CONCLUSION
The Electron is made to sum up a few of the wonders which it has
related, in order to emphasise the great services which
electrons render to man 194
APPENDIX 200
INDEX 211
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A WELL-KNOWN PHENOMENON PRODUCED BY ELECTRONS _Frontispiece_
DAMAGE DONE BY A PARTY OF ELECTRONS 45
A TOBACCO TIN DEFYING GRAVITATION 79
A MOTOR-CAR WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPH 99
A TRAIN IMPELLED BY MOVING ELECTRONS 119
PROTECTION AGAINST A DISCHARGE OF ELECTRONS 129
THE SPECTROSCOPE AND THE ELECTRONS' WIRELESS MESSAGES 149
HOW ELECTRONS PRODUCE X-RAY IMAGES 171
CHAPTER I
WHAT THE STORY IS ABOUT
The reason for writing this story is given in the Preface, but the title
is so strange that the reader will wish naturally to know what the story
is about. What is an electron? Is it an imaginary thing, or is it a
reality?
One of the reasons for writing this story in its present form is to help
the reader to realise that electrons are not mythical, but real existing
things, and by far the most interesting things we know anything about.
The discovery of electrons has shed a new light upon the meaning of very
many things which have been puzzles until now. They give us a reasonable
explanation of the cause of light and colour. They provide a new idea of
the constitution of matter. They enable us to picture an electric
current, and they give us definite, though by no means final, answers
to the why and wherefore of magnetism, chemical union, and
radio-activity.
The story is imaginary only in so far that one of the electrons itself
is supposed to tell the tale. But in the endeavour to make the story
interesting, there has been no sacrifice of accuracy in the statements
of fact.
While all names and dates, and many other details, have been kept out
rigidly from the story, a note of the more important of these has been
added in an Appendix for the sake of those readers who may wish to refer
to them.
It will be well to introduce the electron to the reader before leaving
it to speak for itself. We have definite experimental proof of the
existence of electrons, and yet it is very difficult to realise their
existence, for two reasons. In the first place, they are so
infinitesimally small. We count a microbe a small thing; we can see it
only with the aid of a very powerful microscope. Yet that little speck
of matter contains myriads of particles or _atoms_. An atom of matter is
therefore an inconceivably little thing, but even that is a great giant
compared to an electron. Our second difficulty in realising the
existence of an electron is that it is not any form of what we call
_matter_; it is a particle of _electricity_, whatever that may be.
From the earliest experiments it became evident that there were two
distinct kinds of electricity. These were described by the pioneer
workers as _positive_ and _negative_ electricities. To-day we have
definite experimental proof that negative electricity is composed of
separate particles or units. Just as matter is composed of invisible
atoms, so also is negative electricity of an atomic nature. These
particles of negative electricity have been christened electrons,
_electron_ being the Greek word for _amber_, from which man first
obtained electricity. Of course no one can ever hope to see an electron,
but physicists have been able to determine its size and _mass_, its
electric charge, and the speeds at which it moves.
While it has been known for more than a century that _light_ is merely
waves in the all-pervading aether of space, set up by incandescent
bodies, it has been a puzzle always how matter could cause waves in the
aether, as it offers no resistance to the movement of matter through it.
Here we are on the back of a great planet, flying through space at the
enormous rate of one thousand miles per minute, and yet our flimsy
atmospheric blanket is in no way disturbed by the aether through which we
are flying. In the following story we shall see that these electrons
help us towards a solution of this and many other problems; they provide
the missing link between matter and the aether.
But what is this _aether_ of which one hears so much in these days? The
truth is we know nothing of its nature. We cannot say whether it is
lighter than the lightest gas or denser than the densest solid. The
aether, whatever it may be, is as real as the air we breathe. It is the
medium which brings us light and heat from the sun, and which carries
our wireless telegraph and telephone messages. The whole universe is
moving in this great aether ocean.
In order to make the electron's story perfectly intelligible to every
reader, I have added a short explanatory note at the beginning of each
chapter. These notes merely state the facts about which the electron is
speaking.
To make the electron's story as realistic as possible, it has been
necessary to give the imaginary electron perfect freedom of knowledge
concerning itself and its surroundings. In our schooldays we had to
write the autobiographies of steel pens, and such-like, but these
inanimate things had to be endowed with powers of thought, feeling, and
desire. It is very important, however, to remember that an electron is a
particle of negative electricity--_a real existing thing_.
CHAPTER II
THE ELECTRON'S PREFACE
While many scientific men now understand our place in the universe, we
electrons are anxious that every person should know the very important
part which we play in the workaday world. It was for this reason that my
fellow-electrons urged me to write my own biography. My difficulty has
been to find a scribe who would put down my story in the way I desired.
The first man with whom I opened negotiations wished me to give him
dates and names of which I knew nothing. And he asked such stupid
questions about where I was born and who my parents were, as if I were
flesh and blood.
I am pleased to say that my relationship with the scribe who has put
down my story in the following pages has been of the most friendly
description. Apart from a little tiff which we had at the outset, there
has been no difference of opinion. He complained that I related things
in too abstract a form. However, we got over the difficulty by a
compromise; I have allowed him to place what he calls "The Scribe's
Note" at the beginning of each chapter, but it will be understood
clearly that these are merely convenient embellishments, and that I am
responsible for the story of my own experiences.
CHAPTER III
THE NEW ARRIVAL
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER THREE_
It will be well to keep clearly in mind that an electron is a
real particle of negative electricity.
Electrons have been discovered only within recent years.
No matter from what substances we take them, they are always
identical in every respect.
Some electrons are attached to the atoms of matter in such a way
that they may be removed easily from one object to another.
When a surplus of these detachable electrons is crowded on to
any object, we say that it is charged with negative electricity.
We speak of the other object, which has lost these same
electrons, as being charged with positive electricity.
In this chapter the electron refers to the old-world experiment
in which a piece of amber when rubbed attracts any light object
to it.
For many ages man believed this to be a special property
belonging to amber alone.
One of Queen Elizabeth's physicians discovered that this
property was common to all substances.
CHAPTER III
THE NEW ARRIVAL
It is most amusing to me and my fellow-electrons to hear intelligent
people speak of us as though we were new arrivals on this planet. Dear
me! We were here for countless ages before man put in an appearance. I
wonder if any man can realise that we have been on the move ever since
the foundations of this world were laid. It is man himself who is the
new arrival.
It does seem strange to us that men should be so distinctly different
from one another. We electrons are at a decided disadvantage, for we are
all identical in every respect. I have no individual name--it would
serve no purpose. Even if you could see me, you could not distinguish me
from any other electron. I wonder sometimes if men appreciate the great
advantage they have in possessing individual names. I was impressed
with this thought one fine summer morning. While I was riding on the
back of a particle of gas in the atmosphere, I was carried through the
open window of a nursery just as the under-nurse was putting the room in
order. A little later there was some commotion in the nursery, for the
young mother and her mother had come to see the twin daughters being
bathed by the nurses. The grandmother happened to remark how very much
alike the two little infants were. She said laughingly to the head nurse
that she must be careful not to get the children mixed. But the big
brother, aged five years, remarked that it would not matter really how
much they were mixed until they got their names. Sometimes I wish we
electrons did differ from one another, so that we might each possess an
individual name, but no doubt it is necessary for us all to be exactly
alike.
