376 Carhart : [J. F.

L,

That ramie does not rot in water, and t h a t on this account

it is in g r e a t d e m a n d in the N a v y for sails, cordage, fishing
tackle, and w h e r e v e r the q u a l i t y of resistance to the atmos-
p h e r e and w a t e r is needed.
W i t h all the elements of success a b o v e explained, and
e v e n in t h e incessant a n d daily progress w h i c h this century
m a k e s in all thipgs, commerce, industry, literature, art,
science, a n e w i n d u s t r y of a n y scope and i m p o r t a n c e neces-
s i t a t e s for rapid d e v e l o p m e n t a large centre of production
and consumption. Philadelphia, I hope, will be this c e n t r e
for the ramie p r o d u c t i o n of t h e South, and the r a m i e manu-
facture and c o n s u m p t i o n for the w h o l e of this great
Republic.

REVIEW OF T H E O R I E S oF E L E C T R I C A L ACTION.*

By PROFESSOR H. S. CAlt.HART.

T h e P h y s i c s Section of this A s s o c i a t i o n c o n g r a t u l a t e s
itself b e c a u s e it deals w i t h topics of the m o s t lively and
general interest, not only from a practical point of view, b u t
still m o r e from a theoretical one. E v e n p o p u l a r i n t e r e s t in
electricity is n o w wellnigh universal. Its a p p l i c a t i o n s
increase with such prodigious r a p i d i t y t h a t only e x p e r t s can
k e e p pace with them. A t the s a m e t i m e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t s
in pu~e electrical t h e o r y are such as to a s t o u n d t h e ifltelli-
g e n t l a y m a n and to inflame the i m a g i n a t i o n of t h e m o s t
p r o f o u n d philosopher.
Of the practical applications of electricity it is n o t neces-
sary to speak. T h e y b e a r w i t n e s s of t h e m s e l v e s . A
million electric l a m p s n i g h t l y m a k e m o r e splendid the
l u s t r o u s n a m e of F a r a d a y ; a million m e s s a g e s daily, over
land and u n d e r sea, serve to e m p h a s i z e the v a l u e of J o s e p h
H e n r y ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n to m o d e r n civilization. Blot o u t t h e s e
t w o n a m e s alone from the g a l a x y of stars t h a t shine in the
* Address by Professor Carhart. Vice-President Section B, American
Association for the Advancement of Science, delivered at the annual meet-
ing, Toronto, August 28. I880. Abstract from The Electrical En¢ineer.
•Nov., I 8 8 9 . ] Theories o f Electrical Action. 377

