Evening star., 1935-04-20

Is maze, Lnat the neutr0n Is q comol-
nation Of one electron and one proton
bound SO closely together that they
are inseparable.
Consequently, since the charges are
perfectly balanced, there Ii no evidence
Of them. But there Is a possibility Of
IN opposite assumption-that the
neutron Is an independent, non-elec-
trical entity. 1t may be q form of
matter without any electrical prop
property Of electricity and hence con-
stituting q Challenging exception to
the almost universally held concept Of
present-day physics.
Can there be two kinds of matter,
one electrical and one non electrical?
asks DR.. Heyl.
As matter Of fact, he points out,
. good many Of the experiments have
proceeded on the assumption that
mstter was fundamentally electrical
and that the electric charge must
remain constant. regardless Of the
mass Of the particle, whereas As good
results would have been obtained II
the assumption had been made that
the mass remained constant and that
the charge varied. At present neither
assumption seems open to expert
mental proof.
4 =
Science. DR.. Heyl said. is as far
from ever to an answer for the often
asked question: What is electricity?
More and more Is being learned
about Its behavior and about the
structures OF the so-called electrical
particles. But for the present physi-
cists can culy say Of electricity itself
that it exists and seems to underlie
. vast body Of other things.
The longer research continues, DR..
Heyl said, the less positive the
answers. and they are far less positive
today than they might have been
10 years ago. -..-.
Up to the beginning of the twen-
tieth century, DR.. Heyl points out. the
concept of electricity had passed
through three eras-the spiritual. the
fluid end the ETHEREAL.
The first came with the dawn Of
history and the earliest observations
Of electrical phenomena. Electricity
was regarded Is . spirit" within
matter.
The second came with the Renais.
sance. Electricity was regarded as an
invisible fluid contained in certain
substances. A survival is the familiar
term, turn on the juice" With the
discovery that some charged objects
attracted while others repeiled sim
liar substances came the idea Of two
kinds Of fluid, the positive and the
negative. Benjamin Franklin held
that some bodies had an excess, and
some . deficiency, of Q single electri-
cal fluid, and that those with two
much attracted those with too little.
Then came the theory. largely de-
veIoped by Sir Oliver Lodge. that
electricity was form Of wave motion
IN the ether due to stresses, hows and
vortices in the ETHEREAL substance.
Similar ideas were held for light and
heat. But in the early twentieth
century physicists began 10 entertain
the idea OF electricity Is something
material, composed Of physical par
Ecles, There were atoms Of elec-
tricity which would enter chemical
combinations with atoms Of other ele-
mepts.
The atom theory and the wave
theory held the fleld together. One
explained perfectly one set Of phe.
nomenA, the other another set Of
Phenomena. Further efforts to explain
the ultimate nature Of electricity have
been held In abeyance since the start
Of the century, while physicists have
devoted their efforts to determining
its structure. BY accommodating data
in this field they hope eventually to
~ eloaroe eluos.