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THE TRIBUNE.
Dr Lardncrs Firsl Lertuie.
Second Serie?
Ladin and Gentlemen: The manner in which
I r-roprxe to bring to your attention the subjects
? u. n for th-'se Iceiurcs is that which I have uni?
formly adopted in the whole course of my public
teaching. Tnerc is nothing which in itself is more
interesting:than the habi: of follow ing the steps bv
which d \ scovercTS themselves |,ave produced their
great re.ults ; awl there is.no way in which seien
; f; ? knowledge may Uc rendered nmre interesting
;iian that by which it was originally acquired. I
?hall in, bringing before you the magnificent dii
covenes which have been inai'e almost in oui own
time, toilow the course the discoverers them?
selves have taken. But in order to conduct this
inqiury with profit and interest, it is necessary
to put you in possession of the chief natural laivs
wbii !i the investigations <>f the last hundred war
have developed. It may !>?? done in a brief com
pass, though, truth to say, they were acquired
only by a vast ami to us most surprising iloul r.f
labor.
Elaborate and careful investigations has brought
to light certain physical facts of an extraordin?r-,
nature concerning Electricity. It has been found
that all botlies in their natural s'ute. that state in
which wecomuionly see them, are pervaded through
their inmost dimensions by two extremely subtle
lluids called by the common name oi Electricity?
but ilifferin", in certain respects. Philosophers
generally agree t" call them j'.jsi'irc nud uegatiee
E ectricities. How these two extremely attenuated
fluids, so attenuated that no means have ever yet
been able to detect in thorn the <juu 1 iiv of gravita?
tion, pervade all substances. When bodies are in
theii natural state these two fluids are contained
ineqaal proportions ; any body?a tuMt?, chair, A c.
contuiiM an frju il ipiantity "t the positivo and ne?
gative electricities. These two fluids have u pre
petty of mutual attraction?each molecule, or pai
ticle of ihe one coalescing with each particle of the
other, so as to satisfy their reciprocal forces?the
conipoiii.il being found io produce no effect. A
body containing an equal quantity of these i* in a
state of Electrical repose. But if any external j
rouse ilisturbs this equilibrium, breaks the union
.it tCCae iw.i Ii-. .N und separates the one from lie
other, then their mutual attractive force is no longer
- t-ii..l and the fluid becomes un active agent,
the |i,?lv thus ilistni ae.l possessing tin- one uml r.o.
tbe other. The body i? in common language then
said to be electrified. I bave thus briefly given
you the ultimate conclusions which have oec-n
reached concerning this agent, ami yuu can put
yourselves ih the situation of philosophers with re?
gard to it, "nice ynu possess all the knowledge l un
ceYning it that his yet been unfolded.
Ihi re are various ways in which a body maybe
electrified?in which the natural combination of
the iliinls may be destroyed. Oneof the most com?
mon is by attrition. If two substances, us two
leaves of paper, or glass ami silk, be rubbed toge?
ther, the process calls into action a certain cause
which ilecoiu; ose-, the ci.m'itnittion of the two llu
iils. The positive withdraws from the negative,
which is attached to the handkerchief, while the
. -or e idhervs to the glass. I he disturbance in?
sures -i separation, and neither tlaid remains in its
mstiiiis 1 state. Grunting this tact, you muy ask
why is tin- eiTect produced ' What is therein the
character or nature of silk or ?las? which should
(ause this result ' To this I can only ?ay that you
knew as mm b about it as the most profound phi
losopher. Nothing more thun the nuked tart is
known, uml no principle of sc e ic? ha- been disco?
vered which will explain it. The only difference
i Btween philosophers an.l yourselves i?, that they
mnv l.no? it greater number of cases, butthey have
t:.i more g 'iieuii i r positive knowledge.
Tims v ? nave as :i starting-poixi these facts, that
there are two fluids of so attenuated, so volatile, so
spiritual a character, that tiny have n-i weight, nor
can they be p rceived in any way but by their ef
fects. It i- necessity "K'M i" fix in your mind
tha: these two fluids, iikr light ar.d heat, have u
greater lacility of moving over certain bodies than
over others : for example, the metals transmit heat
he. K. while glass cend icra it not ut all. Ono ol
tbe first things t" be known is the cluss of substan
. e- mi si ca u le of conducting electricity, and ihut
class which does not do it ati, or at least but im?
perfectly. The bodies along which it moves with
mast facility are the metals?all u>f them, without
exception. If you put an electrified body at one
end .>: a metallic ro.i. the tlui.l will rush to the
othe: with infinite rapidity, and will l>e stopped in
is* career only by meeting Swine non-conductor.?
'Ih ? bodies which ti fuse io coi dui : the fluid can
hard v be designated by any general appellation :
but ii may I?' said that fibrous bodies, sucn as
we 1. fea?ier?, &e-, are noi conductors. Ihe
fibres of wood are bad conductors, w hile wood it?
self may be a goo.l one; but in this case the- tluid
i- .-mi i i .l along by the moisture in its poies. Li
qu Js. al hough conductors, are not very good onps
?not equal by any mean* to the metals. To this
distinction of bodies i;it.? conductors and non-con
d?ctors 1 shall bave occasion frequently to reter.
and it mnj be necessary to say ihn no bodies are
ril'.o.'.to ti .1 j>i it'ect in tins respect. Hie rm.iliicl
ing po?er is to Electricity what transparency is to
light Glass u a conductor "I lighr, although im
I erfect, while wood is a non-conductor.