Long before man had discovered us, he caused us deliberately to do
certain things. He was mystified by the results of his experiments, for
he was not aware of our presence. A few of my fellow-electrons have
rather hazy recollections of being disturbed while clinging to a piece
of amber. They had been disturbed often before in a similar way, by
being rubbed against a piece of woollen cloth, and the result had been
always that a number of electrons let go their hold upon the cloth and
crowded on to the amber. The overcrowding was uncomfortable, but it
happened usually that the surplus electrons found some means of escape
to the earth, where there is no need of excessive crowding.
On the occasion to which I refer, it so happened that the rubbing had
been unusually vigorous and prolonged, so that the electrons were
crowded on to the amber in great numbers. In their endeavour to escape
they produced a strain or stress in the surrounding aether, and this
caused a small piece of straw, which was lying within the disturbed
area, to be forced towards the amber.
What attracted the attention of the electrons was that the man who was
holding the piece of amber removed the clinging straw and replaced it
exactly where it had been lying. In the meantime he had been handling
the amber, and many of the crowded electrons had managed to make a bolt
for the earth by way of the man's body. They did this so very quietly
that the man did not feel any sensation. However, as soon as the amber
was rubbed again, a similar crowd provided the same attractive property.
We electrons became impatient to hear what man would say of our work,
for it was apparent that he had noticed the movements of the straw. You
will hardly believe me when I tell you to what decision these wise men
of the East came. They declared that, in rubbing the amber, it had
received heat and life. As if life could be originated in any such
simple manner!
You can picture our disappointment when we found that man was going to
ignore our presence. Occasionally we were given opportunities of
displaying our abilities in drawing light objects towards pieces of
rubbed amber. But the funny thing was that man got hold of the stupid
idea that this attractive property belonged to the amber instead of to
us. If he had only tried pieces of sulphur, resin, or glass, he would
have found that these substances would have acted just as well. You see
it was not really the substance, but we electrons who were the active
agents.
We had given up all hope of being discovered, when news came along that
a learned man was on the hunt for us. He was crowding us on to all sorts
of substances. He rubbed a piece of glass with some silk, and at first
he was surprised greatly to see light objects jump towards the excited
glass. Of course, we were not surprised in the very least. The only
thing that amused us was to find that he was making out a list of the
different substances which showed attractive properties when rubbed. He
could not, evidently, get away from the idea that it was the substances
themselves that became attractive.
We were sorry that the poor experimenter wasted so much time and energy
in trying to crowd us on to a piece of metal rod. He rubbed and he
rubbed that metal, but it would attract nothing, and I shall tell you
the reason. You know that we electrons hate overcrowding; indeed we
always separate from one another as far as possible when there is no
force pulling us together. We only crowded on to the amber because we
could not help ourselves; we had no way of escape, for amber is a
substance we cannot pass through. But we have no difficulty whatever in
making our way along a piece of metal, and as soon as the rubbing
began, some electrons moved off the metal by way of the man's arm and
body to make room for those being crowded on to the metal from the
rubber. And so there never was any overcrowding, and consequently no
straining of the aether. But it was not long before we found that man had
succeeded in cutting off our way of escape. He had attached a glass
handle to the metal rod, and we were compelled to overcrowd upon the
metal as we could not pass through the glass handle. Neighbouring light
objects were attracted by the excited or "electrified" metal. Even this
demonstration did not put man upon our track.
Perhaps I should explain in passing, that when a glass rod is rubbed
with a silk handkerchief we crowd on to the silk, and not on to the
glass. This leaves the glass rod short of electrons, and the aether is
strained so that light objects are attracted. Man did notice that there
was some difference between a piece of amber and a piece of glass when
these were excited. What the difference was he could not imagine, but to
distinguish the two different conditions he said that the amber was
charged with _negative_ electricity and the glass with _positive_
electricity.
From that time forward man became of special interest to us. We felt
sure that sooner or later he was bound to recognise that we were at work
behind the scenes. It seemed to us, however, that man was desperately
slow in turning his attention towards us, and we tried to waken him up
in a rather alarming fashion, as I shall relate in the succeeding
chapter.
CHAPTER IV
SOME GOOD SPORT
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER FOUR_
Men began to make glass plate machines for producing
electrification on a larger scale.
The electric spark is produced.
The electron tells the story of the first attempt to store
electricity in a glass jar.
This is what we do now by means of a Leyden jar.
A sudden expulsion of electrons from one object to another is
called a discharge of electricity.
Lightning is a discharge of electrons from a cloud to the earth
or from cloud to cloud.
In repeating Franklin's experiment of drawing electricity from
thunder-clouds, a Russian professor received a fatal shock.
CHAPTER IV
SOME GOOD SPORT
Now I must tell you of a surprise in which I took an active part. Some
man thought he would separate a great crowd of us from our friends. Of
course, he did not think really of _us_, but whatever he may have
supposed he was doing, he succeeded in accumulating greater crowds of us
together than he had done previously. He managed this by making simple
machines to do the rubbing for him on a larger scale. The result was
really too much for us; we were kept crowding on to a sort of brass comb
arrangement from which we could not escape, as the metal was attached to
a glass support. Talk about overcrowding! I had never experienced the
like before, and I felt sure some catastrophe would happen. Suddenly
there was a stampede, during which a great crowd of electrons forced
their way across to a neighbouring object and thence to the earth. I
can assure you it was no joke getting through the air. We all tried to
leap together, but some of the crowd were forced back upon us; then bang
forward we went again, back once more, and so on till we settled down to
our normal condition. Of course all this surging to and fro occupied far
less time than it takes to tell. Indeed, I could not tell you what a
very small fraction of a second it took.
I wish you had seen the experimenter's surprise as we made this jump. We
caused such a bombardment in the air that there was a bright spark
accompanied by a regular explosion. Some men ran away with the idea that
electricity was a mysterious fire, which only showed itself when it
mixed with the atmosphere. Nothing delighted us more, after our own
surprise was over, than to have a chance of repeating these explosions,
to the alarm of the experimenters. But the best sport of all was to
come, and when I heard of it I was so disappointed that I had not been
one of the sporting party. It came about in the following way.
[Illustration: DAMAGE DONE BY A PARTY OF ELECTRONS
_By permission of Dixon and Corbitt and R. S. Newall, Ltd._
_Glasgow_
When a myriad of electrons is discharged suddenly from a cloud to the
earth, it happens sometimes that considerable damage is done. The above
photograph is of a church steeple damaged by lightning in 1875. No
lightning-conductor was provided, so the electrons had to get to earth
by way of the steeple itself, with the disastrous result as shown.]
One learned man thought he had hit upon a good idea. He tried to
crowd a tremendous number of us into some water contained in a glass
jar. Without condescending to think of us, he crowded an enormous number
of electrons from one of his rubbing machines along a piece of chain
which led them into water. The overcrowding was appalling, for it was
impossible to escape through the glass vessel. Things had reached a
terrible state, when the experimenter stopped the machine and put
forward his hand to lift the chain out of the water. Now was the chance
of escape, so the whole excited crowd made one wild rush to earth by way
of the experimenter's body. The rapid surging to and fro of the crowd
racked the man's muscles. I wish I had been there to see him jump; they
say it was something grand. You can imagine how the little sinners
enjoyed the joke; they knew they were safe, as man had no idea of their
existence at that time.
