The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-08-09

book made up of a series OF
papers dealing with the great scientific
discoveries of the day. It is illustrated
with portraits Of eminent scientists. and
is likely 10 prove interesting to people
who enjoy that sort of skln-deep ac-
Quaintance with the thought of intellec-
tual men afforded by popular" books on
their work. 1t contains no great orig
inal ideas. nor is it intended to throw
new light on any subject. 1t is intended
apparently as a summary of the prog
ress OF scientific thought from the time
of the Alexandrian thinkers to our own
day.
We have, at the beginning. 4 brief &C
count of the attainments of disciples OF
the school of science at Alexandria, and
Of the relation OF modern civilization 70
pure science. The author then goes on
to discuss the divisibility OF substances.
electricity. the search for primal matter.
synthetic chemistry, artificial parthero-
genesis. the microbe theory, wireless
telegraphy, and Americas position in
the scientific world.
Technical Terms.
A great deal of the matter contained
in the various chapters relates to sub
jects not particularly popular in them
selves. The constitution of light, the
mysteries of synthetic chemistry and
the possibility of parthenOgenesis are
things which cannot be properly dis
cussed without the use of a good many
technical terms, and to explain all OF
these would take several books the size
of Prof. Snyder's. He is therefore COM
PEELED to write in a style which. for
most readers, will necessitate either a
fairly good scientific education or the
use of a dictionary. However, any in
telligent person will not find this an in
superable obstacle to enjoyment of the
book. There has until now been no
work in which a survey of the whole
scientific field of the present day could
be had. even in a superficial fashion
and such work is this of Prof Sny-
der. 1t will be useful TO people who
have not had time to follow all these
discoveries as they came along. and who
are yet eager to get a general idea of
them.
a good example of the style of the
book is to be found in the chapter on
Progress toward an Explanation of
Electricity" In this, as in other chap
tiers. the reader is likely TO find things
new TO him. which he will wonder that
he did not know before. For instance,
we find here the information about
Franklin, which has not crept into all
the popular accounts of him. The au-
thor says:
Franklin More Than an Electrician.
Franklin was not merely the first of
the great electricians, but a thinker as
well. It is surprising to follow all his
ingenious researches and realize how
far he actually got. II was he. for ex-
ample, who was the first electrOcutionist
though his victims were hens rather
than murderers-and 1t was he who first
employed electricity for cooking"
In proof of this the following extract
from letter written by Franklin in
ter:
"Chagrined littl9that we have been
able TO produce nothing in the way Of
ufe TO mankind; and the hot weather
coming on, when electrical experiments
are not 70 agreeable, 1t is propofed 10
put an end TO them for this feafon, fome-
what humoroufly. in a party Of pleafure
on the banks Of SkulIkil. Spirits. at
the fame time, are 10 be fired by a
fpark fent from fide 10 fide through the
river, without any other conductor than
the water; an experiment which we
Tome time fince performed, to the amaze
ment Of many. A turkey is to be kill
ed for our dinner by the electrical
flock. and roafted by the electrical
jack. before a fire kindled by the cleo
trical bottle; when the healths of all
the famO@s electricians in England.
Holland. France and Germany are 10
be drunk in electrified bumpers. under
difcharge Of guns from the electrical
battery"
This certainly shows a range of am
bition on Franklin's part, not much TO
De exceeded by the electrician Of The
present day.
Faraday's Discoveries.
Speaking OF Faraday's discoveries, In
this same chapter. the author says:
The modern development Of Fara-
days device is represented by the giant
generators al Niagara Falls, where a
line of ten massive dynamos converts
the equivalent Of $4,000 horse power into
q current of electricity. and send II
waving through the cables 10 Buffalo.
No better example could be chosen 10
stimulate the ime gination and make IL
ask questions Throw of the load OF
these Niagara general ors-that Is 20
say, destroy the magnetic field, and at
the same time shut the water from the
perstocks which supply the power which
turrs them. and they will 20 on spin
ming for hours, so perfectly are they
poised. But throw on the load and
power OF $4,000 horses Is consumed in
keeping them going. Yet TO the eye
there has been no visible change; sim