1 have mentioned, then,two main fads; that al
! o t es l aturnliy base two electric fluni? in a stall
af combination, an.l that being electrified consists
in disturbing (Ins ei|inlit>riiiin ; and that there are
two classes of bodies, one capable of conducting
th - :'. lid, and ila" other not. The third point I
niia/t notice before proceeding to trace the progress
of discoveries in Electricity, is ihi?. 1 have stu
u\l that attrition decomposes the combined elec
i iic ties. I he same effect may be produced bv a
change of temperature and in various other ways
bnt by one in particular, which merits notice, it
a bc.dv in its natural state?say a lump of metal?
be brought near an electrified b.?.ly, the proximity
of the latter will decompose the electricities of th?
former. Suppose the body be electrified positive?
ly: the attraction of the positive electricity will
draw ,he negative of the body in its natural state
towaru the i.iiie nearest itself, and repel the posi?
tive to the opposite extremity. By this attraction
of one und repulsion of the other, the electricities
->f the bodies are decomposed. This I can only
notice bri< By now ; it will be seen more clearly in
snfoiding the progress of discovery.
lliese are the main points to be impressed up?n
'our mit.d, at the outset.
It - ??:?. ?t electnci'v is one, the met it o!
vhose dascovery h<lo::rs almost es-lusively t..
modem ti nes. U i, u lesson? a moral lesson o
great importance, dedaced from the progress o;
knowledge, id observe the mannar in which Na
BY GREELEY & McEL
.??ICE osr. CENT.
I iure prompts to discovery, and notice the slowness
j of man in following out her sU?2e?tions. There i<
?icaic. !y a discovery of modern times of which the
mire promptings ol Nature car.nr.t he trac d for
many, many an age backward ; ar..i wo may thus
iearn how truth, which appears in the end so clear
and beautiful, lies for a long while buried ar.d con?
cealed.
At an early period in the history of physical
science, tl:e properly possessed by Amber had b'-en
observed. Amber was a sat iBtance remarked by
tho ancients fiom this circumstance?r!at when
Piiji.e.1 it had the power of 8ttra-tir.g light sub?
stances. Tti is mysterious power appeared to them
so similar to life that they were accu-torned to <av
that Amber had a sort! This was the extent to
which th*> knowledge of this principle had been
carried until an rnriy period in the Christian era,
wh--ii we find indications of a slight advance. In
Caesar's Commentaries we find mention ma !?? ? i
((??man sentinels who ha.I seen, in southern lati
j tudes, flames upon the points of their lances.?
Whether this is to be rcg tided as a fact in die his?
tory of electricity m ly well be douhf.?d We now
know, what was not then suspected, that this phe?
nomenon arose from a principle similar to tha' ob>
served in tmber. Seamen had for a lonp, while
been acquainted with the singular appearance of
;! imi B *,miii the! 'ps of roasts?known by the names
ol i astor ar.d Pollux : reu tbi v were not possessed
?if the lact known to us that these were hut exhi?
bitions of the electric influence. These facts b:.
peai to be b it i ie cropping out of science?forc?
ing ber way up through the surface, an.I intruding
her. precious ores upon the notice of man. Wt
next find it on record that a certain Gothic cbiel
tain, on drawing oil his clothe,, perceived his llesii
to be on fire. VVe know now that the attrition of
cloths upon natural bodies developes electrica!
light.
these slight facts may: ho passed over as mere
indications-which might have afforded traces for
discoveries in Electricity*, bin which were utterly
unheeded. It was not till nbout a hundred years
.tt". that facts -1 accumulated upon the attention as
to acquire a certain general character und lend to
the principles ol Electricity. The experiments of
two individuals in England, GkaV ami WhcEI er,
afforded \\.c first sei ntific information possessed
concerning this mysterious fluid. The first great
law which ihey estab ished was the division of bo?
dies into conductors and non-conductors. Dp to
iheir time the maiu I ici known were, that if cer
ain substances be rubbed with cloths they became
electrified ami would attract feathers, ami show
other indications ofi lee ricity. ? Ire.' and Wheeler,
in repeating and ol serving th. ir exp iriments, hap?
pen -.1 on one occasion to th list a piece of cork into
the mouth of the glass tuba ih-y were using": on
ipplying the light subs'unces they observed with
infinite surprise thai they were at racted by the cork
which hail not been rubbed as weil as by the glas?
which had. With tl, - -piri; of philosophers tl.ey
determined lo carry the matter farther, and ascer?
tain wlieil.ee a Ion; ei cork wo ild exhibit the same
property; ihey:trit*d t ami found tha it did. They
then attached a d< al i od, tw ? oi three feet in length,
to the cork, and sin rubbing the glas- they found
that the tod -hare.I in tho electrical power They
a' once c included that here w-is nr. work some in
l! lence before unnotice.l, and det.-imined lo pursue
the experiment until they could reach a more gen?
eral law.
They procured n hempen cord as a substitute for
the deal rod. fastened it to the end of the tuba and
suspended a' its other extremity an ivory ball.