Another man was foolhardy enough to try a similar experiment, and they
say that his alarm was even greater; indeed, he swore he would not take
another shock even for the crown of France. We were all eager to get
opportunities of alarming man, not that we wished him any harm, but we
thought he might pay us a little more attention.
I remember one occasion upon which some of us were boasting of what we
had done in the way of alarming men, whereupon one fellow-electron
rather belittled our doings. He maintained that he had jumped all the
way from a cloud to the earth, along with a crowd of other electrons. In
doing so they had scared the inhabitants of a whole village, for they
alighted upon the steeple of a church, and in their wild rush they
played such havoc among the atoms composing the steeple that they did
considerable outward damage to the great structure.
I may as well confess that we are not free agents in performing these
gigantic jumps; we are compelled to go with the crowd when things are in
such a state of stress. We simply cannot hold on to the atoms of matter
upon which we happen to be located. It is only under very considerable
pressure that we can perform this class of jump, and I beg to assure you
that we are perfectly helpless in those cases where we have been dashed
upon some poor creature with a message of death.
Alas! on one occasion I was one of a party who killed a very learned
man. It was most distasteful to us; we could not possibly prevent it. He
had erected a long rod which extended up into the air, and terminated at
the lower end in his laboratory. Some of us who were in the upper
atmosphere were forced on to this iron rod, and from past experience we
quite expected that we should be subjected to a sudden expulsion to
earth. Indeed we were waiting for the experimenter to provide us with a
means of escape, when suddenly he brought his head too near to the end
of the rod, and in a moment we were dashed to earth through his body. We
learned with deep regret that the poor man had been robbed of his life.
To turn to something of a happier nature, I shall proceed to tell you of
some of my earliest recollections. Remember I shall be speaking of a
time long before man existed--even before this great planet was a solid
ball.
CHAPTER V
MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER FIVE_
This great globe upon which we live was once a glowing mass of
flaming gas.
It is possible that the whole solar system was once one great
mass.
In any case, we have no doubt that the moon is simply the result
of a part of our glowing mass having become detached.
In the hottest stars we find only the lightest atoms of matter,
such as hydrogen gas, the atoms of heavier substances being
found in stars which have begun to cool down.
The electrons have been present from the very beginning, and it
is they who go to make up the atoms of matter.
We picture an atom of matter as a miniature solar system of
revolving electrons.
There is doubtless a corresponding amount of positive
electricity, but so far we have no evidence of its nature.
CHAPTER V
MY EARLIEST RECOLLECTIONS
Before giving an account of the everyday duties which we perform, it may
interest you to hear something of our early history.
Not only have we been on the move ever since the beginning of this
world, but some of us have clear recollections of this planet long
before it was a solid body. The whole world was a great ball of flaming
gas. I have heard some fellow-electrons say that we were attached to a
greater mass of incandescent gas before the beginning of this world, but
I have no personal recollections of it. But one thing I do remember is a
great upheaval which caused a large mass of gas to become detached from
our habitation. Without any warning a great myriad of our
fellow-electrons were carried away on this smaller mass. At first this
detached mass circled around our greater mass at very close quarters,
but we soon found that our friends were being carried farther and
farther away, until they are now circling around this solid planet at a
comparatively great distance. Man calls this detached mass _the moon_,
and when I have heard children say in fun that they wish they could
visit the man in the moon, I have longed to go and see how it fares with
those fellow-electrons who seem to be separated from us in such a
permanent manner.
After this exciting event, which I have heard described as "the birth of
the moon," our great ball of flaming gas began to cool gradually. But
you will be interested in what happened before the moon's birth. I saw a
crowd of electrons suddenly congregate together along with _something_
else which man has not discovered. Never mind the other part, but
picture a number of electrons forming a little world of their own. There
they went whirling around in a giddy dance. I saw these little worlds or
"atoms" being formed all around, and I feel truly thankful now that I
was not caught in the mad whirl, for these fellow-electrons have been
kept hard at it ever since, imprisoned within a single atom. I have met
a very few electrons who have escaped from within an atom, but I shall
tell you about them later on.
The first thing I noticed was that each of the atoms had practically the
same number of electrons in it. At that time I thought only in an
abstract way, but since then I have learned that these were _hydrogen_
atoms; hydrogen being the lightest substance known to man. Exactly what
happened next I cannot recollect, but my attention was attracted later
to larger congregations of electrons forming other little worlds of
their own. These atoms were, of course, heavier than the hydrogen atoms.
I saw quite a variety of different systems, of which I thought then in
an abstract fashion, but which I know now to be atoms of _oxygen_,
_nitrogen_, _carbon_, _iron_, _copper_, and so on. While man has given
the atoms these distinguishing names, you will understand that the
incidents which I am relating took place long before there was any
appearance of solidity about our planet; these substances were all in a
gaseous state.
After this, I recollect that there was a great envelope of water-vapour
condensed around the planet. Some condensed into liquid water upon the
surface of the globe, while part was suspended in the form of clouds.
Some of my fellow-electrons acted as _nuclei_ or foundations for the
formation of the cloud particles. The water which condensed upon the
earth settled down in the hollows, which had been produced previously by
the immense pressure of the water-vapour envelope. We can hardly believe
it is the same world.
You cannot imagine how strange it was to see the great oceans boiling
and steaming; of course, they were fresh water then. I need hardly tell
you that they have become salt only because the rivers have brought down
sodium into them, and when these sodium atoms unite with chlorine atoms
they form particles of common salt. I know all about this because we
electrons play a very important part in all such combinations.
One very memorable recollection is that of life originating in the
oceans. I wish I could let you into the secret of _the origin of life_,
but, according to the Creator's plan, man must find out for himself.
Your guesses are all wide of the mark.
By the way, perhaps I should explain why I have been selected to write
this biography. The first reason is that I am a free or detachable
electron, and the second point in my favour is that I have had
exceptional opportunities of seeing about me. I have heard men say that
lookers-on see most of the game, and as I have witnessed the gradual
evolution of things, you will understand that I have views of my own. A
casual observer might think that things had deteriorated, for long ago
there were immense monsters upon this planet, and these would put all
modern creatures in the shade as far as size and strength are concerned.
But one of the most interesting things to me has been to watch the
evolution of man, and more especially the gradual development of his
brain. Indeed, sometimes I have wished that I had happened to be an
electron in the brain of a man; but, on the other hand, my career would
not have been of the varied kind which it has been.
CHAPTER VI
MAN PAYS US SOME ATTENTION
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER SIX_
Men found that by exhausting the air from glass globes or tubes
it was possible to pass electric discharges through them, and in
so doing some very beautiful luminous effects were produced
within the vacuum tubes.
It was when experimenting with one of these tubes that a
scientist suggested that radiant particles were being shot
across the tube.
These particles were really electrons, but it was thought at
that time that they were atoms of matter.
Another scientist declared, from certain mathematical
calculations, that there existed extremely small particles of
something around the atoms of matter, and that it was the motion
of these in the aether which produced _light_.
People were not willing to accept this theory.
Some time later another scientist was able to prove by
experiment that these particles did exist.
This was done by means of the spectroscope, as will be related
by the electron in a later chapter.
