Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 581 



to think, that, from the enormous vegetation in certain parts of the 

 globe, they must exert some influence on the electric phsenomena of 

 the atmosphere. — Bihliotheque Universelle de Geneve, Tfec. 185()._^ ,^^^ 



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AN INSTANCE OF_THB^,^]EXBI.OPMENT Oi' ELECTRICAL ACTION 1% 



igsv lo eniaJe adJ ni'gJng'^irACTQBfYi, ; ; gi aiadT 



"'Myatte^^dn'ivk^'V^cen'tTy ditected to an Instance of tlie' develop- 

 ment of electrical action in a factory of this city that seems worth 

 recording. 



The floors of this factory are laid with asphalt on arches of corru- 

 gated iron. The arches are sprung between cast-iron cross-beams, 

 supported in the middle of their length by columns of the same mate- 

 rial ; and at the ends by the side- walls of the building, as in other 

 fire-proof structures of the kind. It is observed, that when the ma- 

 chinery of the factory is in action, there is a development of elec- 

 tricity in some of the aj)artments, and so strong as to be troublesome 

 to the workers. In one room especially, to which my attention was 

 chiefly directed, the accumulation of the fluid is so considerable, that 

 it has been found necessary to protect the work-people from the acci- 

 dental shocks they were now and again receiving, by connecting the 

 machines with the iron columns of the building. 



In this room there is a cast-iron lathe-shears of about twenty-five 

 feet in length, mounted with half-a-dozen small heads for wood- 

 turning. The spindles have consequently a high velocity, and are 

 driven by leather belts in the usual way. The counter- shafts are 

 suspended by gallowses from a continuous runner of plank, techni- 

 cally grounds, attached by bolts to the iron beams of the floor above ; 

 and derive their motion by leather belts passing to pulleys on the 

 main line of shafting of the room. The shears are supj)orted on iron 

 standards, which rest on the asphalt floor. 



Some experimental observations were made on the electrical con- 

 dition of this machine wlien only three of the heads were in action. 

 On breaking the connexion between the lathe and the column, by 

 removing the wire with which they are usually connected for the pro- 

 tection of the workers, and allowing the electricity to accumulate for a 

 few seconds, a pretty smart shock was experienced by the operator 

 on his re-establishing the circuit by resting one hand on the shears 

 and extending the other into contact with the column. When the 

 end of tiie connecting wire was held at a distance of about one- 

 twelfth of an inch from the column, the intermediate sj)ace was 

 constantly luminous ; at greater distances, the pas.=age of the fluid 

 was intermittent ; but even at one-fourth of an inch the succession 

 of sparks was very rajjid. A very delicate multiplicator placed in 

 the current was not sensibly affected ; and no deposition of copper 

 from tlic solution of sulpliate was eftected by it in half-an-hour. 

 But an electro-magnet, when placed in the current, ac(piired con- 

 siderable intensity, and acted powerfully on the needle of the raul,- 

 tiplicator, and likewise on that of a tangent compass. p 



