ELECTRA 



1980 



ELECTRIC BATTERY 



returns had been sent to Washington, each 

 party advancing strong arguments for the legal- 

 ity of its returns in each state. The contentions 

 arose over the proper election of the Presi- 

 dential electors. Without the votes of the 

 disputed states, Samuel J. Tilden, the Demo- 

 cratic candidate, lacked only one vote of the 

 necessary majority, while Rutherford B. Hayes, 

 the Republican candidate, needed the twenty 

 votes which were in dispute. 



To settle the matter as justly as possible 

 Congress created a commission of fifteen mem- 

 bers, composed of five Supreme Court Justices, 

 five United States Senators and five Representa- 

 tives; this group politically contained seven 

 Democrats and eight Republicans. With the 

 exception of Bradley, one of the Justices, the 

 commission was evenly divided; Bradley cast 

 his vote with the Republicans and decided 

 against the claims of the Democrats that 

 charges of fraudulent voting and manipulation 

 of returns should be investigated. All ques- 

 tions were then decided by a strict party vote, 

 and the election was given to Hayes. The 

 commission's decision was awaited with intense 

 interest throughout the country, and the Dem- 

 ocrats were obliged to accept the result, but 

 they have always contended that Tilden and 

 not Hayes was rightfully elected. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following topics in these volumes : 

 Election Tilden, Samuel Jones 



Electoral College United States, 



Hayes, Rutherford subtitle History 



Birchard 



ELECTRA, elek'trah, the name of several 

 personages in Greek mythology, but referring 

 principally to the daughter of Agamemnon, a 

 king of Argos, and of his wife Clytemnestra, 

 who murdered her husband upon his return 

 from the Trojan War. Different motives have 

 been assigned for this tragedy, one of which 

 was the queen's jealousy of Cassandra, the 

 Trojan prophetess, whom Agamemnon brought 

 home a captive. Electra influenced her brother 

 Orestes to avenge the death of their father 

 by slaying Clytemnestra. Later she became 

 the wife of her cousin Pylades. She is the 

 subject of a number of ancient dramas, notably 

 those of Sophocles and Euripides, and also 

 figures in modern literature. 



ELEC'TRICAL FISH, the name applied to 

 various kinds of fishes possessing organs by 

 means of which they can give an electric shock. 

 These organs are composed of cells located in 

 various parts of the body in different species. 



They use this power in attacking prey or as 

 a weapon of defense, and the effect is the 

 familiar tingling sensation produced by an elec- 

 tric battery. In the electric rays, or torpedoes, 

 the electric organs lie in the head and gill 

 region, and the current passes vertically from 

 the lower to the upper side. After a period of 

 exercise, the power becomes exhausted and is 

 not restored until the fish has had rest and 

 food. The strength of the electric discharge 

 depends on the health, size and vigor of the 

 fish. 



Another species of electrical fishes is found 

 in the large rivers of the tropical part of Africa. 

 These, known as the electric catfish, are said 

 to give a shock like that from a Leyden jar. 

 The thick, scaleless electric eel of South Amer- 

 ica, which sometimes grows to be six feet in 

 length, is the most powerful of the group. Its 

 electric organs, which lie upon the underside of 

 the tail, have sufficient power to stun an animal 

 as large as a horse. 



ELEC'TRIC BAT'TERY, a device for pro- 

 ducing an electric current by means of chem- 

 ical action. To make a simple electric battery 

 it is only necessary to place in a glass jar a 

 solution of sal ammoniac, made by dissolving 

 four ounces of sal 

 ammoniac in a quart 

 of water, and to 

 place in this solution 

 .a rod of zinc and a 

 rod of carbon. A 

 carbon rod such as 

 is used in an electric 

 arc light may be 

 used. A dilute solu- 

 tion of any of the 

 common acids may 

 be used in place of 

 the sal ammoniac. 

 If an electric bell is 

 connected by copper 

 wires to the carbon 

 and zinc rods of the 

 battery the bell will 

 ring. If the battery 

 is used for some time the zinc will disappear, 

 for it is acted on by the sal ammoniac, form- 

 ing zinc sulphate, which goes into, the solution. 



The First Battery. The first electric battery 

 was made by Alessandro Volta, an Italian 

 physicist. It consisted of disks of zinc and 

 copper arranged in pairs, and upon each pair 

 of disks a piece of moistened paper. The 

 disks and paper thus formed a pile which 



A SIMPLE ELECTRIC 

 BATTERY 



