The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-03-03
BOTTLED THUNDER
AND LIGHTNING is
LATEST INVENTION
Schenectady Has Modern Jove
Who Sits on Throne and
Hurls Thunderbolts at Will.
tey The Assoclated Prsssl


SCHENECTADY, N. Y, March-Schenec-
tadytady has a modern Jove. who sits on
his throne in a laboratory of the Cen
eral Electric Company and huris thunder
bolts at will
He u DR.. Charles p. steinmetz. cleo
trical wizard, who announced today he
has succeeded in producing and con-
trolling an indoor thunderstorm. with all
the characteristics of its natural brother
except the thunder clouds.
Al a demonstration Of his lightning
generator a few days ago. the familiar
forixed tongues flashed through the lab
oratory with a deafsninE crash. splinter
ed large block % wood. hurling the
fragments rs feet. and ripped a miniature
tree from tip TO base.
Tho bolt carried the energy OF 100000
horsepower--about one fve-hundTedth Of
the energy OF a natural lightning bolt.
Dr. steinmetz estimates and last for one
thoussndth part OF a second. Or. Stein
metz hopes his apparatus viii con-
tribute largely 70 the development Of
lightning arrestors. as Il provides an OPP
portunitv for the study at close range
OF the phenomenon that Benjamin Frank
lin began 20 investigate years ago with
his kite. string and key.
His experiments have convinced him
however, that there IS little likelihood
OF mans realizing his dream OF harness.
ing thunderbolts and making them work.
Despite their tremendous energy he says
their life is 80 short that harnessed they
would be worth only few cents apiece.
'Iu our lightning generator he said,
I'VE get n discharge OF 10000 amperes
at over a hundred thousand volts. that
is n power of over a million horsepower.
lasting for a hundred thousandth part
of a second. This gives us the ex-
plosive. tearing and shattering effect of
real lightning, so that, for instance.
piece of small tree exposed to the dis
charge is mechanically torn to pieces. A
piece OF wire struck by the flash van
ishes in dust
'aThe difference between lightning
energy and ordinary electric current is
similar to that between pound of dyna-
mite and a pint of gasoline. The pint
OF gasoline contains more energy and
can do more work than the pound of
dynamite, but the pint OF gasoline gives
OFF its energy slowly. at moderate rate
Of power, while the pound of dynamite
gives off it's energy explosively. all at
once. at an enormous rate of power, and
thereby locally tears and destroys"
The inspiration to produce artificial
lightning came to DIR. Steinmetz two
years ago, when he arrived at his sum
,ner camp on the Mohawk river, to find
the heavenly visitor had preceded him
by few hours and left the camp in
disarray.
Instead OF bemoaning the damage, DR..
Steinmetz got busy with q camera, a tape
line and note book, and collected "evi-
dence' which he says was of inestimable
value in the production OF his lightniag
generator.
II he wanted TO. DIR. Steinmetz said,
he could cut loose an artificial lightning
bolt that would do as much damage as
did the one which assailed his camp
But he is content with producing one
with five-hundredth as much kick
Producing the larger bolt would involve
great expense and the bolt would be too
dangerous 70 observe at close quarters.