432 / 1042
E L E
e
T
n
T Y.
• lakco ont Ihroul:h the gildiog, it will break Ihe glafs
• io\Vanls, ¡t lIle lame timeIhal il breaks Ihe gildiog out-
• w¡rJ, Aod ¡ioce Ihere is 00 more deélrical fire io a
• botde ¡f:cr charAiog thao before, how grw mull be Ihe
• qnaolity in th s fmall portionof glafs! It fecms asif it
• were of ils VCI yfubrl.nee and efrcoee. Perhaps if Ihat
• due qU¡01ity of clellrieal 6re fo obllioately relaioed by
• ghfs. could be feparmd from il, it would no longer
• be glafs; it might lofe ils traofpareoey, or ils briule-
• ncfs, or ils eI:lllieily.--Expcriments may poffibly be
• invented hereaftcr tO difeol'er this.'
Ollh~
Simi/arilJ
htl'1lmn
Lighlning and
E/ec·
IricilJ.
l .
Fla!hes of lightniog are geoerally feeo crooked, and
waviog in the airo The eleélrie fpark has always the
fame direélioo when il is drawn from ao irregular body
at fome oillaoee, or through a fpaee io whieh the bell
eonouélors are difpofed in an irregular maoner, which is
always Ihe eafe in Ihe heterogeneous atmofphere of our
globe.
2.
Lightning (Irikes the highell and moO pointed
ob·
jeéls in i1S way preferable to olhers, as higll hills. and
mes, to\\'ers, fpires, malls of Olips. poinlS of fpears,
&e.
In like manner, all pointed eondullors receive or
IhrOIV off Ihe cleélrie fluid more readily Ihan Ihofe whieh
are tffminated by Aat furfaees.
, . Lightning is obferved to lake the readiell and bell
conduélor. So does eleélrieilY in Ihe difeharge of the
Leydeo phial. For Ihis reafon, il would be fafer. duo
ring a Ihunoer·Oorm, lO have ooe's cloalhs \Vet Ihandry.
as Ihe lightoing mighl theo, in a great meafure. be
tranfmimd to Ihe ground, by Ihe water, on the oUlfide
of the body.
lt
is found , that a wet rat eannot be
killed by the explofion of Ibe dellrieal boule, bUI
that a dry ral mayo
4'
Lighlning burns. So does elellrieilY.
lt
will
kiodle :nrd dry rofin, fpirits unwarmed. and evenwood.
11 will fi re gunpowder, by only ramming il hard in a
cArtridge. iOlo each end of
whic~
poin,ed wires are in·
trodueeo, and broughl wilhin half an ineh of one ano·
lher. and difcharging a OlOek through Ihem.
í .
Lightning fomeli'lles diffolves melals.
So
docs
el~élrieily.
The melhod in whieh Dr Franklin made e·
leélrieilYmeh mmls, IVas by pUl1ing Ihin picw of Ihem
belween 1\'10 panes of glAfs. bound f.n logelher. and
fending ao eleéllie OlOek Ihrough IheOl. Somelimes Ihe
piem of glafs. by \Vhich Ihey were confined. would be
OlatICred lOpims by Ihe difeharge. , nd be broken into
a
kiod of eoarfe f,nd. \Vhich onre happened wilh pieees
of Ihiek 10(
'klOg.gl,fs; bUI if lbey remained whole. Ihe
pieecs of melal would he miffiog in fevml plaees where
il had I.lio hClwern Ihem.
,"d
i"llead (lf il a mmllie
Oain would be fcen on bOlh Ihe
~1,lres.
Ihe ¡¡,ins
o~
Ihe
under and upper gl.lfs being exatlly r,milar inlhe minuldl
{[roke.
f¡
Li~hIOil\~
rrorl; fome hodir.,. So doescfeélrieilY.
The cltélrie fp"k
~
ill rlrike a hole Ihrough a quire of
r' I,,:r.-Wheo \\'oorl, bnrk,. lIone,
Oc.
Ue renl by
JI~htllin~.
