NIAGARA IN HARNESS 



oscillating in their flight, and, as it were, boring their 

 way into the resisting medium. In any event, expe- 

 rience shows that such a current, under proper condi- 

 tions, may be able to traverse a conducting wire for a 

 long distance with relatively small loss. 



It must be understood, however, that the mere fact 

 that a current alternates is not in itself sufficient to 

 make feasible its transmission to a remote distance. 

 To meet all the requirements a current must be of very 

 high voltage. This means, in so far as we can represent 

 the conditions of one form of energy in the terms of 

 another, that it shall be under high pressure. Fortunately 

 a relatively simple apparatus enables the electrician to 

 transform a current from low to high voltage without 

 difficulty. And so at last the problem of transmitting 

 power to a distance of many miles has been solved. Elec- 

 trical currents representing thousands of horse-power 

 are to-day transmitted from Niagara Falls to the city of 

 Buffalo over ordinary wires, with a loss that is relatively 

 insignificant. A plant is in process of construction that 

 will similarly transmit the power to Toronto; and it is 

 predicted that in the near future the powers of Niagara 

 will be drawn upon by the factories of cities even as far 

 distant as New York and Chicago. Practical difficul- 

 ties still stand in the way of such very distant trans- 

 mission, to be sure, but these are matters of detail, and 

 are almost certain to be overcome in the near future. 



All this being explained, it will be understood that 

 the sole reason why the new power-houses at Niagara 

 generate electricity is that electricity is the one readily 

 transportable carrier of energy. We have already ex- 



[i97] 