CHAPTER VI
MAN PAYS US SOME ATTENTION
From the little I have told you already of our experiences, you will see
that men had been making many experiments in which we electrons took a
very active part. It was disappointing that even although we had
surprised man in so many different ways, he had never become suspicious
of our presence. One day, however, we did begin to hope for recognition.
I was present, with a great crowd of electrons, imprisoned within a
glass globe from which the air had been extracted. We were very pleased
to find that the surrounding space had been cleared of air, for it was
apparent that the experimenter was going to make us jump across from one
end of the glass tube to the other.
A crowd of us had collected on the extremity of a wire, or "electrode,"
at the one end of the tube, while another similar crowd was present on
the other electrode at the opposite end of the tube. While I speak of a
crowd, meaning that there were millions of us, I do not suggest that we
were overcrowded, for we had plenty of elbow-room to move about on the
atoms to which we were attached. All in a moment the scene was changed.
We felt a crowd of electrons pressing us forward and forcing us right up
to the very end of the electrode. We found that the crowd was
approaching by a wire leading into the tube. Soon the crowding had
reached such a condition that we became alarmed; we could see no way of
escape. We were imprisoned by the glass walls, but we soon discovered
that many of the electrons who had been stationed on the other electrode
had deserted their posts and fled along a wire leading out of the tube.
If we could only follow them. It would be a tremendous jump to get over
to the other wire, but the way was fairly clear of air. When the
overcrowding reached a certain point we were literally shot across from
the one electrode to the other. This was the first time I had ever
experienced anything of the kind, but many fellow-electrons had gone
through similar performances for years at the hands of other
experimenters.
However, it was somewhat alarming to be fired off like a rocket across
the tube. What happened after that I cannot recollect, but some time
later I was present in that or a similar tube when I heard the
experimenter say to a friend that he believed there were particles
flying across his tube. We sent news all along the line stating that at
last we had been discovered, and I can assure you that we felt proud.
But our joy was not long-lived, for it turned out that we were
considered to be particles or atoms of matter; the experimenter spoke of
us as "radiant matter." This was a real disappointment.
It took us some time to recover from our disappointment at being
mistaken for clumsy atoms of matter. We are of a higher order of things
altogether. No atom of matter can travel at speeds such as we can. We
cross these vacuum tubes with speeds equal to millions of miles per
minute.
A great many of us were kept busy within vacuum tubes by other
experimenters, but nothing very exciting happened. Indeed, we had lost
all hope of attracting man's attention to ourselves as long as we were
imprisoned within these tubes. In the meantime our hopes were revived by
news which reached us from another quarter.
We heard that a very learned man had declared boldly that there did
exist little particles which revolved around the atoms of matter, and
that it was the motion of these tiny particles in the aether which
produced the well-known waves of _light_. There was considerable
rejoicing among us, for we were anxious to have our services recognised
by man. This great man was not guessing merely; he was willing to prove
by mathematical calculations that we did exist in reality. Of course, we
ourselves required no proof of our existence, but we believed that man
would be convinced. Our high hopes were soon laid low; news reached us
that people were shaking their heads and saying that figures could be
made to prove anything.
After we had settled down to our ordinary duties, we got word that at
last man had really detected us in a flame of gas. This seemed quite
reasonable, for, as I shall relate to you in another chapter, we have a
very lively time of it in a flame of gas. However, when we were
informed that man had discovered us by means of a sort of telescope
arrangement, I, for one, began to doubt the truth of the discovery. Some
time before this I had heard that men were spying at gas flames in the
hope of finding us, and this seemed most ridiculous, for if man could
not see the large congregations of us called _atoms_, how could he
expect to see individual electrons? My ignorance was dispelled when it
was explained that man had not been looking for us directly, but for the
aether waves which we produce. But I have not had an opportunity of
explaining to you how some of us produce waves in the aether; I shall
have to wait till a later chapter. In the meantime I may say that since
this important discovery I have taken some part in an experiment similar
to the historic one wherein we were detected, but of that too I shall
have more to say again.
The rejoicing at this discovery was not confined to us, for men of
science were quick to grasp the importance which was attached to this
new knowledge. We felt that man was bound to acknowledge our services
from that day. The next event was our christening, and this was not all
plain sailing. Indeed, we have been rather annoyed with one name which
some good friends persist in giving us. I refer to the name _corpuscle_,
which we feel to be a sort of nickname, although it may have been
suggested in all kindness. It may be difficult for you to appreciate our
dislike to this name, but it seems to us to savour too much of material
things. It is not dignified; you must remember we are not matter. We are
delighted with what we prefer to call our real name--electron--for that
speaks of electricity. As you know, we are units of particles of
negative electricity, and so this seems a most sensible and suitable
name. But I must hasten to tell of some of our everyday duties in which
we serve man.
CHAPTER VII
A STEADY MARCH
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER SEVEN_
The steady motion of electrons from atom to atom along a wire,
or other conductor, constitutes the well-known "electric
current."
The moving electrons disturb the aether around the wire and
produce what we know as a "magnetic field."
The electron explains why it is necessary to have a complete
circuit before any electric current can take place.
Also how one length of wire may be used to connect two distant
places provided the two extremities of the wire are buried in
the earth.
CHAPTER VII
A STEADY MARCH
Personally I knew nothing about marching until quite recently. Indeed,
none of my fellow-electrons seem to have had definite ideas of regular
marches previous to last century. That century is prominent in our
history as well as in man's. There is no doubt that before then we must
have made more or less regular marches through the crust of the earth
and elsewhere; but for myself I have no such recollection previous to
the following occasion.
The experience was not a very exciting one. I found myself passing along
from atom to atom in a copper wire. But what was of special interest to
us was that it became evident that these enforced marches were being
deliberately controlled by man. Of course you will understand that man
knew nothing of our existence at that time. All he knew was that when
he placed a piece of zinc and a piece of copper in a chemical solution,
there were certain effects produced in some mysterious fashion. For
instance, when he connected the top of the two metals in this chemical
cell or "battery" by a piece of wire, he got what he described as an
_electric current_. Now all that happened really was this. The chemical
action in this battery which man had devised caused a rearrangement
among the atoms composing the metals and the solution, with the result
that we poor electrons had to rearrange our domiciles. As an
accumulation of electrons gathered on the zinc, some of us were forced
along the connecting wire towards the copper. As long as the chemical
action in the battery was kept up, so long were we kept on the march
from the zinc to the copper by way of the wire.
Man tried increasing the length of this wire bridge across which we had
to pass, but we had no difficulty in making our way along. But you must
not run away with the idea that we rush along the wire with lightning
speed. Although we can fly through the aether at a prodigious speed, our
progress from atom to atom in a wire is more like a snail-pace. As a
matter of fact, our rate of march is much less than the walking pace of
a man; indeed it may be stated conveniently as so many yards per hour.
Some people may find it difficult to believe that our rate of march is
so very slow. Their front door is a good many yards away from their
electric bell, but it does not take us an hour, or any appreciable part
of a minute, to summon the maid. The secret is that there is a whole
regiment of us along the wire, and before one of us moves on to a
neighbouring atom, another electron must move off that atom and on to
its neighbour, and so on. In this way the electrons at the far end of
the wire commence to move at practically the same moment as those near
the battery.
