his chart out
pread before him. Every moving OBJ
ect on the surface of the water would
e caught instantly by the lens and re-
ected by the mirror down on the chart.
IN this chart the exact location of each
line in the bay would be marked by
lumber. We will suppose a battleship