The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1909-04-02
eLECTRIcITf.
Why u 10 Difieult For the Lsymsn 20
Understand What N Ia

OHoefstanc what " Ia
What is electricity 2" is a favor
lie query with people who desire TO
get rise" out of scientific man
And when he fails TO answer il in
the same simple fashion that he
might treat the question What is
biscuitf" the questioner cries out:
AHA You profess TO know all
about electricity. Why, you can't
even tell what il is"
Now, TO tell what a thing is"-
that IL, 10 define its to state its
relations with something more ia
millar. The particular familiar
thing that the questione. is think
ing of IN this case is ordinary mat
ter Heat has been explained to
HIM as a vibration of material par
tlcles. Light, he mas been told. ia
wave motion in the ether. and he
understands the ether 10 be a kind
OF matter or substance ressm-
bling matter III some particulars.
Ii Is not 10 be denied that no
such simple general relationship
can be stated between electricity
and matter. But. this being so. il
would be Just as correct to say that
we do not know what matter is as
that Ne do not know what electrici-
y Is. rs matter of fact. we do
not know what matter is, and the 1
latest plausible theory of it builds
1t up on an electric basis. so that on
this theory the idea Of electricity is
more fundamental than that OF
matter. Unfortunately our senses
have been evolved by contact with
matter and are trained 10 detect
only matter. Electricity they know
only secondarilv, through its action
Upon matter-the light or heat that
Il causes matter 10 give out. the at
traction that il causes certain sub
stances to exert, and so on. To the
nan IN the street, therefore. matter :
5 familiar. and he demands a state
nent Of the latter in terms of the
'ormer. illogical though this NAV
)e. After the scientist has stated
III this the reply comes back, "Yes.
understand all that. and it is
most clear, ! am sure. but tell me.
hen, what is electricity anyway z"
Another source of confusion to
he lay Elnd is that scientific men
% not always use the word cleo
richly TO mean the same thing.
The engineer often employs it TO
xpress the thing that the theoret-
,al electrician calls electric ener-
v"
To find the energy Of electricity
that Is, its ability to do work
he electrician multiplies the guam
lty of electricity BY the potential
T tension under which it exists.
Tut to the engineer this product
self measures the thing that he
ais electricity" 4
The work that a pound Of water
lay do by falling a foot is one foot
ound. The water is the same after
alling as before, though Its energy I
less. So TO the electrician a
uantity of electricity at 100 volts ),
precisely the same as at one volt,
iough the former is able to do
undred times as much work.
This difference in meaning causes
lousands of disputes among stu
ants. Electricity is a form of
iergy," says one, lust like light :
: heat" ooh, MOP is the reply.
It IS not energy at all, though it
ay possess or convey energy" One r
sputant is talking about the cleo
icity of the physical and the other
'out that of the engineer; hence
eir dispute is merely a matter Of
'fnition, though they do not know
What wonder that some people
e still content to regad the whole
bIect as a civilized Mumbo jun
st ouic Ropuhlin