It has been a source of amusement to me to see people perfectly
mystified by the fact that they can get no electric current unless they
have a complete circuit. What else could they expect? How could man
march if he had no road to march on? You see, the reason for our march
is that we wish to escape from the overcrowding on the zinc, and we are
forced towards the copper. The atoms composing the wire are our
stepping-stones, and if there is not a complete chain of atoms we are
helpless. You have already heard how we can jump an air-space under very
great pressure, but that condition does not exist in the present case.
When we are disturbed by the chemical action of the battery, we should
prefer to have a short-cut from the zinc to the copper, but if the only
path man gives us is by way of a long wire, then we must be content to
travel that road, in order to reach the copper. It is a matter of little
moment to us what arrangement man makes as long as he gives us a
complete path. For instance, he may lead us out from the zinc to a
distant telegraph instrument, and then, instead of providing a second
wire to take us back to the battery, he may conduct us by a short wire
to the earth. We are quite content to lose ourselves in this great
reservoir, provided man places another short wire from the earth to the
copper of the battery at the other end of the line. Then as we slip off
at the one end of the line, an equal number of electrons can climb up at
the other end, and thus enable all our friends in the long wire to keep
up a steady march.
This march of ours is not merely a means of transporting ourselves from
one place to another; it is to enable us to do work. It is only when we
are in motion that we can do useful work, for we must move before we can
disturb the aether, and it is by means of the aether that we transmit
energy.
If you place a magnetic needle or mariner's compass near a wire along
which we are making a steady march, you will find that we can affect our
fellow-electrons who are stationed within the magnetic needle. We cause
the needle to swing round and take up a position at right angles to our
line of march. We succeed in doing this because these electrons in the
magnetic needle are on the move also. But this reminds me that I have
never told you how we produce that aether disturbance which you call
_magnetism_.
When, as children, you played with toy magnets in the nursery, little
did you think that there was a host of tiny electrons amusing you. And
yet we electrons are responsible entirely for all magnetic effects, as I
shall proceed to explain.
CHAPTER VIII
A USEFUL DANCE
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER EIGHT_
We believe magnetism to be due to electrons revolving around
atoms of iron and other magnetic substances, as related by the
electron in this chapter.
We have seen that the steady motion of electrons along a wire
produces a magnetic field around the wire.
Therefore if we have electrons revolving round and round the
atoms in a piece of iron, there will be a miniature magnetic
field around each atom.
The electron explains why a piece of iron does not show the
magnetic power locked up within it until it is "magnetised."
The electron refers to electro-magnets; an electro-magnet is
simply a piece of soft iron with a coil of insulated wire wound
around it.
The iron only shows its magnetic power as long as a current of
electricity is kept passing through the surrounding coil of
wire, for reasons which the electron explains.
CHAPTER VIII
A USEFUL DANCE
I may tell you quite frankly that I have never taken part in the
perpetual dance of which I am about to tell you. I am of a free
and roaming disposition, but I have often watched some of my
fellow-electrons at this work. Of course, it is pleasant work, as all
our duties are, now that man acknowledges our services.
We are responsible for the behaviour of the mariner's compass needle. It
is we who cause it to point continually in one definite direction. If we
ceased to dance around the iron atoms in the compass needle aboard a
ship, the man at the helm could not tell in what direction he was going,
and sooner or later he would be almost certain to wreck his vessel. For
this service alone man ought to be grateful to us, but before I have
finished my story, you will find that even this important duty is but a
small affair when compared with many of our other tasks.
There is one matter I should like to make quite clear to you. Although
we electrons are all identical, we have different stations to fill. You
have doubtless become familiar with my roving disposition, and you
probably think of me as a detachable electron. Then there are our
friends who are locked up within the atoms of matter--part and parcel of
the atom. And now I am introducing you to those electrons who act as
satellites to the atoms, revolving around them at a comparatively great
distance, just as the moon revolves around the earth. These are the
electrons which give rise to the magnetism in a piece of iron. There are
other electrons which perform very rapid revolutions around all classes
of atoms, but I shall introduce these friends later on.
[Illustration: A TOBACCO-TIN DEFYING GRAVITATION
That phenomenon known as "magnetism" is due to the steady locomotion of
electrons, as explained in the text. Here we see a large magnet
attracting a tinned iron box which is tethered to the table by two
cords. The result is that the box is supported in the air. The spiral
wires are connected to the electro-magnet, an explanation of which is
given in Chapter VIII.]
I need hardly remark that a piece of ordinary iron does not behave like
a magnet. Indeed, it is fortunate that it does not. If it did, man could
not get along with his work very well. The hammer would stick to the
head of the nail it had struck, the fire-irons would stick to the
fender, while the cook's pots and pans would hold on to the kitchen
range. That would be a very stupid arrangement, but we electrons have
really no say in the matter of arrangement. We are always on the move,
performing a perpetual dance around the iron atoms, but the atoms
arrange themselves in a higgledy-piggledy fashion, so that the electrons
on one atom pull the aether in one direction while others pull the aether
in an opposite direction. In this way the outward effect is not
perceptible. When, however, man places a coil of wire around the iron,
and makes a crowd of electrons march along the wire, these marching
electrons affect the aether, which in turn influences the satellite
electrons which are revolving around the atoms of iron. You may be
somewhat surprised when I tell you that, owing to this aether
disturbance, these satellite electrons are able to produce a
rearrangement among the atoms. If you doubt my word, you may easily
prove the truth of the statement. If you magnetise a long bar of iron
you will find that its length is actually altered. This is due to our
having disturbed the arrangement of the atoms.
Perhaps I should explain that when we force the atoms into their new
condition, we can do so only under the aether stress set up by our
fellow-electrons who are marching in the neighbouring wire. Whenever
their march ceases the aether stress is withdrawn, and the atoms are able
to fall back into their old higgledy-piggledy condition. In this way man
is able to make a piece of iron a magnet and to unmake it as often as he
cares by simply switching on and off the electric current from the wire
surrounding the iron.
If a piece of hard steel is used in place of soft iron, then we find
that the atoms are not so easily disturbed, but when they are once
brought into line with one another, they will remain in their new
condition after the aether disturbance has been withdrawn. It may seem
strange to you that quite a small percentage of carbon atoms added to
the pure soft iron should cause such a marked difference, but the matter
seems plain enough to us. Man was so impressed with the manner in which
the atoms were evidently fixed in their new condition that he spoke of
_permanent magnets_. It is especially fortunate for man that these
pieces of steel do retain their magnetism, and give us a reliable
mariner's compass. But I shall tell you how you may disturb even these
sedate atoms. If you hammer the metal very vigorously, or if you heat it
to redness, you will find that the atoms have been freed from what
appeared to be their permanent position, and they are back to their old
higgledy-piggledy condition, so that we electrons are all opposing one
another. Remember we are hard at work all the time although we may be
giving no outward sign of our activity.
While we render an important aid to man by providing this permanent
magnet for his compass, you will find that a very great deal of our
assistance to man in his everyday life depends upon our behaviour in
soft iron electro-magnets. It is in these that man can control our
behaviour at will. It is through this simple piece of apparatus--the
electro-magnet--that man has been able to accomplish so much in
signalling to his friends at a distance. It is also by means of these
electro-magnets that man can get us to turn an electric motor, and so
on. But I must tell you, first of all, how we enable man to signal to a
distance, or, in other words, how we carry man's news.
