The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1910-07-29
ELECTRICITY.
Why It Is rifHcuIt For the Lsyman 20
Unoerstan1 What Il Is


ite query with people who desire TO
"ret a rise" ont oi scientific maire
And when he fails to answer it in
the same simple fashion that he /
might treat the question What is
biscuit?' tie qucstioner cries out
"Aha, NoI profess to >know all /
about electricity Why. you can't /
even tell what j; i,"
Now, to "iel what thing is"-
that is, to define it's to state It's
relations with something more IA
miiar The particular familiar
thing that the qucstionor is think |
ing of in this ca IS ordinary mat
ter. Heat has been explained 10 /
him as vibration Of material par
ticles. Light, hc las been told, is I
a wave motion in tie ether, and he /
understands the ether to be kind |
Of matter or a substance resem-
bling matter in same particulars.
II is not to be denied that no
sucha simple general relationship
can be stated between electricity
and matter. Bat, this being so, il
would be just as correct 10 say that
we DO not know what matter is as
that we do not know what clcctrici- /
tT>is. As a matter OF fact, we do
not know what matter is, and the
latest plausible theory Of il builds
i up on an electric basis, so that on
this theory the idea Of electricity is
more fundamental than that oi
matter. Unfortunately our senses
have been evolved by contact with
matter and are trained 20 detect
only matter Electricity they know
only secondarilv, through its action
upon matter-the light or heat that
il causes matter to give out, the at
traction that il causes certain sub
stances to exert. and so on. To the
man in the street. therefore, matter
is familiar. and he demands a state
ment Of the latter in terms Of the
former, illogical though this may
be- After the scientist has stated
all this the reply comes back. "Yes,
! understand oil that, and il is
most clear. am sure. but tell me,
then, what is electricity anyway"
Another source Of confusion 70
the Law mind is that scientific men
do not alwavs use the word "elec-
tricitv" 10 mean the same thing.
The engineer often employs it to
express the thing that the theoret-
iaal electrician calls electric ener-
W"
To find the energy of electricity
that is, its ability 10 DO work
the electrician multiplies the guam
tity Of electricity BY the potential
or tension under which it exists.
But TO the engineer this product
itself measures the thing that he
calls electricity"
The work that a pound of water
NAV do by falling foot is one foot
pound. The water is the same after
falling as before, though its energy
is less. So to the electrician a
quantity of electricity at 100 volts
is precisely the same as at one volt,
though the former is able TO do a
hundred times as much work.
This difference in meaning causes
thousands of disputes among stu
dents. electricity is a form OF
energy" SAYS one, "just like light
or heat" "Oh, now is the reply.
at is not energy at all, though it
may possess or convey energy" One
disputant is talking about the cleo
tricity Of the physical and the other
about that Of the engineer; hence
their dispute is merely matter OF
definition, though they do not know
it, What wonder that some people
are still content to regard the whole
subject as a civilized Mumbo Jum-
bc?-St. Louis Republic.
ooIne time ago there lived a gen.
tleman of indolent habits who spent
his time visiting among his friends.
After wearing out has welcome IN
ms own ncighborhood he thought
he would visit an old Quaker friend
some twenty miles distant. On his
arrival he was cordially received by
the Quaker. who, thinking the WIS.,
Itor had taken much pains to come
60 far to see him, treated him with q
grcas&a aeal Of attention and polite
ness Tor several days. AS the Wis
ltor showed no signs Of leaving, the
Quaker became uneasy, but bore it
with patience until the eighth day,
when he SAID to him:
MY friend, am afraid thee will
never come again"
"Oh, yes ! shall" said the visitor.
4 have enjoyed my visit very ihuch
and shall certainly come again."
But" said the Quaker, "if thee
Will never leave how can thee coms