2 
THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
Electrical Experiments. 
VEEY interesting electrical experiments 
may be performed by means of very 
simple apparatus. For example, to show 
electrical attraction and repulsion noth- 
ing more is necessary than a few small 
cuttings of paper and a stick of sealing 
wax. When the sealing wax is rubbed it be- 
comes electrically excited and will attract 
and a half in diameter, and one inch broad. 
One of these hoops is passed through the 
other, so that they cross each other and 
form a sort of skeleton ball. When a 
stick of wax which is dry, warm and well 
rubbed with flannel, is brought near such 
a ball, the latter will swing towards it like 
a i:>endulum. 
Instead of a stick of wax, a very good 
AN ELECTEICAL EXPEEIMENT. 
the paper, which, however, soon flies off 
again after being charged from the wax. 
Another way of illustrating this curious 
principle is shown in the accompanying 
engraving. Take any heavy block for a 
foot (an old paper file answers well) and 
fasten on it a wire curved and hooked as 
we have shown. To this hook at the 
upper end of the wire attach a silk thread, 
and to the end of the thread fasten a ball 
made of the pith of the elder, the sun 
flower, or Indian corn. Teachers who 
w4sh a large ball, visible at a distance, 
may use two paper hoops about an inch 
substitute is a short, stout sheet of brown 
paper rolled into a cylinder or tube. The 
tube should consist of several folds of 
paper, so as to be quite stiff, and the edges 
should be fastened down with sealing 
wax. Such a tube, if strongly heated and 
well rubbed with flannel, gives very power- 
ful effects. Indeed, in order to obtain an 
electrical spark, all we need is a simple 
sheet of paper. A large sized sheet of 
thick drawing or good brown paper is 
taken, strongly heated, and laid on a 
wooden table. It is then rubbed with the 
dry hand or a piece of flannel until it 
