ELECTROCUTION 



quicker and increased yields ; let- 

 tuce benefiting in so remarkable 

 a way that the system has been 

 adopted commercially in the States 

 for the production of forced lettuce 

 for supplies when the ordinary pro- 

 duct is not available. Alternating 

 current would appear to be better 

 than direct or continuous when 

 used to electrify the atmosphere. 



In Great Britain important ex- 

 periments have been carried on 

 for some years, particularly in the 

 S. of Scotland, and have given 

 very remarkable results. The 

 method chiefly employed has been 

 to electrify the atmosphere imme- 

 diately above the plants by means 

 of a network, or rows, of wire 

 stretched from poles at a height of 

 about 7 ft., through which a cur- 

 rent of electricity was passed at a 

 tension of not less than 50 volts. 

 The current is not continuously 

 applied, but is given for an hour 

 or two at a time at regular inter- 

 vals. In 1916 one acre in a field of 

 nine acres under oats was so 

 treated, with the result that the 

 electrified acre gave a yield of 20 

 bushels of grain, say 840 lb., over 

 the average yield of the rest of the 

 field ; while the yield of straw was 

 increased by over 80 p.c. 



Hence it would appear that the 

 possibilities in connexion with 

 electro-culture are very great ; 

 but so far it has not been shown 

 that the process is likely to be 

 commercially successful when car- 

 ried out on a large scale. The cost 

 of the current is considerable, and 

 the cost of installing and maintain- 

 ing the plant is high. In countries, 

 however, where, owing to abun- 

 dant water power, electricity can 

 be produced very cheaply, as in 

 Scandinavia, Switzerland, the S. of 

 France, Italy, Tasmania, the nor- 

 thern and western states of America 

 and Canada, and probably India, 

 it is possible that electro -culture 

 could be successfully practised over 

 considerable areas. See Agricul- 

 ture; Crops. 



Electrocution. American term 

 for death from electrical shock. It 

 is an attempt to combine the old 

 term execution with the word 

 electricity, but it is expressive and 

 has now taken its place in the 

 English language. Electrocution of 

 criminals was proposed with a view 

 to avoiding the more revolting and 

 objectionable features which are 

 necessarily associated with any me- 

 thod of hanging, and still more with 

 decapitation, and was first adopted 

 by the state of New York in 1890, 

 the first criminal to be electrocuted 

 being William Kemmler, who suf- 

 fered this penalty, Aug. 6 of that 

 year. The method has since been 

 adopted by other states of America. 



2853 



In carrying out the sentence the 

 condemned criminal is seated in a 

 special insulated chair, to which 

 he is firmly strapped. A cap is 

 placed on his head covering his 

 eyes, and containing a metal plate 

 which forms an electrode of the 

 electric circuit. The criminal's 

 head is shaved sufficiently to per- 

 mit a firm and close contact to be 

 made ; the other electrode, another 

 metal plate, is strapped to the leg ; 

 the current thus passes through 

 the whole body, and while three 

 shocks are usually given, there 

 appears to be no doubt that on the 

 passing of the first shock, which is 

 only of two or three seconds dura- 

 tion, death is instantaneous and 

 quite painless. The strength of 

 the current used varies from 1,800 

 volts down to 200 volts. See 

 Capital Punishment. 



Electrode. Term applied to 

 the terminals of an electric cell. 

 Faraday distinguished the one by 

 which the current enters the cell 

 as the anode, and the one by which 

 it leaves the cathode. In an 

 electro-plating bath, the articles 

 being plated constitute one of the 

 electrodes of the bath. The term 

 is also applied to the two carbons 

 of an electric arc lamp and the 

 terminals of an electric furnace, 

 where one may be a rod of carbon, 

 and the other the metal container 

 of the furnace cell. 



Electro-deposition. This sub- 

 ject is considered under three 

 heads : electro -plating or electro- 

 gilding, in which one metal is per- 

 manently deposited on another, 

 either for protection against wear 

 or corrosive action, to give a 

 cheaper metal the appearance and 

 some of the properties of a more 

 valuable one, or for ornamenta- 

 tion ; secondly, electro-typing, in 

 which a metal is deposited on a 

 surface from which it is afterwards 

 removed ; and thirdly, electro- 

 metallurgy, where metals are re- 

 fined by causing a pure element to 

 be deposited on a metallic surface 

 while foreign elements are rejected 

 in an electrolytic bath. The physi- 

 cal action on which all these pro- 

 cesses depend is described under 

 electrolysis, while the processes 

 themselves are dealt with under 

 their respective headings. 



Electrodynamics. Term used 

 for the study of the laws of 

 electricity in motion. It first came 

 into prominence through A. M. 

 Ampere's treatise and investiga- 

 tions in 1820, when he laid down 

 the fundamental laws which govern 

 the science. He announced that 

 parallel conductors containing elec- 

 tric currents flowing in the same 

 direction attract one another, and 

 repel when the current is flowing in 



ELECTROLYSIS 



opposite directions. See Current, 

 Electric. 



Electrokinetics. Term applied 

 to that branch of the science of 

 electricity which treats of elec- 

 tricity in motion or current 

 electricity, as distinguished from 

 electrical charges merely, which 

 are the sphere of electrostatics. 

 It is a modern form of the older 

 term electrodynamics. . 



Electrolier. Name for a pen- 

 dant or type of hanging fitting 

 for use with electric lamps. See 

 Lighting, Electric. 



Electrolysis. Decomposition of 

 liquids by electric current. The 

 liquid which undergoes such action 

 is described as an electrolyte. In 

 the case of water it may be entirely 

 decomposed into its two elements, 

 oxygen and hydrogen, the gases 

 being liberated at opposite sides or 

 ends of the apparatus a cell in 

 which the operation is carried out. 

 In the case of solutions such, e.g., 

 as sulphate of copper in acidulated 

 water the decomposition may be 

 only partial, while under suitable 

 conditions, though decomposition 

 goes on. the state of saturation 



Electrolysis. Diagrammatic view of 



cell for decomposition of liquids by 



electric current. See text 



of the solution will be maintained 

 constant. 



The elements necessary for the 

 exhibition of this phenomenon are 

 shown in the accompanying dia- 

 gram, in which A is the container, 

 which must either be of a material 

 which is non-conducting electric- 

 ally or be insulated so that the 

 current of electricity will not pass 

 through it, while B, B 1 are two con- 

 ductors immersed in the liquid, 

 each being provided with an ar- 

 rangement by which it may be 

 connected to a source of electricity. 

 The combination constitutes a cell. 

 The current enters the cell at B, 

 which thus becomes the positive 

 pole or anode of the element, and, 

 after traversing the bath, escapes 

 at B 1 , which is thus the negative 

 pole or cathode, these poles being 

 distinguished by + and symbols. 



If the conductors be two strips 

 of platinum and the liquid water, 

 then, when the current passes, 

 oxygen is liberated at the surface 

 of the anode and hydrogen at the 

 surface of the cathode. The two 

 gases may be easily collected by an 