Now, said they, if the fluid flies along the rod, it
nay along the cord ; and upon holding light sub
stances to the ivory hall, truly enough it uttracted
them just as the rod had done. This was a mosi
impo tani step. It was clear t ie i! lid passed along
the cord,:and they tcsolved to carry, their experi?
ments stili farthi r. Ihey accordingly retired to a
country house, owned by Wheeler, nr.-l sooe miles
from London; where they could have more local
conveniences for their invo-tigntions; uml proceed?
ed thus: Not finding a sufficient hight from which
to suspend their cord, they had recourse lo this ox
pied enl?which affords another forcible illustration
of ih * important part accident often plays in the
.!isc.i\. r? of truth. We shall indeed find, if we
watdi the progress of physical.science, that a
large proportion of herimmottal principles have
owed;their discovery solely to accident, and thus
shall we ti .d it with this gie.it principle ofc induc?
tion Gray and Whoelei snspended their-hempen
cord; but as ihey wished; to make it longer than
.inv hight they possessed would allow, they canted
ii along andern long gallery, supporting it by silken
breads?which they chose merely because they
wrere fine and strong, and likely to prevent theilu..!
from escaping by their tenuity. At the other end
of the hum pen cord they suspended their ball oi
metal; an.l on rubbing the glass, and presenting
light substances to the ball, tney found that they
lumped opto It, as \.oi all know would be the
case. Tney were, of c irtrse, highly pleased with
the result, and proceeded to carry the experiment
Still father.
Ttiev procured a much longer cord; hut now their
silk cords would not supp i t it. as its weight was
too great- ' Let u* ihoti,' s.tid Wheeler, ' take
fine wire, whii h will be strongerand liner, and there?
fore les- likely to carry off our fiuid than the Silk.'
Wire th. v accordingly did take,und onrubbing the
;ia-s. an,I applying light bodies tp the hall, found,
to th ir great surprise, that there was riot the slight?
est symptom of attruction, I'heir first suspicion
wus that the cord was too long, and accordingly
they restored it to its primitive length, still keep?
ing their wires as supporters; hut even then no
igns of electricity could he elicited. ? Whit is
the r ason ? f tins ?' sofd they ; ' when we suspend
?tr cord by stik, the experiment succeeds, but
when wc use wire we lose nil our Electricity.?
Tin re must be some remarkable difference between
thisotwoa ibstances. They followed this point, and
-aw plainly enough tint th.' electricity escaped
i on;' the wire, but would not along the silk. 1 he
rescit of this was the grand discovery?a discov?
ery of the fir>t .'t i. i i'i i hysic?that the metals
I ire good c. nJuctors, while silk, and then all
j hbrOUS bodies, will not transmit the fluid at all or
I but imperfectly. Tui- was the tirst great discov
i ery in Electricity, and you see the accident trom
j which u arose.
! $-un after the investigations of Gray and
Wheeler were undertaken, a French philosopher
lamed DcfAyk had taken up the subject, and
pursued it in a spirit difiVre t from theirs. _ They
aad vast ardor and multiplied their experiments
with singular zeall but they had little acuteness
ind blundered upon the truths tbey discovered.
Duraye'a mind was of a different order : he-made
a lessnumber of experiments but the few ho did
make led to results of far greater impoitauee.
rbe liest was the capita: fact that there are two
kinds ?f Electricity; this Dufuye clearly showed.
If you nth a piece of sk-alin? wax and hold it to
alight body i; will attract it, while glass being
nhh-d repels it. Bjtti were electrified, and Gray
md VVncetcr supposod that both were electrified in
he same way. Dufayc believed that the electr.ci?
tes were possessed of opposite propertdesi The body
ituacted by the sealing wax was repelled by the
;!hss; while itie sealttig wax and th.- trla-s at
racted each other. T'r.ii wa* the first grand dis
tovery made by Dofiaye.
Gray a::d Wheelei discovered that some bodies
rere conductors and others non-conductors. A*
in immediate consequence of this, an important
practica] tact ensued. It" a body be electrified.
there is a co.nin'tal tendency in the fluid to escape,
and it will be- entirely Inn if any body ?taniing
' upon ttie floor be placed in contact with the elee
i tnr.ed body. Gray and Wheeler saw that this put
in ?< rL* hand* of the ele.-trician a vast and extra
j ordinary power?:ne power of arrea-ing tne fluid?
' and oornpeiing i'? presence?of keeping i' under
his bands until he can submit it to the *-lo-5*?-?t ex
j periments. This i* the power of insulation. Sup
; pose a metallic ball be highly charged and you wish
j tti keep it half an hour, how i= it t.> be d"rip ? By
I tne discovery of Gray ar.d Wheeler, it muu be
' ^iiaf>?nd?-fi by a -ilk thread or flared upon gla?#.
I I i.,j;.v at once seized upon th ? and *aid. ? Now
! we have the meat * of arresting this fluid and of
compelling it to submit to the s*?ver*?t cross-exam?
ination.' Dufnye roa?oned farther : we k:.ox that
! it a body be electrified th<* electneitv in escaping
will make itself visible by spark?. Now we know
that the boiies of anim ill are capable of being
; charged with the fluid. If then. ?atd Dufaye, we
i can man??- to charge the p-rson of a man and
preveM the floid from escaping, we may draw a
sptrktrotn him. With this plan in it - bead, Du?
faye: went to tne Abbe Noi.let and disclosed his
bedef that the human body might be charged.?
J N i let laughed at him, a- it the plan could onlv ex
[ i-t in the head of a crack-brained cnthusi i-: D i
I fnye, h iwever, persevered, and th y a^ic-l h tr\
I the experiment. They went to work clumsily in
t-dlowing out tiie discovery of Gray anl W n?i?ler.
* Now,* said Dufaye, ' I'll suspend my body by
I silk cords: it shall Iben be electrifieJ,and you may j
[ try ts obtain the spark.' Ii was agreed, nod Du
faye was dulj hanged with silk Electrical ma?
chine* not having been invented, a glas* tube wa
tubbed nr,d av fast us electricity was evolved it
was c?mmunicntrd \>< the suspended Dufaje.?
