The daily star-mirror., 1922-01-14
STAGE TO HAVE
REAL LIGHTNING
Recent Experiments in High Volt
age Make 1t Possible.
BIG PROBLEM FOR SCIENCE

Successful Transmission of Current OF
Electricity of 100000 Volts Pre-
sents Wonderful PossibiIities-Cur-
rent May Be Carried Long Dis
tances-Proper Insulation of Wires
Principal Difficulty Remaining to Be
Overcome.
Some time in the near future, when
we see theatrical spectacle wherein
the hero and the heroine are caught
in a violent electrical storm on the
high seas and their craft is in danger
of being wrecked, we will be surprised
at the realistic flashes of lightning
that will dart across the stage sky.
see in a thunderstorm after hot sum
mer's day, according to New York
Sun writer.
Recently experiments on the genera
tion and transmission of a current Of
electricity of 100000 volts were
crowned with success. The discharge
of this current through the air be-
tween needle points six feet apart
gave a good imitation of the real
| lightning, although the voltage in q
lightning discharge has been estimated
| to be fifty times greater, or 100000 600
| volts, according to the eminent cleo
trical engineer, DR.. Charles P. Stein
metz.
The practical value of these expert
ments does not appear at first glance,
perhaps, but it is not limited to imita-
tion lightning on the stage Electri-
city is strange thing to most of U.S.
1t is not a substance, like water or
coal, but a form of energy Even the
great scientists and electrical experts
lave great deal of difficulty in ex-
planning what electricity is; all they
can tell you is what it does and how
it behaves under different conditions.
How Current Is Produced.
Electricity is energy. When water
falls from a height. by the time it
reaches the bottom it has gained pow
er to do certain things. If it is
caught in buckets and these buckets
are fastened to a. wheel then the
force of the falling water will make
that wheel turn, producing power.
This power may be sufficient for the
plant at that place. Transplanting the
power to distant places is another
problem.
This is done by the use of the
electric current. If we connect the
water wheel to a generator or dynamo
then the turning of the armature,
which is the rotating part of the gen
orator, will produce a current. That
is really all that is known about the
subject as far as the basic causes
are concerned.
The current is transported from
place to place through wires. The
flow of the current through these
wires is very much like the flow Of
water through pipes. The pressure
behind the water causing it to flow
along the pipe corresponds to the
voltage in the current. The voltage
is what makes the current flow through
the wire between two points and the
current will flow only when one Of
these points has a lower voltage than
the other. To send the current a GER
tain distance a certain voltage must
be used.
Higher Voltage Increases Power.
In the pipe there is a resistance to
the flow Of water. This resistance is |
furnished by the walls of the pipe.
In the same way there is a resistance
to the flow of the current through the |
wires The voltage must always be
strong enough to overcome this re-
sistance or else the current will not
flow If the pressure behind the water I
in the pipe is not strong enough to
overcome the resistance of the pipe
walls, then when we turn the faucet
no water will flow. When we turn
the switch no current will flow under
the same condition.
When Edison first operated his cleo
trio service lines in New York city he
used ITO volts and then 22O volts to
send the current over comparatively
short distances. At the present time
on certain long-distance lines in south
ern California the voltage behind the
current is 100000 volts.
The new discoveries which have led
TO the interesting novelty Of man-made
lightning have a far greater signin-
canoe in this connection. If it is pos
sible to perfect means Of properly
Insulating the wires which will carry
100000 volts, then the electricity
hat is generated at Niagara Falls
md the st. Lawrence river can be con-
reyed possibly to the Rockies or to
Florida and used there to turn the
wheels of industry.