CHAPTER IX
HOW WE CARRY MAN'S NEWS
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER NINE_
The electron explains wherein its method differs from all other
methods.
It is well known that within recent years the old iron telegraph
wires have been replaced by much lighter copper wires; the
electron explains the reason for this change.
It describes how the electrons manage to work the most widely
used form of telegraph instrument, which is called the "Morse,"
after its inventor.
Here we find one of the practical applications of the
electro-magnet described in the preceding chapter.
CHAPTER IX
HOW WE CARRY MAN'S NEWS
It is we electrons who have so very far outdistanced all material
carriers of news. You must acknowledge that the best runner, the
swiftest horse, the fastest express train, and the prize carrier pigeon,
are all nowhere when compared with us electrons.
But I do not wish to mislead you in any way, and I can speak from
personal experience in this case. We do not race off with man's messages
in the same sense as these other messengers do. Our swiftness of
communication depends upon the simple fact that man provides a whole
connecting regiment of us between the two distant places. And when the
order to march is given we all move off at practically the same moment.
In this way the electrons at the far end of the connecting wire are able
to cause signals there immediately. This is the secret of man's success
in being able to hold immediate communication with his distant friends.
His success is due entirely to the co-operation of us electrons.
My personal experience has been in connection with a very simple
telegraphic arrangement. Indeed, the most of our duties in transmitting
messages are performed with this particular kind of instrument, known as
a "Morse sounder."
At the time of which I speak, I had become attached to an atom of iron
in the end of a long telegraph wire. From this you will probably guess
that my experience was gained some time ago, for man does not use iron
wires nowadays in fitting up telegraph lines. He used iron at first, and
some of these lines still exist, but when he discovered that a very much
lighter copper wire would serve the same purpose, he discarded the heavy
iron wires. Man explained the matter by saying that the copper offered
less resistance to the electric current, and the majority of people were
quite satisfied with this kind of explanation. Of course these are
merely convenient phrases which give man no real reason for the
difference. The real reason is that we electrons are able to move about
from one copper atom to another with very much greater ease than we can
among the iron atoms. That is the reason why man made the change from
iron to copper wires, although he had no idea of the reason at the time.
To return to my experience in connection with a telegraph instrument, I
found that we were being subjected to a series of forced marches. The
whole regiment of electrons along the line made a forward move. The line
of march ended in a short length of fine wire wound around a piece of
soft iron to form an electro-magnet. The end of the wire dipped into the
earth, as I have explained in an earlier chapter.
Now all that we electrons had to do was to make a forward move, halt,
forward again, another halt, and so on. Sometimes the signal to halt was
longer in being given than at other times, but we found that this was
intentional, and that there were two definite lengths of march. I have
explained already how we marching electrons cause an electro-magnet to
attract a piece of iron and let it go again as soon as we cease
marching. It only remains for me to give you a general statement of how
we work the Morse telegraph.
Man has arranged a little lever with an iron end-piece immediately above
the electro-magnet, so that the magnet may attract it. Of course you are
aware that it is the electrons within the soft-iron core of the
electro-magnet who produce the magnetic effect. Every time we electrons
in the surrounding wire make a forward move, the electro-magnet pulls
down the end of the little lever referred to. As long as we keep
marching, so long will the end of the lever remain down, but the moment
we halt, the lever is free to be pulled up by a spring attached to it.
The movements of the lever indicate the length of our long and short
marches, and it is by means of these that man sends signals. All that he
does is to control our march, by means of an electric push and a battery
at one end of the wire, and it is we who produce the signals at the
distant end of the wire. Each time man presses the push we move the
distant lever. When we pull the lever down it is so arranged that it
makes a sound like "click," and when we let it spring up against a stop
it makes another sound not unlike "clack." Our long and short marches
are therefore converted into long and short "click-clacks." Man has made
a simple code of signals representing his alphabet, and right merrily do
we rap out the signals for which we receive orders at the distant end of
the wire, while some one at the other end listens to the sounds we cause
to be made.
I have told you enough of our duties to let you see how we are able to
carry man's news from one part of the earth to any other part. By far
the greatest part of our signalling work is done with this simple Morse
sounder.
It may interest you to note that we can produce those signals far faster
than man can read them. When man found this out he took advantage of our
powers. He made an automatic transmitter which could manipulate the
make-and-break of the battery current far more rapidly than any human
fingers could do. Then as we rapped off the signals with lightning speed
at the distant end, he attached a little ink-wheel to the end of the
moving lever, so that it could mark short and long strokes on a ribbon
of paper passing close to it. Although man could not distinguish the
signals by his ear he was able to read the record of those we caused to
be left upon the paper ribbon.
We have been made to work many other forms of telegraph instruments. In
some of these we control type-letters, while in others we imitate
handwriting, but all these are merely adaptations of our powers of
marching. We are proud of our achievements in rapid signalling, which
all right-thinking people have not been slow to acknowledge.
CHAPTER X
HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH DISTANT SHIPS
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER TEN_
In this chapter the electron deals with that modern
marvel--_Wireless Telegraphy_.
Here the aether of space plays a very prominent part.
The author has given some particulars about the aether in the
first chapter (_What the Story is about_).
In conjunction with that, the electron may be left to tell its
own story.
CHAPTER X
HOW WE COMMUNICATE WITH DISTANT SHIPS
Our duties in this case are totally different from those of which I have
been telling you. While we electrons can do many wonderful things, we
cannot march through space. We may be fired off like bullets from the
sun to the earth, but that is quite another matter. I shall have
something to say about that fact later on. You have seen already that
man can make us jump only a very short distance, even when he has
cleared our path of the obstructing air, as he does in a vacuum tube.
If men were to provide us with a complete path of metal atoms from the
shore to the ship, we could set to work upon the simple plan which I
have described in the preceding chapter. But, needless to say, man has
more sense than to attempt to keep up metallic connection with a ship
going away out to sea.
Even the wisest men were surprised when they heard that we electrons
could signal through space to great distances without any connecting
wires. We ourselves were not surprised. Had we not been doing this very
thing from the foundation of the world? Our fellow-electrons in the sun
have never ceased to communicate with those of us upon the earth. Of
course I am referring at present to those aether waves which man calls
_heat_ and _light_. But the waves which we make to carry man's messages
through space are of the very same nature, the only difference being
that they are much longer, or, in other words, much farther apart. They
do not follow each other so closely, and they do not affect the eye or
the sense of touch. However, these long waves are able to bestir some of
us electrons who are situated at a great distance from the sending
electrons.
Our method of producing such waves in the aether is by surging to and fro
from atom to atom in an upright wire. When we make a rapid to-and-fro
motion we send out great waves in the aether. The original plan adopted
by man was to make us jump across a spark-gap, but in this case also it
was our rapid oscillation to and fro that produced the waves. If we wish
the waves to carry to a great distance, we must club together in
considerable force to supply the necessary energy. The energy which we
can get from a battery and induction coil is not sufficient for any very
long distances. In such cases we require the aid of a _dynamo_, a
machine about which I shall have some experience to relate in another
chapter.
In communicating through space, our position is very similar to that of
two men shouting to one another over a distance. The one man disturbs
the air, thus sending air-waves (sound) over to his friend, and these
waves produce certain sensations which he can interpret. I should like
you to understand that we electrons are upon a higher plane than atoms
of matter. We cause waves in the all-pervading aether, not among clumsy
particles of air. After these aether waves have travelled enormous
distances they retain sufficient energy to disturb electrons situated at
the distant place.
