The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1914-04-17
ELECTRICITY.
Why II Is Difficult For the Laynras o.
Understand What X Ia.

Understand What IL IL.
"What is electricity" is a favor
ite query with people who desire to ,
"get rise" out of scientific man !
And when he fails to answer it in
the same simple fashion that he
might treat the question 'HWhat is
a biscuit" the questioner cries OUT:
"Ahal You profess to know all
about electricity. Why, YOU can't
even tell what it is"
Now, to tell what a thing is'-f
that Is, to define its to state its
relations with something more fa-
miliar. The particular familiar
thing that the questioner is think
ing of in this case is ordinary mat
ter. Heat has been explained to
him as a vibration of material par
ticles. Light, he has been told, is
wave motion in the ether, and he
understand the ether TO be hind
of matter or a substance resem-
bling matter in some particulars. !
1t is Tot 20 be denied that no
such sim 'e General relationship
can be sta.c etween electricity
and matter But, this being SO, It
would be 1T as correct to say that
we 90 not know what matter is as
that we do not know what electrici-
T Is. As matter of fact, we do.
not know what latter is, and the
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 to detect
only matter. Electricity they know
only secondarily, through its action
upon matter-the light or heat that
it causes matter to give ont, the at
traction that it causes certain sub
stances to exert, and so on. To the
man in the street, therefore, matter
Is familiar, and he demands q 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
l understand all that, and, it IL
most clear, I am sure, but tell me,
then, what is electricity anywsyT
Another source Of confusion TO
the lay mind is that scientific men
do not always use the word "elec-
.ricity" to mean the same thing.
The engineer often employs it to
express the thing that the theoret-
ical electrician calls electric ener-
g." !.
To find the energy Of electricity
that is, its ability to do work.
the electrician multiplies the guam.
tty of electriGity 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 q pound Of water
may do by falling foot Is ono foot
pound. The water is the same aftsr
falling as before, though its energy
Is less. So to the electrician q
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 form Of
energy" says one, lust like light
or heat" ooh, no" IS the reply.
'1t 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
THAR dispute is merely q matter of
dsfnition, though they do not know
It What wonder that some people
IRE still content to regard the whole
flbj~ct as civilip / Mnmbo JRm-
o. st Lois ler shie e.