The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-10-20
A SIMPLE EXPLANATION
OF ELECTRICITY

Electricity is but a form Of energy.
1t is true that We do not know the
exact nature of electricity, but this is
immaterial. 1t wouldn't do us a particle
or good to know just what it is, or why
II Is, so long as we know what it will
do. Steam is also a form Of energy.
we know that steam is a gas capable
OF great expansion and hat is about
all We actually know about it. Nobody
wants to know anything more about
steam than the fact that it's expansive
force a be utilized in a steam engine
Tor power purposes. Steam is merely
water made gaseous by the application
or neat. 1t cannot be seen any more
than electricity. What we see and
miscall steam is merely water vapor
When steam is COndensing back into
water. Steam itself is quite invisible.
ecaus electricity is invisible Is no
reason why we should believe it be-
longs to the mysterious. We really
know a great deal about it. We can
measure it with the greatest accuracy
ana tell just how much work a given
amount of this energy will do. We can
easily figure Out how much light it will
give, how much heat it will produce, or
how many horse power Of work it will
accomplish in a given time.
There are three ways Of producing
electricity in quantities. Electricity
can be produced by friction, called sta
tic electricity, but in this form it is Of
no use commercially, except for expert
mental purposes.
Electricity can be produced by the
action Of chemicals. The electric bat
terry is too we'll known to need any
description. The action of the chem
lcalS in breaking up and tearing apart
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battery requires considerable force or
energy. Energy cannot be lost but it
can be changed into other forms. This
chemical energy is changed into heat
energy and into electrical energy. The
electricity produced in this way can be
used for various purposes.
Electricity such as we use for light,
heat and power is secured from large
magnets. The electric dynamo, or
generator, in the power house is really
a series of powerful electromagnetic be-
tween the poles of which are whirled a
number of heavy copper conductors
across the lines Of force between the
poles Of the magnets produces electri-
cal energy. 1t requires considerable
mechanical energy to move these cop
per bars as the pulling power of the
magnets must be overcome This me-
chaniCal energy is merely changed into
electrical energy. The armature of a
dynamo, or generator, is Whirled by a
steam engine or a waterWheeI. It makes
no difference what form of mechanical
power is used the result, is the same,
This mechanical energy is changed into
electrical energy. This, in turn, can
be changed into light energy, into heat
energy Or back into mechanical energy
through the medium Of an electric
motor.
For the sake Of simplicity engineers
assume that electricity is an invisible
fluid, without weight, capable of very
rapid motion. 1t will flow over a
metal wire just as easily as water will
flow through a metal pipe. Water can
not escape from the pipe, owing to the
resistance Of the iron, without ruptur-
ing the metal. Electricity cannot es-
cape from the wire, owing to the re-
sistance of the air through which it
cannot flow any more than water can
flow through iron.
Electricity is easily measured. We
know how fast it travels over a wire
It's speed is really astonishing, as it
will travel fully $4,000 miles a second.
1t travels as fast over a copper wire
as light waves travel through the at
mosphere. The amount of work cleo
tricity will do is measured in watts.
A thousand watts is known as
a kilowatt and is equal tc
one and one-third horse power
When you have used a kilo-
watt of electricity to light your home
you have really used one and one-third
horse power of electrical energy. The
amount of current flowing over the
wire is measured in amperes and the
pressure is measured in volts instead
of pounds. Electricity for household
lighting purposes flows over the wires
at a pressure of 40 volts. For trans
hitting the current from city to city it
is sent under enormous pressure. Lines
Of over 100000 volts are not unusual.
Energy is indestructible, yet ever as
Stunning new forms. The chemical en-
ergy in the cell of battery is converted
to electrical energy, which. in turn, be-
comes thermal, mechanical or radiant
energy at our will. 1t is not, however,
until energy or work is performed for a
definite time that it becomes measur-
| pressure of one volt for one hour gives
the ~watthour; ten cubic feet of water
per second, under a head of ninety feet,
gives about 100 horse power, which is
also approximately the power necessary
to heat n pound of water 70 degrees
Fahrenheit in one second. au
Because electricity is practically new
to the world it is mysterious to most
of as. In time we will ali become sc
familiar with this form Of energy that
il will be no more mysterious and fear
some than the steam engine. Perhaps
by that time the world will be expert
| menting with some new form Of energy
and electricity will be an old story.
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