Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-09-23
LIGHTNING PHOTOGRAPHS
During a thunderstorm this week

During a thunderstorm this week number of Swiss marksmen were. struck by lightning while practicing at Hhe rifle butts. Ut was subsequently, found that upon their bodies were im- printed photographic impressions of the trees by which the range is sur- rounded The report of the affair has been received with increduity in some of the London papers The skepticism Is more surprising hhan the occurrence. For at least centllry and a quarter the photographic powers of lightning have been known to the scientist. The record of the Royal society abound with data upon the point Benjamin Franklin noted an instance in 1766 in which the effect of what he erroneous ly Gescrdbed as a thunderbolt was to photograph upon hhe breast of man Dhe likeness of a tree against which he was standing. A New York scien- ttf1c journal noted a case of little girl upon whose body was impressed Une exact dnage of a young maple tree growing before the window at which she stood when struck by lightning.
 Modern ingenuity has done a great deal in photography. and by the aid of wonderfully rapid shutters, has giv- en us from time to time very good photographs of a lightning fash. Bua che man is not yet born who can make shutter fast enough to catch the real, full timing. Seen at night, a fash Of lightning appears Little more power ful, as an illuminaIM than moonlight As a matter of fact, the duration of one of these flashes is so brief that one million of them in succession could be crowded into the space of a single second. If one flash could last but tenth of a second it would give near objects am illumination one hundred thousand times more brilliant than that of moonlight. The most rapidly rotating bodies known to science ap- pear absolutely stationary when lit up by it. The brilliancy of a fre-bau is ineomparably less vivid than that of a flash of lightning, being, roughly, no brighter than redlhot iron. With dts intense luminosity and almost inn measurable rapidity, 1t is not surpris ting that the lightning should prove wonderful photographer when suit able negative offers.
 A series of unauThenticated in stances of photography by lightning was communicated to the Royal soci- ety by Professor Adres Poey. a one time director of the Havana observa- tory. Among his instances were sev- eral very notable ones. A tree in which was a boy in the act of robbing1 a birds nest was struck by lightning. Upon the breast of the boy appeared the image of branches of the tree, with the nest lodged in them and the young birds dn the nest. Upon the back of a sailor struck dead by light ming appeared photograph of horse shoe fastened to the foremast against which he had been standing. An- other mariner had left upon his chest the inscription "A. A." just as it ap- peared upon one of the masts. Again, a young man, struck when wearing al belt in which he had concealed quan- tbty of coins carried bo his grave the photographic impression of those coins. More remarkable still was the case of a lady upon whose leg was imprinted the impression of a, flower which hap pened to be in the path of the electric current, and was photographed through a brick wal-St James Ga zette.