When it was thought thai the philosopher w;,s
suliicicniiy charged, Noilet presented his knuckle
to bis cheek, and bend.I a bright spurk pa*-ed
Irotii one philosopher to the other! I bis to us is
sutTiitieutly amusing, because with us at th? present
time, it is done every day; then, however, it was
unknown and on being published, ail Europe was
astonished at the wonderful phenomenon.
fin- epoch at which the circumstances of Elec?
tricity were gradually unfolded was from I7'!u to
17-11?. The process of extorting truth fr im Nature
is extremely slow, ?-id in fourteen or fifteen vears
**? is surprising see how little real truth was de?
veloped. The H i\h! Society of London his al?
ways keen remarkable f(,r ihe zeal with which
it lu- engaged in the propagation of scientific
knowledge. The Secretary has usually been n
man who, without any extraordinary pewers of
mind, hm possessed a sitruij- love ul information
and an ardent desire for its diffusion. Tne Secre?
tary, at the time of which I am speaking, was n
Mr. Collinson, u name now almost unknown. At
this period also, that is. in 171 i, Philadelphia pos?
sessed Kkankli.n, then unknown except ?th in ?
laboring as u print, r in that city. There was then
in Pnilsdelphia a Literary ami Philosophical So?
ciety?either the same as that which now exists,
or one out of which it sprung. It has Ion? bee
the laudable objc ? ? of the Royal Society of London
to call togeibcr scientific minds, ami m promote
communication between scientific bodies ull m -i
the world, ami thus to aid in the devclopement "it
trudi und of valuable facts in Science and the
Ar s. When the circumstances I bare recounted
attiacted general n nice, Collinson ?nt over to the
Philosophical .Society of Philadelphia one of the
?la>s tubes u-r-d in electrical experiments, with
written instructions ns to the mode of using it.
When it arrived, the few whose business allowed
them to know or cure nny thing about the subject,
which then had scarcely been beard of in thi.
country, said to Franklin, ' Hero is u letter from
this gentleman with a glass tube; look at your
iei.uro and see what yen can make of it.' Frank?
lin to.ik it in hand in June, 17 17; and with
that singular ardor of mind, that extraordinary
?/eul and enthusiasm of character which marked
tin; whole life of Franklin, and which made
with him the taking up of any question and
the pursuit of it to its extreme limit*, one ai d
the same thing, within a week he had repeated a:i
th- experiments ever made ut on the subject, ar.d
placed himself in a position to push his inquiries
beyond the point the same subject bail reache I in
Europe.
lu October be commenced a correspondence
with Colli s in. and between 17 17 ami 17;V2 this
was continued on all convenient occasions in a
series of letters which, like ober -cientilic writ
rig-, were not appreciated at tir-t but afterwards
were highly estimated, and raised Frank in !?? tl
highest rank of philosophers. Ttiat extreme * i
gacity, that instinct ( nr I can call it nothing else)
which enables philosophical minds to go on before
experience and in advance of their age.aud to behold
?he' shadows of coming events,'enabled Franklin
to see what distant vears ulone developed; and
wi;h that simplicity ef mind, that unbounded arc >r
and disregard as to who might be deemed the .1 -?
covcrei of nnv great and important truth, so it
were only made known, he communicated to C d
linson his belief that electricity mid lightning
were the sune. and proposed to draw the fluid
from the clouds l itis letter was read before the
Royal Society ut" London arid was received by the
usually grave philosophers, the members of that
body, with shouts of laughtei ' ft was suffered
to pass by unnoticed; ni one cared to n,k his
reputation for sanity by even mentioning thi- ludi?
crous fancy-flighr, and Franklin was in no danger
of being anticipated in his discoveries or of t: tv ng
its merits claimed b_\ the members of the Royal
Society.
Meanwhile Franklin quietly proceeded in his in?
vestigations. Tne tirsr conclu-ion ot his research?
es, urnved at about the year 17-13, was the basis
of his famous theory of Electricity?a theory w hich
ha? not stood the te;t of li r.e, and has indeed, al?
most laden to the ground, a noble and wonderful
w reck. The theor\ deserv.-* notice not manly on
it* own account, but because of the extreme beau?
ty of ih" reasoning and experiments on which it
w as !>a?cd. (Jne of the first experiment* we- tbi- :
Two p.-rion*. A and B. stood upon two insulated
stools: in the hands of A was placed a glass tobe,
w hich was electrified by attrition. H ine-i t inched
the tube and received a portion of the electricity.
Consequently li had an e-xces* of the fluid?more
than wa? natural, while A had le-s. Tue ; r icess
w as r.'peated until B w as sur-charged i whi e A
Lst a 1 B received it from bim. Tin* done, a third
person presentee, hi* knuekie to B and received a
?park?from B's .urplus?of electricity. e? was to
be expected. Another etTect was exhtbifed: when
the knu kle was presented to A, who had lost his
electricity, sparks w.-rr likewise exhibited. W ell,
thi* was explained by Franklin thus: in the ririt
eise, when I lourh B 1 receive electricity from his
surpiu?. and hence the s.-ark : in the second, when
I touch A, I comma licate to him part of my own
received from the Earth, the common reservoir ot
eh) trieity.
