CON 



CON 



privities, in right and representation. A 

 familiar instance of a condition is a bond 

 with a penalty, conditioned to be void on 

 payment of a less sum. 



CONJIITION, or Condition implied, is 

 when a person grants an office to ano- 

 ther as keeper of a park for life ; though 

 there be no condition expressed in the 

 grant, yet the law makes one covertly, 

 which is, that if the grantee does not exe- 

 cute all things belonging to his office, it 

 shall be lawful for the grantor to dis- 

 charge him. 



CONDITIONAL syllogism, a syllogism 

 where the major is a conditional proposi- 

 tion. Thus, 



If there is a God, he ought to be 



worshipped. 

 But there is a God ; 

 Therefore he ought to be worshipped. 



CONDUCTOR, in surgery, an instru- 

 ment which serves to conduct the knife 

 in the operation of cutting for the stone, 

 and in laying open sinuses and fistulas. 



CONDUCTORS, in electricity, are long 

 metal rods, whose points are raised so 

 high as may be convenient, above houses, 

 &c. for the purpose of attracting or re- 

 ceiving the electric fluid, and of conduct- 

 ing it into the earth, or into water, 

 thereby to prevent the building from 

 being struck by lightning. To effect this, 

 the rod should be detached, and its point 

 should be sharp ; by which mean the 

 electric fluid will be silently discharged. 

 If the conductor is allowed to lay along 

 the wall of the house, or that it is blunt, 

 instead of being pointed, at its summit, 

 it will attract the lightning, which in 

 such case will do more or less damage to 

 the building. Thus the rod should be 

 kept from the walls, Sec. by pieces of 

 well-seasoned wood, coated with resin, or 

 of lead, which, as well as glass, sealing- 

 wax, sulphur, bees'-wax, oil-water, &c. 

 are all non-conductors while cold , though, 

 when heated to a great degree, they be- 

 come conductors. The rod should pass 

 freely from the top of the building to the 

 ground, without the line of its continuity 

 being any where broken. It is found that 

 black lead is an excellent aid, both to 

 affix as a sharp point to the apex, and to 

 be laid at a few feet deep in the earth, 

 where it is moist and surrounded by a 

 bed of charcoal. The rod should pass 

 into the mass of black lead, which will 

 cause the electric fluid to be extinguish- 

 ed. Where buildings are extensive, and 

 especially where there are many high 

 chimneys, turrets, &c. two or more con- 

 ductors should be used, else the electric 



VOL. IV. 



fluid, in its passage from a charged cloud, 

 may be intercepted by such heights, and 

 do considerable injury. Trees standing- 

 single on plains are very dangerous con- 

 ductors, as are those lofty trees that rear 

 their heads conspicuously in large woods. 

 Hence we so often see them rent to pieces 

 by lightning, and such cattle us take re- 

 fuge under their inviting shelter destroy- 

 ed. Walls are conductors when light- 

 ning has entered a room ; therefore all 

 persons should avoid sitting near them 

 during thunder storms ; and in countries 

 where lightning is frequent, care should 

 be taken to remove iron bars, &c. For 

 the various amusing and interesting mat- 

 ters relating to ELECTRICITY, we must 

 refer the reader to that article, and to 

 GALVANISM. 



CONDYLOMA, in medicine, a tuber- 

 cle or callous eminence which arises in 

 the folds of the anus, or rather a swelling 

 or hardening of the wrinkles of that part. 



CONE, in geometry, a solid figure, 

 having a circle for its base, and its top 

 terminated in a point or vertex. 



CONE, Properties of the. 1. Cones and 

 pyramids having the same bases and alti- 

 tudes are equal to each other. It is shewn, 

 that every triangular prism may be di- 

 vided into three equal pyramids, and 

 therefore that a triangular pyramid is 

 one-third of a prism standing on the same 

 base, and having the same altitude. 

 Hence, since every multangular body 

 may be resolved into triangular ones, 

 every pyramid is the third part of a 

 prism standing upon the same base, and 

 having the same altitude ; and as a cone 

 may be esteemed an infinite angular py- 

 ramid, and a cylinder an infinite angular 

 prism, a cone is the third part of a cylin- 

 der which has the same base and alti- 

 tude. Hence we have a method of mea- 

 suring the solidity and surface of a cone 

 and pyramid. Thus, find the solidity of 

 a prism or cylinder, having the same 

 base with the cone or pyramid, which 

 found, divide by three, the quotient will 

 be tDe solidity of the cone or pyramid. 

 Or the solidity of any cone is equal to the 

 area of the base, multiplied into one 

 third part of its altitude. As for the 

 surfaces, that of a right cone, not taking 

 in the base, is equal to a triangle, whose 

 base is the periphery and altitude-of the 

 side of the cone ; therefore the surface 

 of a right cone is had by multiplying the 

 periphery of the base into half of the ->ide, 

 a nd adding the product to that of the base. 



2. The altitudes of similar cones are as 

 the radii of the bases, and the, ajtes, like- 



D 



