Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-05
The Edison Effect Made Al This Possible
~ HENRY M. NEELY

na"io would not seem hait 30 com
plicated to the average boy or man II
it were NOT for the scientist's love of
hi, ,oud. =. ..,. ., 40 20
"''e'"'e'
ne denoerateIy hunted around TO nnd the
longest possible name for the smallest
possible obiect
Today we ara going m meet tho
smallest thing in rho world and learn
how It is that This little thing which
Is SO tinv that n bos never been seen
nv man even witb Tho most nowarfuI
microscope is resnonsible for Mi this
radio craze and when Won come right
down to IL. really runs the most now
erful MACHINERY that II is possible for
man to build,
The tiny mites name is eiectron
You nav, nil heard 6f molecules md
atoms. Once upon n time scientists
thought that the molecule was the
smallest possible subdivision OF mat.
ter. Then they began to see that some-
thing was happening inside Of the
molecule and. after long and careful
study OF 1t. they discovered that each
molecule was made up Of a great many
still smaller things to which they gave
the name of atoms.
Then. for number of years. they
went ahead on the theory that nothing
could be smaI er than an atom: They
even made a close study Of all the sub
'aiNL. s.anJ.s 'lia' we AnoM anu compuseu ns .ne
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'"TSsa TI" ,. A.. .,;
.,am 'Ioh %,. .ne eHuene i @ uaim sSs
as ". u, n'"esSn in nnu u'1u VI. "1.s' sa
;,,s. " ".o" ,'.. ~ VI nsu.os.n .%;
~ wai,h, tor ti,;rgps G po"' in ax.r,Son a" Mts
They count the weight Of nm atom Of
hydrogen ss 1 and thew print in their
text books lists of yarieus substances
with the figure after them which indi.
Gates how heavy thew are compared
with this atom Of bydroeen' Thus tbe
"atomic weight" of hydrogen a. md
that of lead is SO8 4 A table az atomic
weights of this kind oivos the scientist
quite a clear idea Of anv substance he
NAV be discussinu
u A.. ,.,.
w" tht atom user Is so hdescriD,
ao,s my 'nu' even our microscopes VIII
~. sno" 10 us anu al the thihgs
.na, ale hho"h aoout IL are the results
.nI ~ ueuuI Itons naae rom iohs ana com
saN.'''.1 saaGu eAPsi'n.ents 81 anu ma.hematlcai
o.u,ae. hnJ, Sv; acl u tons WINE, every !,
4ouS eS "as a.. s"a,sneu tnHt sc'eh,lsts haa
.. iouu .n very s'ha,lest thlh9 that
.hso' s.,er eou'd oe d'''deu INTO even IN
'neor''
But now the atom is found to be
quite big in comparison with the still
smaller particles which compose it..
These particles are known as electrons.
Scientists now believe that the atom
has a center or nucleus of some kind
surrounded by these tiny electrons.
Perhaps you will wonder what this
lesson In physics has to do with radio.
The answer Is very simple. 1t is the
electron which makes possible the
'Aladdin's lamp" of science which we
call the audion bulb. 1t is in fact the
electron which runs our telephone and
telegraph system, our trolley cars and
the huge electric plants that are deyel.
oping millions of horsepower every
hour in the big steam and hydraulic
systems all over the world.
1t was the study of the earliest type
Of electric light made by Edison which
first gave scientists the suspicion that
such a thing as the electrOn existed,
You have all seen the dark yellowish
brown deposit which gathers on the
inside of an old electric light after it
has been used long time. 1t is be.
lieyed that most OF this brownish color
is caused by n bombn rdment by mil.
lions and millions of electrons shot out
by the white heat of the flament
Edison, in his experiments. once en-.
closed a plate of cold metal inside n
bulb with the filament and connected
the plate by wire with an ordinary