physical firmament, take from the world t h e benefits of

their investigations, and the civilization of the p r e s e n t
would b e c o m e impossible. T h e v a l u e of the p u r e l y scien-
title w o r k o f such m e n is a t t e s t e d b y the resulting well-
being, c o m f o r t and h a p p i n e s s of mankind.
B u t t h e m i n d can n e v e r rest satisfied w i t h t h e facts and
applieations of a science, h o w e v e r i n t e r e s t i n g and useful
t h e y m a y be. It feels an i n w a r d i m p u l s e to link the facts
into a related whole, to inquire into their causes, to f r a m e a
satisfaetory t h e o r y of their correlation, and so to b u i l d on
t h e m a true seience.
It is, indeed, i n t e r e s t i n g to s t u d y the h i s t o r y of any
.~eientifie doctrine and to traee its d e v e l o p m e n t from the
c r u d e notions of its earliest stages to the m o r e refined con-
ceptions of later periods, c o m p o r t i n g indefinitely b e t t e r
with the m a r v e l l o u s processes of nature. S u c h a h i s t o r y we
h a v e in the views w h i c h h a v e b e e n held r e g a r d i n g the
nature and action of electricity. T h e transition from the
g l u t i n o u s effluvium of the sagacious R o b e r t Boyle to the
m a g n e t i c and electric w a v e s of the present, t r a v e r s i n g t h e
o m n i p r e s e n t e t h e r with the velocity of light, is not an easy
one to make, even in a period of 2oo years.
F o r m o r e than t w e n t y centuries n a t u r a l philosophers
h a d n o t h i n g b e t t e r t h a n the emission t h e o r y to account for
the attraction e x h i b i t e d b y r u b b e d a m b e r and o t h e r similar
substances. T h e i r notion w a s t h a t the r u b b i n g of the
a m b e r caused it t o emit an effluvium w h i c h r e t u r n e d again
to its source and carried light bodies back w i t h it.
In one r e s p e c t this faneiful a t t e m p t to explain electrical
a t t r a c t i o n deserves c o m m e n d a t i o n , for it evinees a m e n t a l
i n a p t i t u d e to account for physical actions " a t a distance,"
or w i t h o u t some i n t e r m e d i a t e agency. L a t e r philosophers,
aatisfied p e r h a p s too easily with m a t h e m a t i c a l explanations
f o u n d e d on the o b s e r v e d laws of a t t r a c t i o n and repulsion,
and n o t R e m a n d i n g a m e d i u m , did n o t feel the s a m e intel-
lectual n e c e s s i t y of filling the space b e t w e e n b o d i e s acting
on one another, either w i t h e m a n a t i o n s from t h o s e b o d i e s
or with an invisible, i m p o n d e r a b l e m e d i u m , s u s p e c t e d b y
no sense of man, b u t required only to m e e t a d e m a n d of his
378 Carhart : [J. F. l~,
highest intelligence. For when the Newtonian philosopky
had made some progress, the doctrine of unctuous effiuvi~
was given up, and physicists acquiesced in the unexplained
principle of attraction and repulsion as properties of certaia
bodies communicated to t h e m by the Divine Being, the
mechanism of which they scarcely attempted to explain.
" M a n y superficial philosophers t h o u g h t they had give~
a very good account of electricity, cohesion and m a g n e t i s m
by calling t h e m particular species of attraetion peculiar to
certain bodies. ''~
The discovery by Stephen Grey that " t h e electric virtue"
could be conveyed along a wire for several h u n d r e d feet
without sensible diminution, and t h e invention of the
Leyden jar by Kleist, or Cuneus, had the effect of annihila.
ring m a n y mushroom theories constructed on the slimmest
basis of facts. T h e latter discovery disclosed a power in
electricity not previously Suspected, and excited the greatest
interest in both Europe and America.
At this period Franklin turned his attention to the sub-
jeer, and " s p e n t more time in diversifying facts and less in
refining upon t h e 0 r y " than some of h i s European contem-
poraries. In fact, he tells us that he was never before
engaged in any study that so totally engrossed his attention
and his time. His discovery that the two electrieities are
always excited in equal quantities, that the charge resides
on the glass and not on the coatings of the Leyden jar, and
his experimental identification of lightning w i t h frictional
electricity, excited the liveliest interest abroad, and secured
for him the Copley medal of the Royal Society ; while his
theory of positive and negative electricity'made a perm.a-
nent addition to the nomenclature of the science. His con-
ceit that a turkey, killed with the discharge of a battery of
jars, was uncommonly tender eating, a discovery gravely
communicated to the Royal Society by William Watson, is
not so well known, and does not appear up to the present to
have been verified.
We cannot agree with him, I am sure, when he says:

Priestley's Hist. of Elec., vol. ii, p. I8.

