246 ELEMENTS OF ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM. 



the page. On account of the torque action between the cells, as 

 explained in connection with Fig. 175, energy will be transferred 

 to the right (or left) by each horizontal chain of geared cells at a 

 rate which is proportional to the product of the intensity of the 

 magnetic field and the intensity of the electric field ; and the energy 

 per second flowing across an area (of which the normal is perpen- 

 dicular to both electric field and magnetic field) is proportional to 

 the product of the respective field intensities and proportional to 

 the area, inasmuch as the area is proportional to the number of 

 rows of cells which are acting as chains of gear wheels. There- 

 fore the energy stream, that is, energy per unit area per second, 

 is proportional to the product of magnetic and electric field inten- 

 sities and it is at right angles to both. 



139. The electric current. Consider a wire AB, Fig. 177, 

 along which an electric current is flowing from B towards A. 



The magnetic field on oppo- 

 site sides of AB is in opposite 

 directions, so that the positive 

 ether cells at p and p 1 are 

 rotating in opposite directions 

 as shown. An electric cur- 

 rent may be maintained for 

 an indefinite length of time, 

 p te- 177 - but the opposite rotation of 



positive ether cells on the two sides of AB, Fig. 177, cannot 

 be accommodated by an ever-increasing ether distortion (distor- 

 tion of the rubber-like teeth of the ether cells as shown in Fig. 

 172), there must be a slip between adjacent cells somewhere be- 

 tween/ and /'. This slip between adjacent ether cells takes place 

 in the material of the wire and constitutes an electric current. 



Steady electric currents flow in closed circuits. Let AB, Fig. 

 178, be a wire * in which a steady electric current is flowing from 



*In Fig. 178, as in all subsequent figures, a wire is to be thought of as an indefi- 

 nitely broad metal sheet, because the cellular conception of the ether is not adapted to 

 three dimensions. 



