Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-02-28
THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE.

Very marvellous scientific feats wert
shown Thursday to large and interested
audience at the New Century CLUB, by Mi.
| w. j. Clarke, whose lecture was illustrated
by stereopticon views and by practical ex.
periments that gave even the uninitiated a
glimmering idea OF how these wonders are
accomplished. A portrait of Michael Faraday
was first shown, as Mr.. Clarke suid he dis
| covered the fundamental principles of every
electrical apparatus In use today. When a
| boy he was given tickets to a lecture by Sir
Humphrey DAvy which awoke in him a
desire for further scientific knowledge and
| led to his successful career, He really in
vented the x-ray and wireless telearaphy
when he discovered the principle of in
duction. Mr.. Clarke said we are foolish to
insulate the lightning rods on our dwellings
az electricity can pass through glass.
william Crooke of London discovered the
Cathode and came near discovering the
A-ray; Nicholas Tesla has given us many
valuable inventions, and but for the burn
ing Of bis laboratory would have discovered
the X-ray, and Ruentgen really did discover
it. In his experiments he reached for bit
o. pasteboard, and instead got bis hand be-
mind the screen, and TO his amazenent saw
Its bones ana joints perfectly. He was the
irst man to see his own skeleton. Edison
improved on 1t, trying 800 different chemi-
Gals and giving the world the benefit of his
discoveries, without charge. He improved
the use of the X-rays so 1t is possible to
watch the workings of the heart and learn
whether the lungs are diseased. Its use is
invaluable in surgery especially in reducing
compound fracture of the elbow Joint |;
formerly surgeons had to guess at their
work and still arm resulted. An X-ray
III operation was shown; it was only one
spark, but vibrating at the rate Of a million
9 second, appeared Ike innunnerable sDarks.
Most OF the audience viewed their own
fhaon
Mr.. Clarke illustrated the vnrious
Illuminating agents from kerosene to the
incandeseent light of the present, then gave
a demonstration Of the light of the future
which has been discovered by Macfaran
Moore. 1t is tube OF light of s. 0C0 candle
power, produced by electricity, but without
the necessity of wiress entering the build
ing. 1t CLOVIS with brilliant light without
touching wire. No great invention is the
work of single mind but Is led up to by
degrees. Wireless telegraphy Is $50 years
old; signal was transmitted across Lake
franklin from one bank OF the Schuykil
lighted fire for picnic pnrty on the
opposite bank. II we examine Murse's
original model we shall find strong re-
setnblance to those in use tonight. He
transmitted messages across the Potomac.
Edison devised ii perfectly practical system
oil wireless telegraphy which WAS put In use
on the New Haven and Hartford railroad
by means of a wire laid beside the track to
which messages skipped, but il did not nav
to keep operators on the trains. Prof. Herr
discovered the essentials OF Marconi's sys
tenn. Marconi is courteous, cultured
gentleman, an Anglo-ItaIian. i was asso-
ciated with him in the New YORK yacht
race: Wireless telegraphy interieres with
itseIt; two operators cannot work Mt the
same time. Is the system practicable? you
ASK. Not now, MS 1t cannot be depended
on, but neither could the telephone at first.
Mr. Clarke demonstrated its use. The
transmitter sends out into space rapidly
vibrating electric waves that expand In.
1nitely. We are not able to see, feel or
hear them; we must have detecter, an
electrical eye, so we use coherer. While
Mr.. Clarke walked about the stage with the
trnnsmitter. the audience could plninly
hear, in telegraphic symbols, the message
he was sending which was uttered by the
cohernr. He rang an electric bell, fired of
a torpedo, run little car, lighted the
electric lights In the hall, and remarked
that he could light those in Detroit just as
well, al without contact. whole battery
of artillery could be discharged in the same
way, and soldiers forced to retire, could fire
tho battery left behind them, at the
approaching enemy. If we could make |
destroy an enemy's fleet. Il would be |
practicable to use In the navy. The ad- |
miral could have a transmitter on the flag
snip with coherers on the other ships. |
think We will one day be able to telephone |
across the Atlantic just as now we telegraph.
ana we may look for this before long.
When we consider the wonderful forces of |
nature that work for US can any one doubt |
the existence of Supreme Being? A. S.