The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-31
The Invisible Power

ouId readily understand the action of 1ectric current
 The Sulohite looked pained.
 What is your trouble?'' he asked. We know more about the action of lectFtc current than we do about the aw Of grdVitation. ."
 The Sulphite was the foremost en- H2eer Of the Orocker- Wheeler Com any which is making campaign to ave the principles of electricity un- 5erStood- Bromide remarks like the toove. and the fact that the pubH& will tccept electricity's first cousin, heat, md all it's manifestations but ballxs at electricity itself, are equally hr1taJt- ng to it's engineers.
 That's all very well for you to say,' 'eplied the Bromide, ''but do you re- member how Newton discovered the A.w of eravitatiOn? He saw a man festation of it. He saw an apple fall sut of tree I can see an apple fall put of a tree, but I can't see electric st1rrent."
 Do you remember how Benjamin franklin hshed for an electric current with a kite?' said the Sulphite. "He zaw an electric storm
 But there are constant natural manifestations of the law of gTav1- III the time One reason why the ldes Of electric current is more diff suit to grasp is that we don't see it's manifestations so often"
 ssOh. Great White Way, where is khy Iustre?'' mourned the Sulphite- 'sBut see what you mean. Electric moves generally in wires. Therefore it is more difficult to deduce the cause from the effect
 'sErxactly," said the Bromide What noves7 How do you know it moves? I'm from Missouri"
 Until a decade or two ago." said the fsirv tales that. thanks to the magic of a kind but indiscreet fairy, charmed prince could gaze through solid wan at the beautiful imprisoned TaV fe f9 m41iar to everyone"
 sT'u even admit that I can see throrEh a solid substance, said the done it. But, as remarked before, you can't see an electric current
 s<Hnve yors ever thrown a stone into a pond 7ss the Suiphfte inquired mild
 iwhy. yes~
 "And Aavv you sesn the ripptes trav- cling toward the shore?'
 -~wnae was 1t that traweled?" zhfnax that this Is a. kandergarten?"
 Yea" said the Sulphite gently, 'I do. what Is a ripple?''
 "An undulaHon in the water.
 Does the part of the water disturb ed by the impact of the stone reach the ehore?'
 .sExact1y." said the s11lphite, 'elec- trfc current Is the ripple. Did you ev- CT shake a stretched clothesline?"
 Yes" replied the Bromide euspi-
 Have you noticed how the undula- tons or waves of motion seemed to travel along the roper"
 Seemed to travel? Why, the ur1d1- lations did travel"
 'sBut the substance of the rope re- na4ned the same. did 1t not?''
 "Of course 1t did"
 Are you beginning to see how mo ton. heat, energy. electric current, call it what you will, can travel through a substance without visfbly disturbing or changing it's component parts?"
 s'Yes, but you are not trying to tell me that they telegraph from New York to San Francisco by shaking the
 aNo.' said the sulphite Its
 Distress. I should call it, blurted the Bromide
 The Sulphite smiled
 --I've proved to you,'' he said, "that motion can travel along a solid sub stance and arrive at it's destination without disturbing the component parts of the substance"
 Yes" interrupted the Bromide eag- erly, '1Dznt not rigid substance. Wa ter isn't even solid substance, and a rope isn't rigid-''
 "Imagine," said the stlphite, two men who have hold of opposite ends of long pole. One is trying to twist 1t in one direction and the other in the opposite direction"
 can spree Iege," ventured the Bromide
 Similar in the expenditure of ef- fort corrected the Sulphite. eff the men were evenly matched the pole stress is being applied to it. If the pole were Of soft wood fit might give a little. Anyway there would be an
 The Bromide began to get excited.
 T see,'' he sa6d- ''Go on.''
 When the stress became great fr o1xy and the pole would begin to turn. That Is work, motion, physical man. ifestation of the power expended on to slip through the grip of the weaker man. What would you say the pow CT expended had done?"
 why. 1t had overcome the resist ance of the weaker man, and done work in turning the pole But then the stronger man would have to keep applying more power
 Exactly. Electric current is like a pole that turns easily until something at the other end offers resistance and then it overcomes that resistance if the near end Is stall turned with sufficient
 The Bromide made a last desperate ! Do you mean to say. then, that they Twist the wires from New York to San Francisco
 mean only that electric current is stress just like the stress in the long pole under the circumstances have described, but not produced in the same way. You wanted to know how power could be transmitted without pushing or pulling on a solid sub- stance I have shown you how it can sBe done. It Is done every day in the year on a million engine shafts and the propeller shafts of great ocean going liners. This is mechanical
 well" said the Bromide, conced- ing the point, what does electric cur rent do when 1t gets there? In what form does 1t come out at the other end of the wire if the wire is not twisting or rdulating7'
 s'It comes out in the form of motion which is dangerously akin to heat,'