1899.] SELLEKS — TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY BY ELECTRICITY, ol 



was the beginning of the American Philosophical Society. Some 

 time between 1747 and 1750 Mr. Philip Syng^ is credited with 

 designing a glass globe electrical machine.- One of these electrical 

 machines, in perfect order, said to have been the one Franklin 

 made the most use of, is among the highly prized relics owned by 

 the Franklin Institute in this city. All of us who have used electri- 

 cal apparatus can appreciate the value of Mr. Syng's invention and 

 the help it afforded to Franklin in his experiments. Franklin was, 

 like Prof. Michael Faraday, an experimenter. Neither of these 

 two great men possessed the mathematical habit of thought that 

 distinguished so many philosophers before and since their time ; 

 both based all their knowledge on succcessful experiments. 



In 1752 Franklin wrote to his friend in London, Mr. Collin- 

 son, expressing his grounds for belief in the identity of electricity 

 and lightning. It matters but little now that this important letter 

 was not deemed worth publishing in the Tratisaciions of the Royal 

 Society. Soon after it was received, however. Dr. Fothergill sug- 

 gested its separate publication . Franklin' s d isco very thus reached and 

 deeply interested Count de Buffon. It was translated into French, 

 and was read by most learned men of -the day. This remarkable and 

 extensive recognition of the discovery induced the Royal Society in 

 1753, one year later, to make Dr. Franklin a member, without 

 waiting for any formal application in the usual course, and without 

 the payment of any fee or dues as a member. He was also hon- 

 ored the same year with the Copley gold medal for his discovery. 

 Sir Humphrey Davy wrote of Dr. Franklin, in reference to his work, 

 that ''a singular facility of induction guided all his researches, and 

 by very simple means he established very great truths. The style 

 and manner of his publications are almost as worthy of admiration 



as the doctrines they contain He has written equally for 



the uninitiated and for the philosopher." 



Franklin's discovery, whether made by means of a kite in Phil- 

 adelphia or by lightning rods in France, was turned to important 

 use by his suggested protection of buildings from the effects of 

 lightning, from ''thunderbolts," or from the so-called electric fire 

 of the clouds. 



1 Mr. Philip S. P. Conner says that Philip Syng in Franklin's time was a gold- 

 smith. 



2 One such globe, mounted on an axle and provided with a driving pulley, 

 was exhibited, belonging to the cabinet of the Society. 



