November 30, 1888.] 



SCIENCE. 



261 



ELECTRICAL SCIENCE. 

 Execution by Electricity. 



In view of the new law of the State of New York, doing away 

 with hanging, and the substitution of electricity as the means of 

 execution, a committee was appointed by the Medico-Legal Society 

 to consider the best method of carrying the law into effect. The 

 committee consisted of Dr. Frederick Peterson, Dr. J. Mount 

 Bleyet, R. Ogden Doremus, and Dr. Frank H. Ingram. The com- 

 mittee submitted its report on the 14th inst. 



The committee first mentions the e.\periments made by the com- 

 mission appointed by the governor to examine into the various 

 methods of causing death. These experiments consisted in placing 

 dogs in a zinc-lined box, partly filled with water, one pole of the 

 dynamo being the coating of the box, the other being a wire wound 

 around the dog's nose or inserted in his mouth. Death was cer- 

 tain and instantaneous, but no data were obtained as to the poten- 

 tials or currents used. During the summer, experiments were car- 

 ried out at the Edison laboratory on a number of dogs ; and it was 

 shown that an alternating current of 160 volts was sufficient to kill 

 3. dog, and that with a continuous current a much higher voltage 

 was necessary. The report proceeds as follows: — 



" The average resistance of the human body is about 2,500 

 •ohms. The most of this resistance is in the skin. It is evident, 

 therefore, that the larger the surface of the electrode applied to the 

 body, the greater will be the resistance. It is also a fact that the 

 density of the current depends upon the superficial area of the 

 electrode. A pole of small diameter will hence meet with less re- 

 sistance, the passing current will be more intense, and the result- 

 ing current strength will be greater, than when an electrode of 

 large sectional area is employed." 



These statements are not correct ; but, before referring to them 

 further, we will summarize the rest of the report. The committee 

 goes on to state that " there can be no doubt that one electrode 

 should be in contact with the head," and recommends that the other 

 be placed in the neighborhood of the spine. To practically carry 

 this out, it proposes that a helmet, containing one electrode, be 

 fitted on the head of the criminal, and he be bound to a table or in 

 a chair, the other electrode fitted so it will impinge on the spine be- 

 tween the shoulders. " The electrodes should be of metal, not 

 over an inch in diameter, somewhat ovoidal in shape, and covered 

 with a thick layer of sponge or chamois-skin. The poles, and the 

 skin and hair at the points of contact, should be thoroughly wetted 

 with warm water. The hair should be cut short." An electro- 

 motive force of not less than 3,000 volts should be used, preferably 

 alternating. 



In criticism of this report, it should be remarked, in the first 

 place, that the statement, that, because the greatest resistance of 

 the human body is in the skin, " the larger the surface of the 

 electrode applied to the body, the greater the resistance," is directly 

 opposed to fact. The larger the electrode, the smaller will be the 

 resistance, and this fact would point to a comparatively large 

 electrode being used. 



Again : it is not evident that one of the poles should be applied 

 to the head. It is probable that very little of the current would 

 penetrate the skull and pass through the brain, and that the greater 

 part would pass through the tissues between the skin and the bone. 

 It is probable that a current passing from one arm to another, 

 traversing the vicinity of the heart, would be much more certain in 

 its action than by the plan proposed, with the additional advantage 

 that it is very easy to make contact with the arms. In almost, if 

 not all, the fatal accidents that have occurred, the current has 

 passed in this manner ; and by insuring good contacts, and em- 

 ploying 3,000 volts, the results would be reasonably certain. As 

 for the current through the head, we have no data as to the effects 

 produced. 



Finally, if the criminal is to be executed according to the plan 

 proposed, the electrodes should be moistened with acidulated or 

 salt water, not simply warm water. The only good feature of the 

 report is in the potential recommended. An alternating current of 

 3,000 volts would in all probability kill the criininal, however it 

 happened to be introduced. 



A Snow-Storm on .\n Electric Road. — On Friday. Nov. 