Upon this was based his theory, which was this:
ij.7 bodies are endowed 't-ith a certain, quantity oj
electricity ; if they hire more than their nJt'iral
quantity they are electrified positively; if less,
negatively: This famous theory of a single Hutu,
??ailed the Fra-.klimari theory, wa* almost univer?
sally received in England and the United Stale* :
ijut it never obtained general acceptation on tr.e
Continent of Europe, and the old pnntiple of Da?
tive, of two tluids, was still retained in France and
the other continental Kingdom-. The two theo?
ries had their advocates for a long while, and with
3??2\tfi&, DC< EITCBER 92, 1841.
; in my *wn time public opinion wsa divided. B'j
; w hen Frar.k in'? tbevry w?j brought under the s*
j vere scrutiny of rriathematic-, ss it his !?eer. withii
! tlie ia-t 20 year*, by prvcr-;es I rn-r.i not now ex
! ; la;n. :t was found that tVere were circ rritar.ee
I for wtiich it would r.ot suffice ; hut which couh
? easily be explained by the theory of two fluids
which are often called ;fae vitreous and rrsinout
I electri i;i--. I shall then take it for gran-ed thai
I the rmthematical world concur in rejecting Frank?
lin's theory : and trie theory prevails that there ar?
two llaidsof opposite properties, the natnral ?t?te o!
which i? in combination.
The theory of Frank in, if i: ha* be:r. rejected,
has beer, made respectable by its beamy and inge?
nuity ; for it is scarcely possible to mention in thu
history of hypotheses a theory so ir.geni i- i ;
elegant. And still greater will be our admiral. >n
when we consider tha: it was not the product of a
scientific mind. Look ar the dite-rence between
Franklin and Newton; the one was reared in
the most profound mathematical university in the
world: his associates were mathematicians and
philosophers; his emulation was -limuUted by
thc-tr tivhlry, and his mird urged farther inquiry
by their daily converse. Surrounded by these ad?
vantages; it is impossible t<* say what lights he de?
rived ftom their influence. How different was it
with Franklin! Reared here, three thousand miles
from all seien:.ti.- pursuits, to matters of business,
first as a tallow-chandlers apprentice, then as a
printer, the w.n.ier is not ti.at he should have
formed -s beau ifui a theory, but to me it is almost
incomprehensible how he could have formed anv
ui all His was on? of these original minds,
stamped with the hi^heM, most far-seeing facul
! ties, and had it been cast ia i University and sub
jeeted to its discipline, it is haul to say w hat limits
would have placed a bar to his discoveries. His
j theory, now demolished, however, is hut a small
J part of his valuable contributions t<? the cause of
! Science.
In Leyden, the celebrated Professoi Muschen
rroei k, with h friend ll tri ed CuNElJS, a id a mo.ik,
Kt.eut, pursued their i.iI o-s together on subjects
which were attracting so much attention, and in
the course of their studies tbey fell upon a discove?
ry ol remarkable importance, and the circumstan?
ces attending it were of prof und interest. The
effect produced by the passage of a s;iark from an
electrified hodv wu? understood to be a pungent,
slightly painful sensation. It occurred to Mus
chenhroeck, or one of the three, what effect would
lie jo ...!u if a stronger influence could be ob?
tained; if a -park produced this ic.ult, what
would be i do effect ofn powerten, twelve or twen?
ty times as great. But toe question arose ii iw to
try this experiment ; with philosophical acumen
ihey judged that if they could contrive to get n
go >d recipient &f the electricity, and manage to in?
sulate it, t':ey might then accomplish their object.
But how should this be dornt' Une of them said
that water was a g-oj recipient, nud glass will
guard it, becasse the fluid cannot pass through
glass. ? Now," ?nid ihey. ' why not pour wain
into a glass jar, and impart the electricity to the
water / ii must remain there?the water will be
charged, ans1 wc will yet a ?hock a hundred limes
us great as usual.' This u.is ull just and philoso?
phical, and on this reasoning they proceeded. The
jar wa. partly filled with water; Muscbenbroeck
took ii into his hands; a metallic wire was Ie
down int- the water, by which the electricity was
communicated to the tl-jid. Mnschenbroeck, hold?
ing the jar in one hand after the water was charged,
touched the metallic wire with the other. He re?
ceived ti ?hock from winch be said he suffered iu >re
than liom any pain he ever before experienced :
and he declared that for the whole kingdom ol
Fiance be would ri..t tepeat the experiment. He
was even thrown into convulsions, und nothing
c mid ever induce him to try it again.
The astonishment which filled all Europe when
this was published was unqualified. Philosophers
hardly da ed to repeat the experiment, but gradu
a ly they became n assured, and M. A! a n-:d d d
repeat it. His sufferings, in consequence, were
quite equal to those of Musvbenb eck : he e'e flared
mat bo should lose the use of his arms; he was
seized with convulsions und a violent bleeding at
tile nose, and suffered in various other ways ?
Wincklcr was the next to try the experiment, and
he suffered in the same manner. Wirb u mixture
of the cuti wiry of her iex ar..l the courage of ours,
Madam- VVtnckler next attempted it, ami wa?
s.- zed with the same pains. Her curiosity, how
'? e-er, soon got the better of her fears, and she re
I e :t.-.l the trial; with the -am.- result-. We know
now that the cause of these sufferings was nothing
else than fear ami the imagination. These expe?
riments sooa spread ali over the civilized world,
j and soon passed from the hands ol philosophers to
[ those of charlatans and jugglers.
Meanwhile the philosophical ?nquiriej werepro
? ?? d and it is interesting to note the struggles
! with v.l.ich Truth comes into the world?the tiur.es
and pains is ;'.:i which the infant tirsr gets into being.