Nov., J889.] Theorws o f Electrical Action. 379
" N o r is it of m u c h i m p o r t a n c e for us to k n o w the m a u n e r
in which n a t u r e e x e c u t e s her laws; it is e n o u g h if we k n o w
the laws themselves.;'
For the p u r s u i t of the m a n n e r in which n a t u r e e x e c u t e s
her laws is the d i s t i n g u i s h i n g characteristic of the science
of the p r e s e n t day. i t has led to m o s t brilliant discoveries,
and bids fair to do m o r e than all o t h e r agencies c o m b i n e d
to show the i n t i m a t e a n d n e c e s s a r y r e l a t i o n s existing
b e t w e e n the different b r a n c h e s of physics. W e need to
be r e m i n d e d often t h a t a c c u m u l a t e d facts do not c o n s t i t u t e
a science; and that utility is not the h i g h e s t r e w a r d of
scientific pursuits.
A bit of polished marble, plucked from the ruins of the
R o m a n P a l a t i n e Hill, is an i n t e r e s t i n g relic; b u t h o w m u c h
more i n t e r e s t i n g to r e c o n s t r u c t the palace of N e r o and to
see this fluted m a r b l e in its proper, a n d d e s i g n e d relation to
the whole, of w h i c h it w a s once a n e c e s s a r y part. Science
is constructive. L a w s are derived from an a t t e n t i v e con-
sideration of f a c t s ; generalizations g r o u p laws u n d e r
broader relationships ; and g r e a t principles unite all
together into one related, impressive whole.
F r o m t h e time w h e n the f a m o u s Boyle c a u g h t sight of a
faint g l i m m e r of electric light to the present, physicists
have b e e n i n p u r s u i t of' the connection b e t w e e n light and
electricity. As early as N e w t o n ' s time, the e t h e r was con-
ceived b y some to b e a s u b t l e m e d i u m confined to very
small distances from the surfaces of bodies, and to be t h e
chief a g e n t in all electrical p h e n o m e n a . " B u t , " says
Priestley,* " t h e far g r e a t e r n u m b e r of philosophers suppose,
and w i t h the g r e a t e s t probability, t h a t there is a fluid, sui
generis, principally concerned in the b u s i n e s s of electricity.
T h e y seem, however, t h o u g h perhaps w i t h o u t reason,
entirely to overlook Sir Isaac N e w t o n ' s e t h e r ; or if t h e y do
not s u p p o s e it to be wholly unconcerned, t h e y allow it only
a s e c o n d a r y and s u b o r d i n a t e p a r t to act in this drama."
A m o n g the b r a n c h e s of k n o w l e d g e t h a t this writer recom-
mends as likely to be of especial service in the s t u d y of

* Hist. of Elec. vol. ii, p. 22.

380 Carhart : [ J. F. I.,

eleetrieity is the doctrine of light and colors. The inven-

tion of the voltaic battery, and Sir H u m p h r y Davy's cele~
brated experiment in producing the electric arc, stimulated
inquiry in this same direction. Mrs. Somerville, Morriehini
and others sought to produce m a g n e t i s m b y means of sun-
light, but ultimately, as is now known, without success.
Notwithstanding these negative results, Faraday had such
a " s t r o n g persuasion derived from philosophical considera-
tions" of a direct relation between light and electricity,
that he resumed the inquiry in a most searehing manner,
with the happy result of discovering the rotation of the
plane of polarization of light by means of magnetism.
" T h u s is established," he says, ~ " a true, direct relation
and dependence between light and the magnetic and elee,
tric forces; and thus a great addition [is] made to the facts
and considerations which tend to prove that all natural
forces are tied together, and have one common origin."
It was thus reserved for Faraday to make those discov-
eries and to obtain that insight into electric and magnetic
action which were needed by his great disciple and inter-
preter, Maxwell, to construct a most marvellous theory of
the connection between these two departments of physical
science.
Respecting the failures to obtain magnetism from the
direct action of sunlight, to which allusion has been made,
Maxwell says that we should not expect a different result,
because the distinction between magnetic north and south
is one" of direction merely; that there is nothing in
magnetism indicating such opposition of properties as is
seen at the positive and negative poles of a battery in elec-
trolysis ; that even right and left-handed circularly-polarized
light cannot be considered the analogue of the two poles of
a magnet, for the two polarized rays when combined do not
neutralize each other, but produce plane-polarized light.
It may be said, however, that if a right-handed circularly-
polarized ray produces magnetism in one direction, and a
left-handed ray in the opposite, then the combination of the