I shall tell you of the first experience I had in this connection. I
found myself attached to an atom of _nickel_, a kind of atom which looks
to us electrons very much like an iron atom, because it has nearly the
same number of electrons composing it, only they are arranged
differently. But I was telling you that I found myself on this nickel
atom sealed up in a small glass tube. Of course there were myriads of
similar atoms all around me, but I did not feel very happy. I was being
urged forward, and yet I could not get across from some atoms to others,
for the nickel was in the form of loose filings. From past experience I
knew that there was a battery along the line somewhere; I could feel the
strain. All of a sudden I was startled to find that I could move
forward. Exactly what happened, I am not at liberty to tell, but this
much I may say, that it was the arrival of some aether waves which
altered the condition of things among the filings in the tube.
[Illustration: A MOTOR-CAR WITH WIRELESS TELEGRAPH
It has become quite a fashion in America to have motor-cars fitted up
for wireless telegraphy. That the electrons play an important part in
telegraphing through space is explained fully in Chapter X.]
We had just started out on our march forward when we received such a
shaking that we found ourselves in the same isolated positions as at
first; we could not get across from one particle to another. More
aether waves arrived, we made a fresh start, then came another rude
shaking, and so on we went starting and stopping. Indeed, it was the
regularity of these long and short marches that gave me the first idea
that we were being controlled by some telegraph operator. We were amused
to find that the rude shaking, of which I have been telling you, was
caused by the action of some of our fellow-electrons. Some of them in
their march around an electro-magnet in the receiving instrument caused
a little lever to knock against our tube and give us a sudden jolt.
I should like you to notice that the energy with which we moved the
telegraph instrument did not come from the distant station. It was a
local battery which worked the receiving instrument, but this battery
was controlled by the incoming aether waves affecting the tube of
filings. There is really no mystery about the matter, but I am anxious
not to take credit for anything more wonderful than we have actually
accomplished.
We electrons have rendered a very great service to man by enabling him
to communicate with his friends who are far out on the ocean, and cut
off from all possible chance of material communication. We are willing
to serve man on land also, though we very much prefer the ordinary
marching arrangement if he will provide a connecting wire. The fact is
that we find it very much more difficult to send aether waves over land
than we do over water.
I have heard some men ask how many different telegraph instruments may
be worked at one place simultaneously without confusion. That is a
question for man himself to answer. We electrons are able to produce any
variety of waves of different frequency or length; it remains only for
man to construct apparatus that will respond only to a definite rate of
waves. I hear that man has made considerable progress in tuning the
wireless instruments.
Some men are eager to get us to carry messages through space across the
great oceans from shore to shore. We shall not refuse, provided man
supplies sufficient energy, but I must admit that we electrons prefer
the submarine cable. Of course man may put this down to our laziness; we
certainly prefer as little severe straining as possible.
I have been telling you of my earliest and only personal experience in
connection with space telegraphy. I understand that greatly improved
methods have been adopted since that time, but I have never happened to
drift in their direction.
CHAPTER XI
HOW WE REPRODUCE SPEECH
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER ELEVEN_
In the first part of this chapter the electron explains the part
it plays in ordinary telephony.
The reader will picture the transmitting instrument at the one
end of the line influencing the receiving instrument at the
distant end.
Towards the end of the chapter the electron turns its attention
to the newer subject of _wireless telephony_, which has been
accomplished now over a distance of several hundred miles.
CHAPTER XI
HOW WE REPRODUCE SPEECH
My scribe suggested a rather clumsy title for this chapter--"Electrons
_versus_ atoms as carriers of speech." I expect he made this suggestion
without much thought, for there are two serious objections to such a
title.
In the first place, we are not carriers of speech. We are controlled by
speech at one end of the telephone line, and we make a reproduction of
the speech at the distant end of the line. No sound passes between the
two places; there is only a movement of electrons along the connecting
line.
My second objection to the hurriedly suggested title is that it is
hardly fair to make any comparison between the achievements of atoms of
matter and those of ourselves. We are not in the same category as
atoms. Besides, we electrons are dependent entirely upon the material
atoms for making our work useful to man. For instance, we might keep on
making waves in the aether for all time, and yet if the atoms of matter
were to pay no heed to those imperceptible waves, man would never be
aware of their presence. Indeed we electrons act solely as go-betweens.
On the other hand, it is only fair to ourselves to point out that a
group of atoms in one town could never communicate with a group of atoms
in a distant town unless we electrons came to their aid. It is true that
over a very short distance the atoms may communicate directly. For
instance, if a heavy blow is given to a large gong, the atoms of metal
may vibrate so energetically that they succeed in disturbing the atoms
of gas of the surrounding atmosphere for some considerable distance. But
in the case of speech, the speaker cannot supply any great energy, so
that he can disturb the atmosphere only to a very limited distance. We
electrons, however, can do yeoman service in this respect. We have
enabled men to speak to one another over immense distances.
The whole affair is very simple. Man speaks and causes the atmospheric
atoms to vibrate and impinge upon a light disc or diaphragm in a simple
instrument which man has named the _telephone_. This vibrating disc
presses upon a myriad of carbon particles contained in a small case or
box, the disc forming one side of the box. When these carbon particles
are pressed together we electrons can get across more easily from atom
to atom. There is a battery urging us forward, but our motion is
dependent entirely upon the manner in which the vibrating disc presses
upon the carbon particles. I cannot describe our movement in the
line-wire as a march; it is in reality a surging to and fro.
You will understand that this to-and-fro motion of the electrons in the
line-wire varies according to the vibrations of the sending disc, which
is controlled by the speaker's voice. At the distant end of the line we
electrons bring our magnetic powers into action. We keep varying the
attractive powers of an electro-magnet, according to the motion of the
electrons in the wire. This ever-changing magnet produces vibrations in
an iron disc which is fixed close to the magnet. This disc is set
vibrating in exact sympathy with the sending disc. When the listener
places this receiving disc close to his ear, the vibrations are carried
by the atmospheric atoms to his hearing apparatus. All that we electrons
have done is to cause one disc to vibrate in exact synchrony with
another distant disc. But that is all that is required, for the
receiving disc will reproduce similar air-vibrations to those set up by
the man's voice at the distant place. I have pointed out already that we
do not attempt to carry the sound. It is true that the atoms of matter
do the hard work, but it is we electrons who enable a group of atoms in
one town to communicate with a group of atoms in a distant town.
It was natural that as soon as man found that he could work his
telegraph instruments without the aid of connecting wires, he should try
to do the same with his telephone instruments. We were sorry when we
found men trying to use the original spark-telegraphy methods for
telephones. While we had no difficulty in operating a telegraph
instrument by means of aether waves and the tube of filings, it was quite
impossible for us to produce telephone vibrations on the same
principle. This spark method was a too rough-and-ready plan. The waves
we produced were like sudden splashes in the aether ocean, whereas we
knew that we must produce regular trains of continuous waves in order to
reproduce telephone vibrations. However, you may be aware that we have
succeeded by a different arrangement of apparatus. Indeed it may
interest you to know that one of my most recent experiences has been in
connection with some wireless-telephone experiments.
