A VAST ELECTRIC ORGANISM 25 



electric attraction, which draws all matter toward 

 a common center, they would become more and more 

 compressed, dense and stable, until they attained 

 their natural equilibrium of balanced forces and 

 assumed their permanent form and solidity. Then 

 they would assume their normal velocity of revo- 

 lution on their axis, and their orbital motion along 

 evenly balanced lines of force, without friction or 

 change, for countless ages. All suns and planets 

 revolve on their axis under the law of electro-mag- 

 netism by which electric currents of force pass 

 through their centers at their poles, and mag ?tic 

 currents of equal force pass one way around them, 

 creating their diurnal motion. 



This law is briefly stated by a standard work on 

 electricity: "A wire or any conductor having a 

 current of electricity passing through it has lines 

 of magnetic force passing one way around it, and 

 the number is in direct ratio to the quantity of 

 current passing through the wire. This magnetic 

 effect is strongest close to the wire, and decreases 

 inversely as the square of the distance." This is a 

 marvelous combination of the dual forces of electric- 

 ity, which operates as a wonderful mechanical con- 

 trivance to spin the heavenly orbs on their poles, 

 like a top is spun by a string or band around it 

 or like the cylinder of a dynamo is revolved by 

 its leather bands or a water wheel turned by the 

 swift current of a river. By reason of this law, all 

 suns and planets revolve on their electric centers 

 at their poles. The great electric currents from the 

 sun eight thousand miles in diameter and ninety- 

 three million miles in length, like a mighty, inex- 

 haustible river of force and power, cause the earth 



