Part 1 (1/2)

Electricity for Boys

by J S Zerbe

INTRODUCTORY

Electricity, like every science, presents two phases to the student, one belonging to a theoretical knowledge, and the other which pertains to the practical application of that knowledge The boy is directly interested in the practical use which he can make of this wonderful phenomenon in nature

It is, in reality, the most successful avenue by which he may obtain the theory, for he learns the abstract more readily from concrete exareater educator than can be possible with books Boys are not, generally, inclined to speculate or theorize on phenomena apart from the work itself; but once put them into contact with thepart of it, and they will commence to reason and think for the to tell a boy that electricity can be generated by riveting together two pieces of dissi heat to the juncture But put into his hands thetheup the ends of thefor results, it will at oncein the experiment which never occurred when the abstract theory was propounded

He will inquire first what et the best results, and finally, he will speculate as to the reasons for the phenoative or negative-positive to each other, he has grasped a new idea in the reale, which he unconsciously traces back still further, only to learn that he has entered a field which relates to the constitution of h its various channels he will learn that there is a cos; a manifestation common to all ether in a iven to a boy's training The time is past for the rule-and-rote method The rule can be learned better by aa sentence to memory

In the preparation of this book, therefore, I havefactors It has been s in a practical way, and from that work, as the boy carries it out, to deduce certain laws and develop the principles which underlie them Wherever it is deemed possible to do so, it is planned to have the boy e him to become a thinker and a reasoner instead of a mere machine

A boy does not develop into a philosopher or a scientist through being told he , or the funda He will unconsciously iness if we but place before him the tools by which he may build even the simple machinery that displays the various electrical manifestations

CHAPTER I

THE STUDY OF ELECTRICITY HISTORICAL

There is no study so profound as electricity It is a marvel to the scientist as well as to the novice It is sianization and in its ranetism and electricity are the same, but that they differ merely in their modes of motion

FIRST HISTORICAL ACCOUNT--The first historical account of electricity dates back to 600 years B C Thales of Miletus was the first to describe the properties of aht bodies The ancients also described as probably tourmaline, a mineral which has the same qualities The torpedo, a fish which has the power of e electric impulses, was known in very early times

From that period down to about the year 1600 no accounts of any historical value have been given Dr Gilbert, of England, made a number of researches at that time, principally with amber and other materials, and Boyle, in 1650, made numerous experiments with frictional electricity

Sir Isaac Newton also took up the subject at about the same period In 1705 Hawksbee made numerous experiments; also Gray, in 1720, and a Welshman, Dufay, at about the same time The Germans, from 1740 to 1780, made many experiments In 1740, at Leyden, was discovered the jar which bears that naan and ended with frictional electricity

The first attempt to ”bottle” electricity was attempted by Muschenbr[oe]ck, at Leyden, who conceived the idea that electricity inthem with bodies which did not conduct the current He electrified so been established between the water and the pri the bottle, on trying to disengage the co wire, received a sudden shock

In 1747 Sir Williaunpowder by an electric spark, and, later on, a party from the Royal Society, in conjunction with Watson, conducted a series of experiments to determine the velocity of the electric fluid, as it was then ter was electricity, and later onexperiments with the kite and the key

DISCOVERING GALVANIC ELECTRICITY--The great discovery of Galvani, in 1790, led to the recognition of a new elealvanic or voltaic (named after the experimenter, Volta), and non to be identical with frictional electricity In 1805 Poisson was the first to analyze electricity; and when [OE]rsted of Copenhagen, in 1820, discovered the reat stiation in a new direction Ampere was the first to develop the idea that a motor or a dynanetic current; and Faraday, about 1830, discovered electro-netic rotation

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC FORCE--Fro rapidity Ohth and resistance eventuated into Ohalvanometer, and Wheatstone invented the rheostat, aresistance, about 1850 Then priht forward by Daniels, Grove, Bunsen and Thomson, and electrolysis by Faraday Then came the instrue, the ammeter, the voltmeter--all of the utmost value in the science

MEASURING INSTRUMENTS--The perfection ofinstruments did more to advance electricity than almost any other field of endeavor; so that after 1875 the inventors took up the subject, and by their energy developed and put into practical operation a most wonderful array of mechanism, which has become valuable in the service of man in almost every field of human activity

RAPIDITY OF MODERN PROGRESS--This brief history is given merely to shoonders have been accomplished in a few years The art is really less than fifty years old, and yet so rapidly has it gone forward that it is not at all surprising to hear the remark, that the end of the wonders has been reached Less than twenty-five years ago a high official of the United States Patent Office stated that it was probable the end of electrical research had been reached The most wonderful developments have been made since that time; and now, as in the past, one discovery is but the prelude to another stillto learn that we are only on the threshold of that storehouse in which nature has locked her secrets, and that there is no lienuity

HOW TO ACQUIRE THE VAST KNOWLEDGE--As the boy, with his limited vision, surveys this vast accumulation of tools, instru accomplished, it is not to be wondered at that he should enter the field with tireat question is, how to acquire the knowledge There is so much to learn How can it be accomplished?