* E x p . Researckes, 2,22I.
Nov., 1889.] Theories of Electrical Action. 3 81

two rays m a y neutralize their m a g n e t i c effect, i n a s m u c h as

plane-polarized light m a y h a v e no m a g n e t i c influence. Pro-
fessor J. J. T h o m s o n has lately s h o w n m a t h e m a t i c a l l y t h a t
a c~rcularly-polarized ray does have a m a g n e t i c effect, b u t
that it is so small, even w i t h s t r o n g sunlight, as to be m u c h
beyond the limits of e x p e r i m e n t s ; and Mr. Shelford Bid-
w e l l has p r o d u c e d a bar of iron in such an exquisitely
sensitive m a g n e t i c state, t h a t m a g n e t ! c c h a n g e s are cer-
tainly p r o d u c e d in it b y the direct action of light. T h i s he
h a s secured b y r e n d e r i n g the b a r more s u s c e p t i b l e to mag-
netic influences in one direction than the other. W e m a y
not, I venttire to affirm, b e w i t h o u t hope t h a t m a g n e t i s m
and electric currents m a y y e t be evoked b y the direct
agency of sunlight.
Faraday- w a s deeply convinced t h a t space h a d m a g n e t i c
properties, and t h a t the space or m e d i u m a r o u n d a m a g n e t
is as essential as the m a g n e t ' itself, b e i n g a part of the
complete m a g n e t i c system. To him all m a g n e t i c and
electric action took place b y c o n t i g u o u s particles along
lines of force. " W h a t t h a t m a g n e t i c medium, deprived of
all material substance, m a y be, I cannot tell, '' he says, *
" p e r h a p s the ether." No d o u b t existed in F a r a d a y ' s m i n d
that t h e s e lines r e p r e s e n t a state of tension; b u t w h e t h e r
that tension is a static state in the ether, or w h e t h e r it is
dynamic, r e s e m b l i n g the lines of flow of a c u r r e n t b e t w e e n
the poles of a b a t t e r y i m m e r s e d in a c o n d u c t i n g fluid, w a s
uncertain. H e inclined, however, to the l a t t e r view. H e
was t h u s lead to advocate, t h o u g h n o t w i t h o u t hesitation,
the physical n a t u r e of lines of force.
F a r a d a y ' s discoveries and his m e t h o d of r e g a r d i n g all
m a g n e t i c and electric actions as p r o p a g a t e d t h r o u g h a
m e d i u m b y m e a n s of c o n t i g u o u s parts h a v e b e e n of t h e
u t m o s t productiveness. T h e y h a v e revolutionized the
science of electricity, and have been the m o s t p o t e n t factors
in the genesis of a theory, including all r a d i a n t energy,
which h a s recently received such r e m a r k a b l e and conclusive
confirmation. H i s n a m e has b e c o m e almost a h o u s e h o l d

"~Exp. Researches, 3,277.

