Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1898-06-10

1t is the opinion of S. H. Short, an
eminent electrical expert, that the re-
suit OF the war with Spain will depend
more upon which side has the best cleo
triciars than upon the question of the
biggest ships and heaviest guns.
''The novel and startling uses to
which electricity may be put in tho
next great naval war;" says Mr.. Short
in the Golden Penny, "are likely to
play a decisive part in the struggle.
! 1T is possible that direct verbal
communication, without electrical con-
nection, may be established between a
fort or a flagship and a vessel miles
out at sea. A beam of light may be
pressed into service to carry the words
of the admiral 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
motionless, 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 photographed on the
mine chart in front of him, until, when
her miniature sails over the paper map,
he shall by pressing button explode
the mine which at that moment must
infallibly be Immediately under the ac
tual ship herself. These are only a
few Of the coups his electrical experts
may enable him to strike.
"A fifty horsepower engine will gen.
crate electricity enough for a search
light of 100000 candle power. No such
tremendous light would be necessary,
however, to enable the commanders of
two ships, or the commander of ship
and shore fort, to talk to each other,
If the experiments with selenium al
ready worked out practically on land
and on a small scale shall prove to
fit the conditions Of modern naval war
fare. The sensitiveness Of the metal
selenium Is such that the instant a
Beam Of light falls iiffbon its its surface the
selenium gives out distinct electrical
click; it's resistance has been changed.
When the beam of light is removed its
resistance is once more changed, and
the selenium gives out another click.
"The admiral who talks into the tele-
phone mouthpiece on the battleship or
in the fort opens and closes by the vi
brations of his voice the slit in the
metal plate. Every word and tone the
admiral utters into it will be carried
by the vibrations of the beam Of light
and reproduced exactly in the ear of a
listener at the telephone receiver.
There would be telephoning along a
beam Of light instead of along an cleo
trio wire.
1.-The destructive agency Of high ex-
plosives 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 between China and Japan. The
effects of such an explosion on or near
a modern steel ship were lamentably
exhibited in the ruins of the Maine and
the slaughter of hundreds of her men
in Havana harbor. The astounding re-
suits to be achieved by the alliance of
electricity and high explosives are,
however, yet to be only imagined. Such
a 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 ma
vies. Indeed, I believe there will be
no great difficulty in sending directly
through salt water current Of cleo
tricity strong enough to explode mine
some distance away, without the use
of wires to connect the mine to the
shore.
1.-The magazines Of battleships are
too we'll protected and surrounded by
ventilating spaces to be in danger OF
explosion from a current Of electricity
conveyed to them directly through the