Unfortunately I was not in a very favourable position to learn all that
was going on, but it was quite exciting work. I happened to be attached
to an atom of copper in a length of wire which had been run up into the
air on a sort of flag-pole arrangement. I need hardly say that I was not
alone, for by this time you will have become accustomed to picture
myriads of electrons occupying a very small space.
We were set vibrating to and fro with tremendous energy, but what
bothered me most was the great variation in our movements. It was the
nature of these variations which gave me the clue that we were being
controlled by the vibrations of a telephone disc. I can tell you we did
make a complex series of waves in the surrounding aether! These waves
went out through space and influenced some electrons stationed at a
great distance. When these electrons at the receiving station were set
in motion they controlled the electric current from a local battery
which set a second telephone disc vibrating in synchrony with the one at
the sending station.
On questioning some of my fellow-electrons who happened to have been
nearer the transmitting part of the instrument than I had been, I got
some interesting information. They tell me that there was a dynamo and
an arc lamp in our circuit, while the telephone instrument was in a
neighbouring circuit. The electrons surging to and fro in the telephone
circuit influenced those energetic electrons in the arc-lamp circuit to
which the aerial wire was attached. You see that my position in the aerial
wire was not a very advantageous one for observing what was taking
place.
This was truly a great achievement--to enable one man to speak to
another distant hundreds of miles, and without the aid of any connecting
wire. I think you will agree with me that we have excelled all past
records in the world of wonders.
CHAPTER XII
OUR HEAVIEST DUTIES
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER TWELVE_
Here the electron explains its behaviour in a dynamo at work.
The principle of the dynamo was discovered by Faraday in the
thirties of last century.
He found that when a coil of wire was moved through a magnetic
field, there was a current of electricity induced in the moving
coil.
Experimental machines were constructed, and after a while a
practical dynamo was evolved.
Wires are attached to a dynamo and the electric current is led
out.
This current may be conducted to a distant tramway car, and, by
sending the current through an electric motor, mechanical motion
is produced and the car propelled along.
An electric motor is practically the same as a dynamo, but
instead of turning its coil round in order to produce an
electric current, we pass a current into the coil and it moves
round. It will be sufficient to leave the electron to tell its
own story.
CHAPTER XII
OUR HEAVIEST DUTIES
This is another of those roving commissions in which I have been
privileged to take part on more than one occasion.
If you think of the giant size of an electric tramway car or a railway
train, and try to compare one of these with an electron, such as your
humble servant, it will seem quite ridiculous that I should suggest that
it is we electrons who move those huge vehicles. Yet such is the actual
case.
Of course we require the application of very considerable power to urge
us to so heavy a task. All the energy which we can get from a few
electric batteries might enable us to drive a toy car, but when it comes
to turning the wheels of a real car or train, we require a
correspondingly greater amount of energy.
I may as well tell you quite frankly that we electrons are only the
intermediaries or go-betweens. Indeed, you must have noticed that in
every case we act merely as a connecting link between matter and the
aether, and between the aether and matter.
But what I want to tell you of, is the part we play in moving an
electric car or railway train. It is really all very simple if you could
only see it from our standpoint. Picture a host of us attached to copper
atoms in a coil of wire which is being moved through that disturbed
aether called a _magnetic field_. We are set in motion immediately. It is
true that when we are moved forward into the field we march off in one
direction, only to be arrested and made to move off in the opposite
direction as we leave the field, but it really makes no difference in
our working capabilities as long as we are kept on the move. This is
what is actually taking place in the armature of a dynamo as it revolves
between the poles of the electro-magnet. There is no peace for us so
long as the coil is kept revolving; we are kept in a constant state of
rapid to-and-fro motion.
[Illustration: A TRAIN IMPELLED BY MOVING ELECTRONS
_By permission of Siemens Schuckert Werke_
_Berlin_
It is remarkable that the motion of electrons in an electric conductor
can result in the movement of heavy vehicles. How this comes about is
explained in Chapter XII.]
This is all we electrons do in a dynamo, but when the ends of the outer
circuit or mains are brought into contact with the ends of our
revolving coil, we set the electrons in the mains surging to and fro in
step with ourselves. Man describes this motion of the electrons in the
mains as an _alternating electric current_, but by a simple commutator
on the dynamo he may arrange that we set the electrons marching in one
direction in the mains. This he describes as a _direct electric
current_.
It is a matter of indifference to us whether man drives our coil round
by means of a steam-engine, a water-wheel, or a wind-mill; all that we
electrons want is to be kept surging or vibrating to and fro. Now you
will be able to appreciate how we electrons get up sufficient motion to
enable us to perform what I have described as _our heaviest duties_.
Perhaps you will find it difficult to believe me when I tell you that as
we march along the connecting wire to a distant tramway car we transmit
the energy through the surrounding aether, and not through the wire. This
is our mode of working in every case, whether it be an electric bell, a
telegraph, or telephone. That is to say, while we electrons move from
atom to atom in the connecting wire, it is the disturbed aether
surrounding us which transmits the energy. You must have realised by
this time how very intimate is the relationship between ourselves and
the aether.
To return to the tale of our tramway work, you will picture my
fellow-electrons aboard the car being energised by the incoming current.
Those electrons present in the armature coil of the motor are set into
motion, as also are those in the wire of the neighbouring
electro-magnet. The result is that these two sets of electrons so
disturb the aether and affect one another that the coil is moved round
into a different position. You will remember the experiment of which I
told you, in which a magnetic needle would insist always in taking up a
position at right angles to a wire in which an electric current is
passing. Well, when the motor coil has turned into its new position, we
electrons receive an impulse from our friends in the line-wire which
causes us to retrace our steps in the coil. This action of ours causes
the coil to make a further movement in the same direction as at first.
Again we change our direction of march, and again the coil changes its
position towards the electro-magnet. The sole duty of these electrons in
the armature coil is to keep surging to and fro, while those electrons
in the electro-magnet keep up a steady march in one direction. This
arrangement necessitates the armature coil to keep changing its position
continually, and when we have the armature coil spinning round at a
steady pace, it is easy for man to connect the armature to the axles of
the tramway car and cause us to drive the wheels round.
I need hardly say that it makes no difference to us whether we are asked
to drive a tramway car, a railway train, or a host of machines in a
factory or workshop. All that we electrons in the motor require is to
have sufficient energy passed along to us from our fellows in the
distant dynamo. Again I admit frankly that the atoms of matter play a
very important part in these our heaviest duties, but you will see that
without our active assistance they could not transmit the necessary
energy to a distant car or train.
CHAPTER XIII
A BOON TO MAN
_THE SCRIBE'S NOTE ON CHAPTER THIRTEEN_
While it has been known for a long time that _light_ and
_radiant heat_ are merely waves in the aether, it was not known
until recently how these waves were produced.
The discovery of electrons has given us a reasonable solution of
our difficulty.
The electron explains the actions of its fellows in this great
work of producing light and heat.
Incidentally the electron explains how they produce an aurora in
the heavens, and how it is that the earth has become a
negatively electrified body.
CHAPTER XIII
A BOON TO MAN
Every living thing is dependent upon our activities. It is we electrons
who send out heat and light from the sun, and it is we who receive these
on their arrival upon this planet. Our action in the matter is really
very simple, but until man discovered our existence, he was mystified
considerably.