9, St. Joseph, Mo., was visited by one of the most severe snow- 

 storms in the history of the city. According to the Daily Gazette, 

 " the big storm completely paralyzed business, and shut this section 

 of the country off from communication with the world. The snow 

 which fell was of the damp variety, and at 2 o'clock in the after- 

 noon the loaded telegraph and telephone wires began to break 

 under the pressure. Then the heavy electric-light wires began to 

 fall, and at 4 P.M. every thing was demoralized. Many telephones 

 were burnt out, and the entire system of the city was rendered 

 practically useless." Speaking of the cars on the Sprague Electric 

 Street-Railroad, the Gazette continues, ''There were present all 

 the conditions which it was feared might impair the usefulness of 

 the new motor, but not the least inconvenience or delay resulted. 

 With the use of two-fifths the capacity of the plant, the usual num- 

 ber of cars were operated, and made the usual time. And not 

 only did the storm illustrate the reliability of the electric motor, it 

 also showed that the Union Passenger Railroad line people made 

 no mistakes and did no poor work in constructing their line. Not 

 a wire was broken down, nor was any other defect in the appli- 

 ances developed. Telegraph-wires were down in every direction, 

 and the telephone- wires of the city suffered great damage ; but the 

 wires on the Union Railway line stood the test without the 

 slightest damage." 



Protecting Iron .4nd Steel by Electrolysis. — The 

 methods at present in use for the prevention of oxidation of 

 steel and iron have all the same object, namely, the formation of a 

 coating of magnetic oxide of iron ; but all of them are more or less 

 unsatisfactory. Considerable time is usually required, and there is 

 no certainty that the protection will be perfect. M. de Meritens 

 has been experimenting for some time on an electrolytic method of 

 obtaining the same result, and has finally been successful. Indus- 

 tries describes the process as follows : " The article is exposed to 

 a current of electricity in a bath consisting of ordinary water, or, 

 better, of distilled water, heated to 70° or 80° C. The object to 

 be coated is made the anode, while a strip of carbon, copper, or 

 iron serves for the cathode ; or, if an iron tank is used, the sides of 

 the tank may form the cathode. The current should only have an 

 electro-motive force slightly in e.xcess of that required to decom- 

 pose water, as too strong a current produces a pulverulent form of 

 the oxide, which does not properly adhere ; moreover, it has the 

 inconvenience of eating into polished surfaces. The operation 

 should be conducted in the same manner as electrotyping. In the 

 course of a few minutes, black coloration appears on the article, 

 and after one or two hours the coating of magnetic oxide of iron is 

 of sufficient solidity to resist polishing. The coating is found to 

 penetrate into the mass of the metal ; for if the external portion 

 be removed by means of emery, and the white under surface be 

 again exposed in the bath, it becomes black again almost immedi- 

 ately, demonstrating that the effect of the first electrolyzmg has 

 affected the mass to some depth. When a piece of rusty iron 

 is treated by the current in a warm-water bath in the manner de- 

 scribed, the rust, consisting of ferric oxide, is completely converted 

 into magnetic oxide. The exterior laj'ers are not adhesive, but the 

 interior coating is almost as hard as the metal itself. The best 

 processes employed hitherto for coating steel goods require at least 

 eight or ten days, and only imperfect results are obtained when ap- 

 plied to wrought or cast iron. De Meritens's process treats all 

 sorts of iron and steel effectually in a few hours, requires no pre- 

 liminary preparation, and can be applied as easily to rough as to 

 polished surfaces. The coating is a brilliant black, is very hard, 

 and it is difficult to attack it with lime; moreover, it is not easily 

 wetted by water. 



BOOK-REVIEWS. 



On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals, with Special 

 Reference to Insects. (The International Scientific Series, No. 

 LXIV.) By Sir JOHN Lubbock. New York. Appleton. 8°. 

 Sir John Lubbock's varied, valuable, and interesting contribu- 

 tions to science have gained for him a high place among anthro- 

 pologists and biologists as well as scientists in general. He is an 

 eminent example of the union of ingenuity with painstaking com- 

 pilation and wide observation that has distinguished so many 



