The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1919-01-10

ELECTRICITY.
syhy II 10 pisFeul, For the Lsyss. =.
Understand What ~ la

"What is electricity? is e tsvor-
ite query with people who desire 70
get e rise out Of scientific nan
And when he falls TO answer il r.
the same simple fashion that
might treat the question What
a bisc iit!" the onestioner cries OIL
~Aha. You profess TO know al
about electricity. Why, You can't
even tell what it is"
Now, TO tell what q thing is
that is, to define its TO state IL
relations with something more IA
niliar. The particular familiar
thing that the quest ner is thinA-
ing Of in this case Is rdinlry mat
ter. Heat has been eIp-4lned 10
him a. a vibration of material par
ticles Light, he has been told, Is
Q wa, melton in the ether, and be
understands the ether 70 be kind
Of matter or . substance resern-
bling matter in some particular
1t IL not TO be denied that no
such simple general relationship
ean be -stated between .electrlciiy
and matter But, this being so. it
rould be juit'ss eorrset TO ssy. that
vs do not know. .vhstlmatter n %
that we do not know What elsrtrici-
ty h. As q matter Of fact, we do
not know what msfser IL, and the
latest plausible ths~y .ef il builds
it up ON an electrfe.hsis, % that on
this theory the idea of-electricity 10
more fundamental than that Of
matter. Unfortunately our senses
have been evolved by contact with
matter and are framed to detect
only matter. Electricity they know
only secondarilv, through its action
upon matter-the light or heat that
It causes matter to give ont, the AZ
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 . state
ment OF the latter in terms Of the
former, illogical though this NAV
be. After the scientist has stated
al this the reply comes back, "Yes,
l understand al that, and It is
most clear, ] an snre, but tel me,
then, what is electricity anyway"
Another source Of confusion 70
the lay mind is that scientific men
do not always use the word "elec-
tricity' TO mean the same thing.
The engineer often employs il 70
express the thing that the thecret-
ical electrician calls electric snsu-
g."
To find the energy Of electricity
that is, its ability to Do work
the electrician multplies the quxn-
tity Of electricity By TIE potsntij
or tension under who i existA
Bat to the engineer tais product
itself measures the thls that be
calls electricity"
The wOIk that pound OF w1te-
may Go bv falling a foot Is ons FOO.
pound TIE water Is the same after
falling as before. though iu energ
Is less. So to tie electrician .
quantity Of electricity at 100 volts
Is precisely the same as az one volt,
though the former j. able 10 do .
hundred times as mach work.
This difference Ia meaning causss
thousands Of disputes among stu
dents. @E'ectricity u q form Of
energy" ssys one, .gust Ike light
or heat" "Oh, no." is the reply.
at is not energy at all, though il
may possess or convey energy One
dsputant is talking about the cleo
tricity Of the physical md the Other
about that Of the engineer; hence
their dispute is merely 8 matter q
definition. though they do rot know
T. What wonder thaf Sore reopls
q ~ s.iIl corfeni TO --snri ~. r1ols
szbj~-t a. al liz a., d1-