Evening star., 1922-02-05
FAMOUS ELECTRICIAN SAYS: MOTORISTS
NEED NOT WORRY OVER GASOLINE SUPPLY

water, or electricity. it must 60 at q
high pressure. That, Of course. means
more difiiculty in keeping it under
control. High pressure with water
means strong pipes. not large ones,
high voltage electric power means
strong insulation rather than large
wires.
''That is one Of the bigger problems
now being: studied by the engineers.
They must. insulate for continually
voltage. Lines now are be-
ing built for 100000 volts, but we ase
out tho means Of carrying
100000 volts. ~
these are few Of the problems
which confront US. believe they
will be solved. but I will make no
prophecies.
"A million Is a great voltage. It
is almost that OF lightning. The
thought Of handling it has its thrill
ling aspects. Come within nine feet
OF such q current and it will leap to
you and whether or not it kills you
will depend upon its power. It is that,
not the pressure, alone. that kills.
. 1T is two-fold. It ia not sufficient
that there should be great power: it
Is necessary that this great power
should be sxaiIabe-that H., usable-
which requires that It's pressure shall
be constant. Power at continually
varying strength is not available for
the operation Of machinery.
y x X Il:
0\HIE will assume that an electric
generating station sends power
into a line at even pressure. Various
conditions may change this quality
Of evehness to users. Suppose the
line operates a railway. Tho stop
page Of a single train out Of many
would. send the power up and the
starting Of a, train would bring it
down.
This is not to be desired. Sup
pose every lamp upon a line and
every motor suddenly gets twice as
much voltage as 1t has been having,
Or. on sthe other hand, suppose its
supply suddenly is cut in half. Either
event will be disastrous. That is one
Of the problems Of control. Another
Is that Of keeping power from get
ting loose. Big systems produce
vast powers-say 250.o00 electric
horsepower. and fifty
thousand electric horsepower out of
control would be sure to wreak de-
struction worse than that which ever
has been wrought by any lightning.
The power of great system, such
as Is required to make the life Of to-
day possible in a large city, could and
would do terrible things II 1t got
loose, even for a few seconds. Safety,
therefore, depends on insulation. That
is problem.
1T may not seem sensational to
popular interest, but it is among the
things which mean constant
scientific battle. Many able men are
continually engaged in study of this
one detail OF q great and widening
science.
Speaking generally, the thing
which really is being done is this:
Electricity is taking over the task
OF supplying civilization with energy
upon demand. Two things civiliza-
tion demands and without them can
not exist: One is the supply of raw
material, the other the supply of
energy. Cut off these two from any
city for few days only and that city
must perish.
civilizations problem of the dis
tribution Of material has been solved
by the railway lines which criss-
cross every settled land and carry
things from anywhere to anywhere.
But these can be operated only If
they are fed constantly with energy.
Shut energy away from them and
civilization ceases. The possession of
raw material in the vastest quantities
at its original sources could not pre-.
serve it. for with 1t there it could
do nothing. Transportation and COM
munication form the circulation of
the blood Of civilization.
y X
HXN7HAT the steam railway did in
" the past century in gathering
material now is being done much
better through electricity. which also
their own use or for the manufacture
that material. The steam power on
the railways Of the past century was
available for gathering material only
after it had gathered immense guam
titles Of coal for the production Of
itself.>
THE principal freight Of all the
railways was moro coal. destined to
be used in making power either for
their own use or 70 rthe manufacture
OF the other materials they carried.
To-day. except on the trunk lines,
operating power is largely electric. of
hydraulic origin, consuming no coal
and therefore putting upon tho rail-
ways no freight burdens.
"And the supply to factories
through the, transmission lines Of
electric power often of hydraulic ORR
gin, and when drawn from coal
through steam power requiring for
that coal far less than the old extent
Of distribution. relieves the railways
Of another burden. that Of supply
of vast quantities of fuel to manu-
facturers. = -
Thus electric transmission lines
now are serving purposes quite as
served during the lifetime Of the pre-
ceding generation.
''The distribution Of electrical