_ 47 



cerine, gunpowder, various kinds of dynamite etc. con- 

 tain this element, whilst the more closely the oxygen 

 element is united with the inflammable constituents the 

 more powerful the explosive. A visible instance of the 

 active force of hydrogen in a more moderate form is 

 also presented in the music of bells and in ocean billows. 



Take the former case. When the tongue of the bell 

 strikes the sides, the oxygen which falls under the tongue 

 is rapidly consumed and the hydrogen, released from 

 union with it, shaking the sides of the bell, flies away 

 into space, producing therein a sound-wave, which con- 

 tinues to expand until all the hydrogen has again united 

 with the oxygen in the air around. The vibrations of 

 the bell again, producing friction in the air, consume the 

 oxygen in immediate proximity, and thus, liberating a 

 further quantity of hydrogen, prolong the sound of the 

 stroke until they cease. 



The other striking instance of hydrogenic force we 

 see in the case of sea waves raised by the wind. Ocean 

 billows driven by fierce winds reach a height of 35 

 yards 1 ), or more than a hundred feet. In order to raise 

 water to such a height by a steady force, an energy of 

 one thousand poods (36,000 Ib) to the cubic sazhen of 

 elevation would be required. No winds possess such po- 

 wer on earth but the phenomenon is otherwise explained. 

 The air coming in contact with the surface of the water, 

 under force and pressure of the wind, consumes the 

 oxygen by this contact, and the released hydrogen with 

 an explosion escaping from under the local pressure, 

 raises the moving waters to a great height, and, reaching 

 the crest of the waves beats and scatters them in foam. 

 At such times it is only necessary to pour oil on the 

 water to reduce these waves to just the limits defined 

 by our celebrated Russian scholar and professor, Ostro- 

 gradsky, in his theory of wave formation and marine tides. 



It would seem in pouring oil on the water that one 

 would increase not diminish the raising power of the 



') 15 sazhen. 