Ihe frli nlcrs IVdl lIy olr on dm ride whcle
Ihere is Ihe Ie.O rel¡O,oce. lnlike
maor.er,wben a
h~le
is llruek Ihrollgh apieee of pJOeboard by an e1eélrified jaro
if Ihe furf,lces of Ihe paficboard are nOI con6ned and
comprefr,d. Ihere will be abur raifed all round Ihe h"le
on bOlh fi-lcs of Ihe pafiehoard; bl11 if one fide be con·
finrd . fo Ihat the bur cannol be raifed on 11m fideo il
will all be "ifed 00 Iheolher fide, whieh way fOCl'Cr Ihe
O"id IVas direéled. For Ihe bur roundIhe oUlfide of Ihe
hole is die cffeél of Ihe explofion, whieh is made every
way from Ihe eenler of the eleélrie flrealll, and nOI an
efl'dl of ilS direéllOn.
7. Lighlning has often b:en known lO Orike re0l'le
blind. And a pigeon. afler aviolent 1l1oek of eleélriel1Y.
by \Vhieh il was inleoded 10 be killed, was Oruek blind
likewife.
8.
In a Ih\lnder·(Iorr.1
a¡
S;re:ham, cleferibed by
Dr
Miles. Ihe lighlning llripped off fome painl \Vhieh had
comed a giloed mOUlalOg of a pannel of wainfeol. wilh'
0\11 huning Ihe rell of Ihe p;iol. Dr Fraoklin imimed
Ihis, by palling a Oip of paper orer Ihe filleling of gold
on Ihe eom of a book, ar.d fending an cleélric hOI
lhrough il. The paper IV" lOro off from end 10 end.
wilh fuch force. rhal il was broken in feveral piAres;
and in olhers Ihere was hrou¡;hl away pan of Ihe grain
of Ihe Turkey lealher in which Ihe book was bound.
This eonvineed lhe ¿oélor, lhal if il had been painl. il
IVould have bceu llripped off in Ihe fame manner wilh
lhat on Ihe wainreOl al Strelham.
9. Liuhtning clellroys animal·life. Animals have
likcwirc been killed by Ihe !hoek of clearieilY. The
hrgeOani,n,ls whieh Dr Franklin and his friends had
been able lO killlVere a hen, and a lurkey IVhieh.lVeigh.
ed about len pounds.
10.
Magnets hal'e becn obrerred lO
lofe lh~ir vin~e,?r
10havc Iheir poles re'crfed. bylighloing. Dr Frankho d,d
Ihe fameby eleélrieil)'. ByeleélrieilY he frequently gm
pohrilY tO needles. and reverfed Ihem" plearure.
A
O,oek
fromfou r I¡rge jars. fenllhrollgh a fine fe\Ving ne.'dle•.
g"'c il polarilY, fo thal il would ua,erfc when.ldld on
water. \Vhal is 0100 remarkable in Ihefe
~Ieélnral
ex'
periments upon ma"ne1S is. Ihal if Ihe needle, when il
was Oruek. lay e,rI and well. Ihe end whieh lva.! cnler–
ctl by Ihee\célrie bl,ll poinled no"h; b\lt Ihal If
11
I,y
nonh and roulh, Ihe enrl which lay lowards Ihe norlH
would conlinue lO poinl nonh. whelher Ihe fire enlered
al
Ihal end or Ihe contrary. He alfo obrerved. Ih"
~he
p"l,rilY was IIrongell wheo Ihe neeole \\'as IIruek lylOg
nonh and fOOlh. and
weake~
when il laye
,11
,nd .'eO.
He
la~es
nOliee. Ih.H, in th& experimen1S. Ihe needle.
in fome eafe" would be fincly blued. hke dIe fpnngof a
wmh , by Ihe dea ne !l"me; io whieh cafe Ih; eolo\lr
given by • flalh from111'0 jars only mighl be Wlpl'll off•.
b\ll Ihal a flaOI from rOl1r
jars
fixed il. ,nd frcquendy
meltcd Ihe nce¿les. The jm whieh Ihe dollor ured
hcld reven or eighl g.lIolls, anJ were eoalcd and hneJ
lVidl linfoil.
1'0
~11110nn r~le.
in Ihecompl.elell manner p,flible, .Ihe
f,meners nf Iheclearie fluio wuh rhem1tler l.f IlghlnlOg.
Vr
Fr.lIlklineontr1\'cd
11l
hri:'r.
li~hlOlng
fro01 Ihe hea·
ven" by means
Gf
an elea rie,1kl1C.
\1
hid, he r' lfed
wh~"
.
Thll
a 1101111 uf thuoder \Vas pmci\'cd lObe (omlng on.
~l1e