1000000030

kile had

roiolcd ",ire fixed upon il, hy whieh il ,Irew

Ihe

li~:'lniog

fromlhe clouds. Thi, lighlniog

dcfe~nded

by Ihe hempcn IIriog, and was reeeil'ed by • key tied to

the extlemity of il; that pan of Ihe n,ing \\'hich \\las

held in lhe hand being of filk, lh.t Ihe tleélrie virtue

mighl nop when il eame tO the key. He focnd

tlw

Ihe

tI,ing would eonouél e1eélrieilY even when nearly dry,

bu! ,hat when it was wel it would eonclua it quile free·

Iy; fo Ihat it would nream out plentifully from the kq

al the app,oach of

perf~n's

finger.

Al this key he c1wged phials, aod from eleélrie fire

Ihus

~blaineJ

he kiodlcd fpiri", and performed all other

eldlrieal expelinlents whieb are ufually exhibiled by an

ex6ted glube or tube.

He (¡ rn appearanee of a Ihunder.norm (\\Ihieh

~ene

rally

hap?~ns

\'Ihen Ihere is liltle or no wind) is one

rlenfe cloud,.or mnre,

inereafi~g

very fan in

r.ze

, and ri–

fing into the hi&her regions' of Ihe airo The 10\\ler fur–

{.e~

is bhck, and nmly leve!; but Ihe upper finely

arcl,~d ,

.nd well defined. Many of Ihefe clouds oflen

{eem piled ooe upoo aool);er, all arched io the f.1me

manoer; but tliey keep comiDually ullitiog, {welliog,

20d eXleodiDg thei r arehcs.

At thc time of the rifing of this cloud, lhe almo·

fphm is geomlly full of a great number of feparate

r1ouds, motionl&, aod of odd aod whimfieal Olapes.

Alllh&, U?OO Ihe appearaDee of Ihe

th~oder. cloud,

draw lowarJ3 it, and become more uoiforol in their

/hapes as they

arpro.ch;

till, eomiog very oear the

thunder·cloud, their limbs mUlUally IIrete:l towards ooe

another; lhey inlmediately eoal&e, aod togelher make

ooe uoiform mafs. Thefe are eallcd

,á/citíl iOUJ

clouds,

frot:l

th~r

eomiog io, to eolarge the fize of Ihe thuoder–

c1oud. EUI, fometimes Ihe thunder-cloud will f\Vell,

2nd increafe very fafl without Ihe

eonjun,~ion

of aoy ad·

fcililious c1ouds, the vapours in Ihe atmofphere forming

Ihemfel m ioto elouds \\Ihere·ever il palTes. Some

01'

the adfeilitious clouds appear like wlllte (ringes, at the

O,irlS nf tht thuoder.cloud, or uotler the body of it ; bUI

they keep eoolinually gro\\ling darker aod darker, as lhey

~pr",ach

tO unile lVilh it.

\Vhen tbe thunder·cloud is grown to a greal fize, its

In\Ver furfaee is ofteo

r~ggcJ,

panicular pans bcing de ·

t.1eh:d tow"Js Ihe earth, but lIill eonnc/led wilh the

ren Somelimes Ihe 10\Ver furface fwells into various

large protuberaoees, beoding uo,formly IDwa ..ds the

earrh. And fOll,ttimcs onz IVhJle

fi.le

of lhe cloud

\ViII

h.ve

ao ioclinarioo tO Ihe earth and the extremity

of it lVill nearly toueh Ihe e.rth. When lhe eye is un–

rler the Ihunder-cloud, .fter il is grolVn 1. l'ge, and lVell

("' Olea. il is feen to fink 10IVer, .nd 10 Ja¡ktn prodigio

nuOI"

al the

I'R,e

lime that a number of fmall adf«Ii–

tiou; 'clourls (t1I¿ong;nof " hieh can never be perCt iYld)

are feen in a rapiel mo:ion. ,hiving aboul in ver)' un.:er–

tain dire{lionl uoder il. IVhile Ihde clourls are

~::'taleJ

wilh Ihe moll rapid mOlioos, 1hz " in gcne"lIy f.Jls in

the grem n plenty; and i( Ihe agiwion be

lxeecd,n~

grear, it eo,r.monly hall,.

When the Ihlloder·cluucl is flVcllinfl, anrl

e~l:ndin¡;

i1S

hlanches

OH'r a

l.¡rgt

tr:tfl

(Ir

CI)unu )'.

tht

l,gh1llinll

flén In

fmmone p.n

il to aaolhel, alld OfllO

VO •.

JI.

