Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1899-06-01
Applied Electricity.

HPplICu LlC(lIl(llt.
Charles L. Yerkes recently eXplaine
to the Chicago street authorities VIII,
the underground trolley was unfit TO
Chicago. Formerly he was prepos
} sessed, he said, in its favor, and h
made a contract with the Love trac
ton company for a thorough test
fhelr system was put in operation OF
the Webster avenue and Fullerton
avenue lines, and seemed at first to d,
we'll, operating nicely in dry weather
1T operated all right until tn,
weather became bad. but then tn,
moisture ruined the insulators. w,
worked at it for year, but ha(
finally to give up the project 1 wa.
forced to make up my mind that i
was 1mpracticable in Chicago to oper
ate the underground trolley and
have never changed my mind since
| have never made the claim that the
climate is bar to operating the un.
foreground trolley. The lay of the
land is what makes it impracticable
When 1t rains we can never have q
dry conduit, but always find the cable
passing through water | cannot see
how it will ever be possible to oper-
ate the underground trolley here"
Marie Corelli, the melodramatic
novelist, who has depicted the sor-
rows of Satan, has now been en-
boldened, says the Electrical En-
gineer, to discuss the electricity of
Christ. 1t is stated that with the
approval of distinguished theosoph-
lists, she has advanced a theory which
makes Christ the center and source
of 1.-The earth's electric currents" She
finds in many of the remarkable his
torical events Of the Old and New Tes-
taments striking instances of cleo
trical phenomena. She would place
in this category the thunder and light
ming of Sinai, and the fire in the
| burning bush which burned but did not
consume. All these were electrical
manifestations of the all-pervading
spirit. The fire which bore Elijah, the
radiance of the Son of man who walk
ed in the fiery furnace, the spirit
descending in the form of a dove at
the Jordan, the light of the transfigu-
ration, the tongues of fire at Pente-
cost, and the light which dazzled Paul
near Damascus, were all electrical
theOphanies-specia of that
one ever-preSent fluid which in physics
we call electricity, but which in the
unseen world of the soul is known as
| the Divine Spirit. And the office of
| the spirit is to reveal Christ; or, in
other words, the Spirit. of Christ. We
| have a lurking suspicion, comments
the Engineer, that Marie Corelli hasn't
the remotest idea of what electric cur
rents are. Just what electricity is
as a natural phenomenon remains a
! mystery of physics, but some princi-
pies and facts are pretty we'll known,
and they hardly justify a sensational
novelist in the imposition of ignorant
hands on sacred things.
Treating of the electric utilization of
waterfalls, L. D. w. Mogie says in Cas-
sier's magazine: Generally speaking,
other things remaining equal gen
Grating plants, comprising the power
! house, hydraulic and electric machin-
cry, as whole cost less as the head
increases, until certain limits have
, been reached When the head is low,
ranging from to 10 feet, it requires a
! comparatively large wheel for a rela-
! lively small amount of power, and
then only slow speeds can be attained
When the head is low, ranging from
to 10 feet, it requires a comparatively
| large wheel for relatively small
amount of power, and then only slow
speeds can be attained. When large
| units are desirable, number of such
wheels must be coupled together in
order to get the required power. The
speed required can be raised or lower.
ed to certain extent, depending or
the size of the wheel. If higher speeds
at low heads be desired for large
units, many wheels must be operated
together, requiring not only grea'
deal of room, and consequently {
larger power-house, but considerable
line shafting, gears, coupling, etc.
which not only increase the initia
cost, but increase the cost of opera
ton and maintenance of the plant, a.
we'll as introduce another source of in
efficiency. With higher heads a large
amount of power can be obtained from
; fewer and smaller wheels, with highe
speeds, and, therefore, cheaper gen
Grating apparatus. The cost of gen
Grating apparatus for given capacity
other things remaining equal, is al
most directly proportional to tn
speed at which it runs, and for thi
reason it is always desirable to re
frain from too low speeds whereve
possible.
5 These novelties in electric lightin
arrangements are noted by the Nev
. rummaging in closets or dark attic
} where any other sort of light woul
: carry with it a danger of setting fir
i to the house. 1t could be used in safet
e for looking for a gas leak under Gil
> cumstances where the usual seeke
7 carrying a lamp or lighting matche
t is apt to be landed in hospital i'm
r mediately after finding the leak. TIL
!. lamp is a little cylindrical affair wit
D an electric glow light at one end an
e the battery which supplies the cul
:, rent hidden in the cylinder. A touc
e of the finger makes the lamp glow, an
t it ceases to give light as soon as th
}. finger is removed. For househo1
use there is new lamp which cor
- tains two separate filaments, each fe
d by its own wire in the socket Fac
e filament may be of eight-candle powe
Il in lamp for an ordinary sixteen
e candle power socket, or OF double tina
o. or more as required A turn of th