The theory of the Leyden phial was soon explaii ed
to depend upon the presence of the two fluids.
The innet bikI outer coats are separated bv the
glass. Suppose the wire connected with the inner
a ating to >i: touched to a conductor charged w ith
positive electricity: the positive fluid goes to the
inner coat artd exerts an attraction and repulsion
Upon the outer coating. This is a point of the
las importance, and 1 must ask for it your closest
attention. The outside of the iar and the hand in
c intact with it are in th.-ir n aii.nl state; the posi?
tive electricity on the inside drive- off the positive
contained on the outside, through the hand an.-J
person, to the earth, while it attracts towarls i -
self the negative. Th;s i* the physical law. for
which we ran rive no reason; If you ask why it
is so, 1 can only say. that you ktn.w as much atom
it as I do or anv one else. It is one of those ulti?
mate facts which depend upon experience only
Th" consequence of this action going on is, that
the outside coating is charged with negative and
the inner w ith positive, electricity. Tn?* glas* will
not aiiuw- .them to combine; it stand- like a senti?
nel with fixed bay one: to pr v n: ;! e> uni in. If
a connection be formed in any way, the two fluids
will rush together Now Mnschenbroeck h*ld the
..?it- :.- in one hand and tnuehstd the wire with the
other. The instant this was done a connection
was formed, and the fluids rushed together through
his body. All the mighty effects experienced by
this sh-i.-k, ir must be remembered, were prodnr. d
bv a jar not larger tnan a common tumbler. Mus?
cbenbroeck r.ever su?j>ected 'hat l.is hand had any
thing to .1 ? with tie eff ct; he held the jar in hi*
hand merely for convenience. Now mark the cu?
rious slowness with which the truth was developed.
When the experiment was first known, a cer a:n
Dr. Bevis, a most acute electrician, less knewn
than he deserves to he. gave his attention to the
c'rcunistsnces attending it. He observed that
wb in the w hole of the external surface of the ja<
v ,1- wi t no eff-ct was prod deed : when the lowet
pin onlv was wet ths effect was marked. He
suspected immediately that the hand bid some
thi.-ic to dd with the result, and bifan to co.ts dei
. k :. r it did nor act a conductor. He rirst
found a peri in wt.L a larger hand at.J found th<
effect increased. He then wrvpped a ?heet oi
meia! nr l?nd the jtr, thus virtually enlarging ihf
hard: the effect was inrreised in proportion t
the increased surface- This showed conclusivel;
that the hand only acted as a conductor. Tb
nest qufi im wa? what office dii ih? water insidi
perform I Was it a recipient of the electricity
If so twice aa much water should pve twice a
ICE NO. 30 ANN-STREET.
VOL. I. *0. 219
' severe a snocK?which was no: the ca-c It was
. ? aTi than that it performed no ?ther part than to
! carry fie influence t.j the i.m.rr surface of the jar.
He then coated ibis inner surface and* his expert
' merit was completely successful He then went a
i ?top {arther and ascertained that the form of the
in-- was unessential; for met.il being iaid upon
; ? ach side ot" a common pane of g!a?s, the exp?ri
rnent was as successful in thi* .-ase as is the other.
I/>??-?? developements were the work of considera?
ble dme and involved the experience of the rir-t
minds of the day. So ditR-uit w-n* it to tittd this
; single grain of tni'h.
These Experiment* at Levdernpon renche.1 L-n
I don <ind were communicated to Franklin, who re
pt tied th-m ana endeavored to explain the results
I by Iiis theory.
Dr. L.tRBNER here announced that for lack of
t:rr.o he -houii postpone the conclusion of the sub
ect : Electricityuntil the next evening and then
after an intermission of fifteen minutes proceeded
to retnatk as follows upon
The St*.
The subject from Astronomy, Ladies and Gentle?
men, wh ch I have chosen f.sr tr,is evening's Lec?
ture i? The ijuu? an object than which there is
none more familiar and u'l mt which there is yet
such a lack of correct knowledge. This.ignor?
ance it I must use an unp!oa*ing term, t- by no
means confined to popular assemblies, since it is
only ten or twelve years since the most remarkable
circumstance concerning the Sa?, and tt e one
which first -tr.k-* the attention, bus been known
even bv philosophers. You are all familiar with the
observation of persons but little versed in Astrono?
my . that Pie Sun is nearer to the Kurth in wintet
tnan in summer, a truth easily explained by 'he
fact that the Earth moves in an oval orbit, the Sun
being in one of the two fo:i. The Full, ui-.e
#ireu"h t. at portion of tts orbit wbicb is neap ?>
be S .:. during tne. winter months; and as tiie dis 1
tance diminishes, it clear that the Sun in a given
tune imparts more beat i:i winter than in summer.
The reverse w ill evidently be the ca-e in the othci
hemisphere This subject was not investigated
thoroughly until about t? n y.-nrs since. Poisson,
a French philosopher, closely lifted the question
anil Las shown that the heat does not vurv mereh
with the change of distance and that there is no
more heat imparted in winter than in summer.