No. 46.

lOillurr.ioAt, its "hole mafs. Wheo Ihe c10lld has ae–

qllired a fullicient cxtent, the lighlning firikes belween

the doud 3nd the earth, in IWO oppofite places, ¡he park

of the lighlniog Iying through

Ih~

whule body of the

cloud anJ its braochcs. The longer lhis lightning con–

tinues, Ihe r.ter does Ihe cloud grow, and Ihe lefs da¡ k

is ilS appe.ranee; till, al length, it breaks io dilferenl

places, and fuOIVS a clear O(y. Whcn lhe thunder-eloud

is Ihus difperfeJ, lhofe parts whieh oeeupy the upper re–

gi~ns

of the atmofphere

are

Cllually fp read, 30d

ver,

th.n; and thofe Ihat are

underne.lh

are black, but thio

too; and Ihey vanifu gradually, WilhoUI being drivco a.

way wilh any winrl.

Thar thunder-elouds wm fometimes io a pofilive as

well as negative fiare o( e!eélrieil)', Signior Beeearia had

difcovered, before he hcard o( irs haYIng beco obferved

by Dr fraoklin or any olher perfon.

he fdme cloud,

in palling over his obfervatory, eleéllified his appar"us

fometlmes p(¡fitively, . nd (¡,metimes negarively. The

e!eélrieilY eontinued longer o( Ihe fame

k.nd,

io propor.

uon as the thunder-c1oud lVas fimple, aod uniform in its

direélioo; bUI when the lightoing ehaoged irs place,

there eommonly happwd

ehange in the eleélrieilY of

his apparalus.

would ehange fuddeoly after a very

vi,,"ot OaO. of lightning, but the ehange would be gra–

dual IVhen Ihe I,gntning was moderate, aod the pro;:refs

of Ihe thunder-cloud Oow.

w>s an immedim inferenee from his obfervalÍoos

of the I;ghtoing abroad, and his appmtus wilhin, that

Ihe quaotity of eleélrie OMICr, in ao ufual norm of thuo–

¿:r,

;s almoJl ioeoneeivably

~reat;

eonfideriog how

Ola–

oy pointt:d bodies. as m es, fpi res,

&c.

are perpetually

drawing il off, and what a proJigioul quamity is repeat–

edly difeharged

or from Ihe eanh.

Co~fidering

Ihe van quanlilY of

el~arie

fire that ap–

peatS

Ihe moll fimple Ihunder·florms, he thioks it im–

pollible Ihat any eloud, or oumber of clouds, fuould el'er

eonldio it all, fo as either

di(eharge Or reeeive it.

Befides. during Ihe progrefs aod inereafe of Ihe norm,

Ihough the lighlning frequeotly n, uck tOIhe eanh, the

fa me clouds were Ihe next momenl ready tOmake 3 ni!!

greater d,fcharge, and his ' P?atatus eonlinued tO be

mueh alfeéled .s ever. Thec10uds mun, eonfequently,

h..'e reeei'ed

one pldee. the momeol

th~l

a difeharne

'va,

ollde from Ihem inaoother. In man)' eafes,

Ihe~leélricilYof his.pparalus, and eo.lfequentlyof the douds,

would infl.IOtly

C:lan~e

froOl one kinJ 10 aoother fc¡m l

tiOles; an eR'ca \Vhich caooot be

~ceounled

(or by any

fim plc

difch'l~c

or rwu!t. BUlh muJl have tak,o pl,ce

io a vtry quick

fueceOi,,~.

T!le eXleOl of the elouds rlolh not klTeo this c1inicul-

1)' :

(or,

be il cve, fo gre.t, (Jill the qUlntily ought 10

be lelTenc.1by evel)' d¡/ ,huge: anJ belid", lhe poinls

bywl,ieh ¡hc r.lent c1if,h.lrges are rr.aJe ore in p"upolioo

10 Ihe eSlellt uf Ihe cluuo/s. I\'tlr is the diilicllh)' Ielicn.

ed hy[upr./fi n); Ih.\I freOI

c1ou.is

bring ''CI',"i,,; fi" be.

f,ó" lhal

ti,.

,I.'uds are nOl

rji'~

for Ihe rrir.cip.d norn',

lill

,11

lhe clon""

~''''

dill.tue<, h.lle a,'lu3I1y co.

alc(~I.!J, .In~t

( 1111\(\ 1

on!! lIn;fl\1m

I1l,1(S,

(hOCe

n~cruits

Llar nCJron of pn':,onion tu

thl'

d,l~htrf'('.

3nd what.

ever il ....

IS,

\l'O~1J

[.'00 be

e ,h.l~neJ.

The