The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-03-27

| phone mouthpiece, l., on the battleships or
| III the fort. A, OPENS and closes by the vi
| brations of his voice the slit in the metal
| plate, X X. When the diaphragm of the
| nonthpiece pushes the plates, X X close
| together. the light Is almost shut off, but
| never quite. When the diaphragm draws
| X down the slit is wide open aud the entire
beam OF light passes through and falls
| on the selenium on the batteship u. Every
| word and tone the admiral utters into l.
| VIII DO carried by the vibrations oil the
beam light and reproduced exactly in the
ear of listener at the telephone receiver
| c. 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 once. | believe
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 We're most lamentably exhibited
in the ruin OF the Maine and the slaugh-
ter of hundreds OF her mon in Havana
harbor. The astounding results 10 me
achieved by the alliance of electricity and
high explosives are, however, vet to be
only imagined Such a combination holds
the potential ruin of entire fleets Assur-
edly electricity may be made to work yet
unthougt of horrors in the next clash of
steel navies. Indeed. I believe there will
be no great difficulty in sending directly
through salt water a current OF electricity
strong enough to explode mine some
distance away without the use of wires
to connect the mine to the shore.
SENDING A CURRENT THROUGH SALT
WATER.
In shore station S, a powerful cleo
trio generator has been set up, the more
power being needed as the work to be done
is distant from the station. A large iron
plate " is sunk In the water, some dis
lance out from the station. hanging free
by means of floats. and not in contact with
the ground. In the station itself similar
plate, I, is sunk into the earth. Both 7
and v are connected with the generator
by wires. p, and n. The shore end of our
apparatus is now all ready.
out ON the bottom of the bay or the
sea there are floating mines, anchored. and
one OF these we will call A. 1t is filled
with high explosives, and an electric cable.
=, absolutely insulated where il enters ,ia
IRON shell, A, holds II To It's anchor, which
is set deep into the ground. Inside the
shell, A. on its side next to the station.
,, a short bit of electric wire, b. is fas-
tened. III contact at one end with the side
Oh the shell and terminating at the other
with u shorter bit OF curled platinum wire
which in turn is fast TO the upper end OF
the electric cable O.
Now when Il is desired by an operator |
IN the shore station 10 set off the nina
a, us we'll as Every Other miie sinrii!Yly |
arranged In the vicinity. and blow whole |
n.et TO smlthereens, he need only connect |
In, al.
ing with the plates V and T. The current !
passing into v, the water plates. al once
hnds us way out, some OF it through the
water down into the ground below, some |
through the wafer and back into land, and
the rest Of II out into the water, and on
.nroush the water until it comes TO the iron
shell. A. The quantity of electricity which
would thus find It's way through salt water
which Is fairly good conductor--would
depend largely on the eharaeter of the bot
tom The resistance between the contact
OF the water With a rock bottom would be
considerably greater than the resistance
,nroush the water TO the shell. Once the
ia,le, reached. the current would be con.
Veyed by the short wire, B, TO the ulnti-
mum wire, which at once becomes mean
descent. and explodes the whole mass in
the center of which It Is coiled, the cur
rent passing on through tho cable G into
.ne ground, and then back to the shore
|
This fact might be utilized to enable nm
oihcer on shore TO telegraph without wires
TO the commander OF ship, upon with
q very delicate Geographic receiver might
pc mounted and connected by wire over
inc ships sicf tthe one away from the
Store stationt with the earth by an an
choF' Tn" steel side Of the ship. toward
shore. would then act instead OF the shell.
ana me shore plates would be the same.
me magazines OF battieships are loo
Wen protected and surrounded by yentilat,
ing spaces TO he in danger OF cxplosion
rom . current OF electricity conveyed 10
mem: directly through the water In ,yhish
ne snip Is floating, although such an ex
plosion u conceivable we're 4 high explo. !
'ive allowed to rest In direct contact with
ne steel side OF the ship. Nor could her
electric lighting piant be DESTROYED from
Nitnout by electrical meaps But her dscs Z,
niebt be charged with electricity enourb
q XIII All on hoard who came into con-
act with II ny some such device as this
rom station on shore eqmipred with
powerful electric plant a mortar might he /
nsde 20 nre = two solid shot over me
hic' each shot having copper wire at-
scned 70 y That would BE- EASY erou-h.
= these wires tell on the metallic struc-
pfe q the vessel. resting Il eontact NTH