Tni- tact remained unexplained until 1830, so that
we may see that whatever reproach attaches to ig?
norance on this cubject, philosophers are by no
means free front it. Poisson said?tute the Earth
is nearei the Sun from Autumn until 3pn g than
from Spring ml Autumn ; therefore in a given time
the Sun will impart more heat daring the f?rmei
Ii.in the lauer-pace. Bat it must be lion re in mind
that the Earth takes a shorter time in passing
around hi Winter than its Summer circuit; and
although the li'-ul p->r diem is greater when the
Earth La nearest than when rnist distant from the
Sun, s:j|| the number of days is less; the .pinntiiv
giv, n during one segment will be greater than dur?
ing the other because tue number of days occupied
tu passing is grca'er.
Poisson, by an ingenious mathematical analysis,
showed ibut these two influences compensate each
other; that the increase of heat caused by the
diminution of distance is corrected b) the accelera?
te m in mot on. Thus time ami space mutually
compet.-ate euch other; and it is a mistaken no
?i in that m?re heat is impntted to the earth in
winter than in summer: the amount being juvt
the rame.
Now the real source ni greater bent du ring the
??immer uii?es. not from URVchange in the distance,
b it (mm tt i- : that the rays fall more perpendicu?
larly upo i tli<- surface at one season than at th
other., If the rays of light be supposed to fall
upon it board placed cbliqu -ly to them, the sur
face will receive only a p otion >'f the rays; whili
if it be placed iu a direction perpendicular to that
of the rays, it will receive the whole. The -am
noiJs true of heat; and carrying ir out with respect
to the Earih, WC ?ee that during the summer the
north pule .euns toward the Sun. ami his beams
fa I nearly perpendicular upon the surface ; in wir.
tei the pole ;s turrn-J away, and the ruys fall
obliquely.
Thi? principle explains why ther.? is mare heat
in summer than in winter. Therr is one other
point of some interest in n popular explanation ot
tins subject. Vou would naturally suppose, from
what 1 have said, that the day when the Sun'
mys In I in a direction exactly perpundicuiar upon
ihe Earth, must of necessity be th.: hottest day.
Li p trpendii ul rit. ami proximity be the sole causi s
of variation in temperature, then the h"tie,t da)
should tie trie longest?the 21st day of June. But
this is nor go : the hottest days do not occur unfit
the log day ?considerably later than the 21st ol
June. I'liis, then, appears incompatible with the
principle ju,t stated. This point requires explana?
tion widen maj easily be giien. The heat of the
weather depends not altogether on the obliquity of
ihe Sun's ray- The heat on a girer. day depends
nri its obliquity; but if we take the Earth tie>m
sunrise one day to sunri'C the next, we rind that
during the day the Sun deposits upon the Earth
and ul! i,h;eets upon its surface a certain am-tun:
of heat which, during the night, is more or less
completely dissipated. As in midsummer the
nights are'shorter than the days, the loss during
the right is not sn grrat as the acquisition during
the day; so that during the twenty-four hour* theie
is on the whole an acqui.ition ot* beut. Huh ihi
acquisition the next day commences, during which
the same proce-s is gone through * ith. and ano'her
certain amount of h-at is acquired during the da;,
over ihe loss during the i.ighr- The same thing
Occurs during every day while the i.igh s ae
ehortei ti.an the day*. We thus may ketp a debi
and credit account between day and night?the
balance being in favor of heat. Thi* would only
continue wi.il: the loss during the night wa? less
than tiie a.-.piisiiion during tne day ; and alter the
nights became loager and the days gradually 1
?a irter, this would come to pas*, that tho heat lorn
during the night would just equal that deposited
during the day. and our balance would be nothing. 1
Tn.-n would occur the hottest day, and this tak< s ;
-.dace during the dog days. The same reasoning j
would evidently apply to the coldness of the w inter
months. The 21st of December, which i? the
shortest, is not the ooide*' day. The degree if!
cjld is equal to the excess of the loss of heat
d trin : toe night over the increase during the day.
Tne balance i, thus in favor of the cold.
We n iw ..ome to consider the Sun. concerning
which I snail have many observations to make.?
The physical constitution of the San is only known
in car- tut observation, and you naturally a*k how
it ca.-i be examined, since its splendor is so intense
a? utterly to de-troy the unprotected organ of vi?
sion. Tnere is nothing more easy tnan to protect
trie e t.v a piece of colored glass. With this pro?
tection the Sim may be submitted to the closest
scrutiny. The r.i-st question which suggests itseit
is evi lently to get at an estimate of it- brigntr.es*.
i: we w;-t tv obtain an estimate of its brightness
to an observer a: tho Sun, we may suppose the
whole heavens to be an immense Sun?fro? the
..enith to the horizon covered entirely with the so?
lar surface. The light would the.-, be equal to tne
light of the Sua to a person placed on its
end the proportion between that light and the
? Sun** lighi to us, would be the same as the propor?
tion between the magnitude of the . -lax firmnerd
' we have.,ust supposed and our Sun: wn.ch is as
300,000 to t.
11 fen we exan-ire th- Sun through s Telescope*.
'? b, i.i .. ... j , v...,. . , , >, ;. ,. ,
l V ? ?:- ??'????r.* ,U
c*>j.*c drawing ol >.;; m.j, re exhibited.]_
njeseire l ab ? ic girtu and it, - i -.^ri,ti.?n-?:
"?vsmettmes Sua t. v.--. without sp u, and at
? i bers their number is sm.ll; tb. y cnbres* and di
mtnt>b; and seldom Us: m re than sixty or seventy
iiy?, mi asually not .<? lung. Tnese - are
tiscovenrd chiefly alo g the horixoatal iii.i-r.eter of
the Son, and never more titan thirty degree- above
-r below it. If they be watched from day to day,
they will be seen to shift trieir position*, 01" appear*
| ing on ore side and re-appearing on the other.?
