Mat 1, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



101 



we are confronted by some speoLfic phenomena we can say 

 without hesitation, " This body is electrified," or " There 

 is a current flowing in this wire." These expressions 

 convey to us very definite meanings, yet they only tell 

 ns what we may expect from the body, or wire, under the 

 circumstances. We have no information concerning the 

 first cause. And it may not be too much to assert that 

 this condition of things exists with reference to all natural 

 sciences. Absolutely no moral application is intended here. 



We can then easily recognize the presence of electricity, 

 control it, deal with the effects produced by it, reason 

 mathematically concerning it, and design apparatus, 

 or machinery so accurately as to be able to assert, 

 without hesitation, what amount of electrical energy can 

 be obtained from it under given mechanical conditions. 



Facing the fact, then, that we can recognise electrical 

 effects but not electricity, we find ourselves compelled to 

 adopt certain arbitrary forms of expression, otherwise we 

 should frequently be at a loss as to how to follow up trains 

 of reasoning and to give utterance to our ideas. 



We speak of the flow of the current, yet it is by no 

 means certain that anything does flow. The point is that 

 we require some terse expression ; it would not be con- 

 venient to say, " From the phenomena observed in the 

 neighbourhood of the wire we know that the wire is in a 

 high state of electrification with reference to the bodies 

 surrounding it." The adoption of the word " flow " has 

 another advantage. In the elementary consideration of 

 current and pressure (both arbitrary expressions) it is of 

 great assistance to regard the conductor which is electrified 

 as being a pipe through which water is flowing, though 

 this analogy must be carefully dealt with, even at first, 

 and ultimately abandoned. 



Again, we take it upon ourselves to actually define the 

 direction of the flow, without being aware that there is a 

 flow. But this is done with good reason. In the winding 

 or connecting up of electro-magnets, and in electro- 

 chemical operations, it is almost invariably the essential 

 thing to know beforehand in what direction certain 

 phenomena will occur. In the case of an electro-magnet, 

 if we look at the north-seeking pole, when it actually 

 points to us, we may assert (since we have the useful con- 

 vention as regards flow) that the current is flowing contra- 

 clockwise round the coU. If there were no other reason 

 for the convention, the convenience here would be sufficient 

 to justify its adoption. We see then that the one assump- 

 tion that something does flow leads at once to the use of 

 certain arbitrary expressions. 



There is another assumption made with reference to the 

 comparison of potentials — i.e., static potentials. One sees 

 the necessity for this by considering that positive and 

 negative potentials are to be spoken of, and since these 

 two expressions are not to be regarded as having their 

 exact mathematical meaning (any more than negative as 

 opposed to affirmative has), it becomes essential that 

 there should be some universally accepted body considered 

 as being without potential. The earth has been chosen, 

 for the obvious reason that it is accessible all the world 

 over, and may be regarded as a good conductor if proper 

 contact be made to it. 



Conventions which are based on reasonable and conve- 

 nient principles, that are well understood, and generally 

 adopted, are just as necessary in scientific as in social 

 circles. But in the former case it is imperative that the 

 fact of their being conventions adopted for the sake of the 

 general convenience must never be lost sight of. For 

 example, when stating that the earth's potential is 

 nought, it must be borne in mind this does not imply that 

 the earth is not an electrified body ; any such assertion 



would be ridiculous, and liable to lead to very grave 

 errors. 



The nomenclature of electrical units is based upon an 

 excellent system. Such names as volt, ampere, ohm, 

 joule, farad, aud so on, keep before the student the niore 

 important branch of some great predecessor's life work, 

 and serve to remind him to what heights human 

 intelligence and industry may attain. 



With the rapid growth of electrical undertakings (due to 

 the strides which the science has made) there have not been 

 wanting growths which may be termed parasitical, and 

 growths which may be relegated to the general class 

 termed fungi. This was, perhaps, inevitable, and it must 

 ever be of interest to consider (as dispassionately as may be) 

 the causes which have tended to bring these unpleasant 

 excrescences into existence. Lust of fraudulent gain will in 

 all probability be the dominating influence of a section of 

 the community so long as that commimity shall last. 

 But of the frauds we would prefer to say little here, 

 indeed, some suggestions made in the first paper of this 

 series might be considered sufficient, only that reference 

 to a certain wonderful motor was omitted there. This 

 motor crops up frequently ; its claim to public attention 

 seems to be based upon two facts, it is reported to get 

 an enormous percentage of its energy from nowhere,* and 

 it seems to have been designed with a view to relieving 

 the public of their superfluous wealth. Alas for the 

 frailty of human nature ! The machine in question came 

 into existence at about the time that the first electrical 

 undertaking was "quoted on Change." It is not one 

 month since, reckoning from the actual date of the 

 writing of these lines, that a report was printed in a 

 well-known and high-class paper here of the exposure of 

 an American fraud based upon " The extraction of gold 

 from sea water." It seems that the majority of American 

 frauds find their way over here. To be charitable, we 

 must assume that the little schemes of this nature which 

 have their birth here find their way to America. 



But there is another, and a still more widespread source 

 of error. Even in the minds of intelligent men and women 

 there is, as a rule, a deep-rooted love of the marvellous. 

 And this foible is unfortunately pandered to by people who 

 should know better. The result is, all too often, that a 

 section of the community works itself up into a wild 

 frenzy of admiration for some individual whose name 

 becomes a household word. It goes so far at times that 

 the unfortunate recipient of this attention, who may 

 actually have been a really honest worker in the paths 

 of science, is driven into a mental condition which had 

 better perhaps be described as hysterical, and he arrogates 

 to himself the gift of prophecy. It must be trying to 

 the most level-headed of men to find that his name is, in 

 all seriousness, coupled with such titles as wizard, and 

 magician, particularly if the eflusions of this sort are 

 circulated throughout the entire world, and in the nine- 

 teenth century, by papers of good repute, which in the 

 main employ only responsible contributors. 



And there is a case, unique, I think, of a lady novelist 

 who lets her wonderful imagination run amuck in the 

 realms of electrical science, and actually adds, by way of 

 preface, or note, to her remarkable work, that she has the 

 highest scientific authority for the assertions she makes. 

 I have often tried to understand just some little point in 

 connection with the marvels described, but, being only an 

 electrician, have invariably failed. 



* Since this was written the inventor of the motor has died. An 

 examination of the building in which the macliiue was shown has 

 revealed the presence of tubes in its walls. And these tubes con- 

 veyed compressed air to the machine. — II. B. L. 



