Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1903-07-31
ELECTRICAL ENERGY.
A VAST RESERVOIR ABOvE THE
CLOUDS MAY BE TAPPED.

Al Least mat Is the Opinlon OF Prot SchOon-
maker, Who, by Means of an Aerial Lad
der On Pixies Peak, Expects to Draw Down
Serviceable Currents in Any Quantity as
Ben. franklin Attracted the Lightning by
Kite String to Demonstrate Its Identity
With the Mystsrio.s Magnetic Current.
The world OF science has been star
tied by the announcement of expert.
ments soon to be conducted from the
top of Pixies Peak, by Hon. F. X.
Schoonmaker to determine the exist.
ence Of large bodies of electricity in
the atmospheric strata above the
clouds. The French Academy OF Sci
ences has manifested much interest in
these experiments, and European gov
ernments have asked for the latest in
formation regarding the "aerial lad
der" and what it accomplishes. Mr..
Schoonmaker, who assisted Edison in
his earliest electrical achievements.
and whose standing in the world Of
science is high, will conduct the ex.
periments for the inventor of the
" aerial ladder" Prof. Gallatin Whit
ney, for many years Professor of Sci.
ence at the University OF Illinois.
Briefly, the plan is to carry ma.
chinery of special design to the top of
Pixies Peak, where a magnet, attached
to miles of thin copper wire. will be
discharged upward. 1t is claimed by
Mr.. Whitney that when a certain
height is reached the earth's "pull''
will cease and the magnet will remain
suspended in space. Experiments
have convinced Mr.. Whitney that at
this point the earth is surrounded BY
strata of electricity. The magnet
will attract immense quantities of this
electricity, which will be conducted to
the earth by wire. and will then be dis.
tributed for commercial purposes from
Pixies Peak. At the first glance this
sounds like chapter from some TWEEN.
tieth century fairy story, but Mr..
Whitney and Mr.. Schoonmaker have
gone into the subject with such thor.
oughness, and have achieved so much
by experiments in New Mexico, that
they have been able to silence the
scofiers at the outset and to interest
the most advanced scientists in Eu
rope. In carrying on their prelimi
nary experiment in New Mexico
though they were not able to reach
the height they desired. and which
they expect to reach from Pixies Peak
they were able to secure electricity
enough to light all the incandescen,
lamps which conld be attached to the
wire OF the "aerial ladder" 1t j.
claimed that when they take their i'm
proved machinery to the top of Pike.
Peak, nearly $4,000 feet above sea
which they will be enabled to do be-
cause Of the facilities of Transports
ton offered by the famous cog.road
they can reach the desired height anG
send their magnetic ladder into space.
that have never been penetrated BY
man.
1t is q remarkable fact that the ides
of this invention came from China
Both Mr.. Whitney and Mr.. Schoon
maker are experts in Chinese lore
Mr.. Whitney heard the Chinese tell
stories about men "falling off the
earth," and twenty years ago he began
to investigate the stories. He became
convinced that the Newtonian theory
OF gravitation was wrong, and that in.
stead of the so-called gravity pull,
which science has long accepted as q
fact, We are kept to the earth by the
pull of electricity. AS we 20 highe,
this "pull" becomes less noticeable, a
evidenced by the failure of balloons t.
ascend to more than . certain height
1t 10 now the purpose of these enthu.
siastic scientists to penetrate far be.
yond the altitude attained by any bal.
loon and to enter . stratum where the
influence of the earth's electricity
ceases. Here they claim they will
find vast quantities of electricity. To
prove their claim that these masses oI
electricity exist in the mysterious up.
per atmosphere they point out the
fact that the air at the top OF any
mountain peak is much more heavily
charged with the fluid than is the
heavier air at the esrth's surface. The
electricity which is generated by dy.
namos on the surface of the earth
they point out, is collected from the
comparatively small amounts OF the
fluid which are to be found in the
lower atmosphere. "Why not 60 t0
the higher strata and get unlimited
quantities?" they ask, and science il
now waiting to see if their claims can
be proved.
Prof. Whitney. who is a descendant
OF the inventor of the cotton gin. is
now in Chicago, where he has pur-
chased large plot of ground for car.
rying on his scientific work. If the
experiment on Pixies Peak is success
full, ladders will be sent up at Chicago
and other places, though the "pull''
will be much more difficult to over.
come on account of the increased at
traction near the earth's surface. Mr..
Whitney is planning to construct a
storage battery to take care of the
electricity after it has been secured.
Such q battery would be greater than
all the storage batteries in the world.
Mr.. Schoonmaker gives an excellent
illustration of the theory Of Mr.. Whit
ney. Conceive fishes in the water,
said Mr.. Schoonmaker, operating
some sort OF machinery by means OF
power obtained by air. There is, OF
course, air in the water, but it is small
in quantity. Some fish discovers that
above the surface of the water there is
a vast amount of air. which, if brought
down below the surface, would operate
all their machinery at much less cost.
Experiments are carried on and
the air is brought down below the sur.
face Of the water for the use OF the