. Huts we know that the Sun revolves on its axis,
' and it* time is known to be twenty-five and a half
otoar days.
A caretuJ examination of the>e spot! shows their
1 variable character. *Ve shail find that they di?
mmish in magnitude until, after a time, they en?
tirely disappear; others come in their places .' and
".has they come and go. augmenting and d minish
tng wirh more or less rapidity As we know the
diameter of the Sun. we can easily calculate the
?ite ??!"the spots; and ir an* be n found that many
ot them cover a ?surface four or five times as great
as the whole surface of the Earth. Let me ob?
serve here that tnes.- spots are eastlv seen bi ordi?
nary telescopes; all tha' ia necessary to guard the
sight is to interpose between the eye and eye-glass
a colored or sm.wked g; i?.
The number ot spots to be seen varies greatly at
different times, the surface of the Sun being some?
times largely cover, d." The most remaikah e case
on record is that which commenced A 1) ?3?.
when it is recorded that tor fourteen months the
light ot the Sun was greatly lessened, so a- t- cause
a perpetual tw ilight, by teason of the spot- on it*
surface. In 626, it is recorded that the S m was
half covered. In 177!?. and again in 1795, im?
mense spots of from 60,000 to 7U.000 miles ?cr >ss
wen* discovered. On the 'Jtfih of August. 1805, a
remarkable appearance was noticed: leu spots
vere seen to coalesce and form on-* enormous
>iack spot on the Sun'? surface. I; is fouid hat
:i disappearing, the edges of the spots approach
their centre at the rate of about a thousand miles
a day.
Now the questions of most interest connected
with this subject are, what is the physical consii.
itui .n of the S in, and what causes I be s. et- I Se
reral suppositions have been advanced Laplace
'UppOSed that the surface ot the Sun is covered
with volcanoes, and that the solar light is nothing
-in the splendor of these volcanic fires thrown to
a e. and that ttie spot- are Crmttrt S r
William Herschell advanced a theoiy, the ie.
..; .?: tttoiv careful study, and ba-ed more upon
i.i ?; tvuiulio , w hti b. moreover, is now
rally received Herschell supposed the Sun
o he mi opaque, non-luminous globe, giving of.it*
?elf no light; that it i* surrouud.il by a thick at
nospbere of flame w hich floats upon it a* the
tcean or air upon the Earth. If we suppose our
iimosphere to lie flaming lire surrounding the
Earth, it will represent what Herschell supposed
he atmosphere ol the Sun to be. He accounts for
he -pots by supposing tiiem t- be the naked ground
if the Sun, seen tluoiigh openings or cat hit** in
he atmosphere, having sides sloping downwards,
fheir disappearance, he believed, was caused by
he flowing in upon them of the fiery ocean by
?hieb they were surrounded. Accurate observe
ion has confirmed these conjectures.
It' we suppose the spots to be hollows nml ihn
?Ige a shelving sutface, when it comes to the edge
?f the Sun, by reason of its convexity, the eye is
lirei ted along tbe surface ??? that the penumbra on
iie inner edge will in artistical lunguage \yfor*
Jan tened. This is the fact as may he delei mined
.7 observation. When it comes to the edge it will
lisappear. But we have a -still more decisive proof
hat these are hollows. When they come to the
ilge of the Sun iheyare seen sideways, of course,
is the projection of light conceals the bottom.?
I'hey must then disappear a* is actually the ea??.
The assertion of Herschell then, that iheyare rav
? ie* anpi res the character of a demonstration.
It i- not necessary to assume, although ih-'-e
?p. ts appear black, when seen through a telescope
' tat they are really non-luminous. The Eye judged
iy contrast. If we behold a very luminous object
tnd near if another considerably less brilliant, the
after may appear almost, opaque in comparison,
rhere is a light which has bee i cat led the oxy>hydro;
;en light, eompo.e.l of a hall of quicksilver excited
0 a flame by the oxygon and hydrogen gases. This
?ail when heated as much n* it i* possible for iih
' iral bodies to he, becomes so luminous that th ?eve
ann - Leai to look upon it. Such light* ate often
ised as signals in great surveys and I have known
1 case in which one of them on the top of a moiin
ain -10 miles iii-tatit wasdistinctly visible, although
he mountain vvas enveloped in mist. Now mark
hi-; this hall of lire?so very luminou*?ha* been ??*
laid between the live and the Sun so ns to be seen
injected on the Sun's disc and when so seen it
ippeared intensely black. Not that there was
in change in its absolute splendor, but the Eye
? mtra.ting ir with the greater splendor ol the
iun, the retina became insensible to that which
-I re I could notbehhld without pttiu. This may
onvince u. I Suit these Solar Spots which appear
lark to us may in r-aiiiy he as hnght a* this oxy
ivdroeen liebr.
[INSURANCE._
yUli HOW.Mi it l!N*tnt.l.*i( E ?,'0.?
? l'apil il 1300 000 , f.tfico No. '--i ?Vall ,t. ThuCom
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DIRECTORS
R. assolaer Havens, William Couch,
Najsh Tavlar. B L. Wool ay,
f'orne ms W Lawrence, Micah Baldwin,
J. Pniili|>. Pbotaix, Naihaaiel Weed,
Joiu Mo r son. PaanineC Tucker,
Jj-rph B. Varaum, Meiy. D. Be.sjan.in,
David Las, John R tukin,
Caleb <). Halstest, John u. Wolfe,
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It. HAVENS, President.
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