The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1911-06-09
ELECTRICITY.
Why IL is pifheul, Fer the Lsymsn e.
Understand What II Ia

Cncerstand What II fa.
"Whai Is cl~ctnc.tys7 j. a favor
lite query with people who desire {.
get a rise out Of a scientific man
And when he fails 70 answer il il
the sane simple fashion that hs
might treat the question ~What j.
q biscmt,' the q%ucstioncr cries our
"Aba. You profess 10 know al
about electricity. Why. YOU can't
even tell what il is
Now. 70 tell what i thing is
that Is. 70 define it. 10 state is
relations with something more ia
miliar. The part.cuiar familiar
thing that the q%uestioner Is think
ing Of in this case Is ordinary mat
ter. Heat has been explained 10
him as e vibration OF material par
tlcles. Light, he has been told. is
a wave motion in the ether. and he
understands the ether 10 be a kind
OF matter or a substance resem-
bling matter in some particulars.
IL Is not 10 be denied that no
such simple general relationship
ear be stated between electricity
and matter. But, this being so. II
would be just az correct TO saw that
we do not know what matter is a.
that.we do not know what electrici-
~ IS. ts a matter " fact. We do
not know what matter is. and the
latest plausible theory OF il builds
u up on an electric basis. so that on
this theory the idea Cf electricity is
more fundamental than that OF
matter. Unfortunately cur senses
have been evolved bv contact With
and are trained 10 detect
only matter. Electricity they know
only secondarlv, through It's action
upon matter-the light or heat that
{ causes matter to give out, the at
traction that IL causes certain sub
stances 10 exert, and so on. To the
nan ? the street, therefore, matter
S familiar. and he demands q state
nent Of the latter in terms Of the
'orner, illogical though this nav
De. After the scientist has stated
vi this the reply comes back. "Yes,
understand all that, and il is
most clear. | am sure. but tell me,
hen, what is electricity anvvayY'
Another source Of confusion TO
he lay mind Is that scientific men
not always use the word "elec-
TO mean the same thing.
he engineer often EMPLOYS il 70
Hpress the thing that the theoret- |
electrician calls "electric ener- I
v" '
To find the energy Of electricity
Is, its ability 10 do work 4
re electrician multiplies the guam c
ty Of electricity BY the potential t
r tension under which il exists. I
ut TO the engineer this product B
self measures the thing that he !
Ills electricity" v
lhe work that q pound OF water '
lay do by falling a foot is one foot a
ound. The water is the same after q
as before. though its energy v
less. So 70 the electrician q n
Of electricity at 100 volts n
precisely the same as at n volt. a
.ough the former Is able 20 do a tC
lndred times as much work. g
This difference in meaning causes "
.ousands Of disputes among stu al
ints. ELECTRICITY Il a form Of r
SAYS one, Just like light ?,
heat" 'Oh, no." i the reply.
t Is not energy at all, though il
ay possess or convey energy" One
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 regard the whole
beet a. a civilized Mumbo jun Y
st. Louis Republic. e