ELEMENTS 



OF 



STATIC ELECTRICITY, 



CHAPTER I. 



ATTRACTION AND REPULSION CONDUCTORS AND 

 NON-CONDUCTORS QUANTITY AND INTENSITY- 

 STATIC ELECTRICITY DEFINED. 



ATTRACTION AND REPULSION. Amber, called in 

 Greek rfaxroov, was known to the ancients to acquire, 

 when rubbed, the power of attracting light bodies; 

 hence this property, now known to belong to all sub- 

 stances, has received the name of electricity. The 

 earliest conception of electricity, then, was that of 

 force, and the latest discoveries sustain this view. 



Electricity may be generated by various simple 

 methods, as follows: Let a spoon be balanced on the 

 edge of a cup, and an ebonite (hard rubber) knife- 

 handle, rubbed on a woolen or silk fabric, be held 

 near it, and the spoon will be attracted. Substitute for 

 the knife-handle a stick of sealing-wax, a lamp-chim- 

 ney, or a paraffin wax-candle, rubbed in the same way, 

 and the spoon will be attracted by each of them. 



These different substances may be multiplied, and 

 different rubbers used, but it will be found that the 