382 C'arttart : [ J. F. 1.,

word. His earnest, unselfish life has added unnumbered

millions to the world's wealth. His ideas and words, which
ihave b e e n instruments in the hands of philosophers, have
become the current coin of the commercial tyro, who talks
as glibly about lines of force and the magnetic circuit as if
he really knew something about them.
Fruitful as Faraday's ideas were, they yet awaited a
m a t h e m a t i c a l interpreter for their highest development, A
good Providence sent James Clerk Maxwell, whose brilliant
mathematical ability was equalled b y his philosophic
insight, his poetic feeling and imagination, his profound
sincerity and his great s y m p a t h y with nature.
To appreciate Maxwell's relation to theories of electrical
action, it is desirable to take a retrospect of the views that
have been held regarding its nature. Three periods in the
history of these views may readily be distinguished. The
first was introduced b y Dr. Gilbert in i600, and it lasted
for about 225 years. The little that was known previous to
Gilbert constitutes only the preface or introduction to the
history proper. Nearly three-fourths of this period was
utterly barren and unfruitful. It knew nothing better than
unctuous effluvia and electric atmospheres. In the latter
half of the period the Newtonian philosophy had become
the orthodox doctrine. The great success attending the
mathematical investigations, founded upon the law qf
inverse squares, naturally carried with it the acceptance of
the underlying hypothesis of "action at a distance." There
were not lacking, indeed, men of deeper philosophic insight
who denied this doctrine, which they looked upon as
entirely unphitosophical and which m u s t utterly bar the
way to any inquiry into the process b y which the lave is
executed. Action at a distance by attraction or repulsion,
varying inversely as the square of that distance, means an
ultimate fact not admitting of further analysis.
The seqond period was one of contention. It began, not
with the important discovery of current electricity, nor of
the electro-magnet, b u t with the philosophical methods and
concepts of Faraday. T h e physical postulates of the
mathematical school were entirely alien to the views which
Nov., 1889.] Theories of Electrical Action. 383
he adopted. " F a r a d a y , in his mind's eye, saw lines of force
traversing all space w h e r e the m a t h e m a t i e i a n s s a w eentres
of forces a t t r a c t i n g at a distance ; F a r a d a y saw a m e d i u m
where t h e y saw n o t h i n g b u t distance ; F a r a d a y s o u g h t the
seat of the p h e n o m e n a in real actions g o i n g on in the
m e d i u m ; t h e y were satisfied t h a t t h e y had f o u n d it in a
power of action at a distanc~ i m p r e s s e d on the electric
fluids." ~ Prior to F a r a d a y the supporters of a m e d i u m to
explain electric and m a g n e t i c action ~vere always t h r o w n
out of c o u r t for lack of evidence; F a r a d a y gave t h e m a
legal s t a n d i n g b y f u r n i s h i n g the facts and evidence on
which t h e y could well afford to b a s e their case.
T h e c o r p u s c u l a r t h e o r y of light, which had shown such
r e m a r k a b l e vitality, w a s n o w in the last s t a g e s of a fatal
disease, due to indigestion and lack of assimilation.
Foucault finished it off in 1865 with his crucical experiment
to decide u p o n t h e relative velocity of light in the air and
water. T h e u n d u l a t o r y t h e o r y was t h u s fully established,
and the doctrine of r a d i a n t e n e r g y in general b e g a n to be
clearly apprehended. T h e grand generalization of the con-
servation of e n e r g y was l o o m i n g up all along the horizon of
science, as the towers and spires of a g r e a t city appear to
rise out of the sea to a traveller a p p r o a c h i n g the land.
Victory w a s r e a d y to perch on the banners of. an a r m y con-
t e n d i h g for t h e ether doctrine---not a d e c i m a t e d army, b u t
one c o n s t a n t l y a u g m e n t i n g in n u m b e r s b y deserters from
the enemy. A t this period, sixteen years ago, a p p e a r e d the
epoch-making book of Maxwell on Electricity and lkIa~netism.
Its a u t h o r professes only to translate Faraday's ideas
into m a t h e m a t i c a l l a n g u a g e ; b u t he did vastly more than
this. H e d e m o n s t r a t e d m a t h e m a t i c a l l y that the properties
of the m e d i u m r e q u i r e d to t r a n s m i t electro-magnetic action
a r e identical with those of luminiferous ether. It w o u l d be
unphilosophical, he remarks, to fill all space with a new
m e d i u m w h e n e v e r any n e w p h e n o m e n o n is to explained:
a n d since two b r a n c h e s of science had i n d e p e n d e n t l y sug-
g e s t e d a m e d i u m r e q u i r i n g the same properties to account

* Max~vell's Elec. a n d Mag., p. x.

384 Car/zart : [ J. F. 1,,

for the same p h e n o m e n a in each, the evidence for the exist-

ence of a single m e d i u m for b o t h kinds of physical phe-
n o m e n a was t h e r e b y g r e a t l y s t r e n g t h e n e d , " T h e step from
i d e n t i t y of the m e d i u m to i d e n t i t y of p h e n o m e n a , t h a t is,
t h a t l i g h t itself is an electro-magnetic p h e n o m e n o n , t h o u g h
it m a y now seem to be a short one, m u s t nevertheless, upon
careful consideration, alway~ be accepted as evidence of the
g r e a t e s t genius. To walk in Maxwell's footsteps now and
take the very steps he took is one thing, and a c o m p a r a t i v e l y
easy one; b u t to m a k e original explorations into u n k n o w n
regions of nature, and to tread where no h u m a n b e i n g has
ever before set foot, is quite a n o t h e r thing. T h e electro-
m a g n e t i c t h e o r y of l i g h t m u s t be r e g a r d e d as a g r e a t gener-
alization, inferior only to t h a t g r e a t e s t one of all t i m e - - t h e
conservation of energy.
T h e principal criteria upon w h i c h Maxwell relied for the
confirmation of his t h e o r y m a y be briefly e n u m e r a t e d :
(I) A n electro-magnetic wave or u n d u l a t i o n is propa-
g a t e d t h r o u g h the e t h e r with a velocity equal to the ratio
of the electro-magnetic to the electro-static u n i t o f q u a n t i t y .
If l i g h t is an electro-magnetic p h e n o m e n o n , its velocity m u s t
also be equal to this same ratio. T h e very close approxima-
tion of the one to the other, as d e t e r m i n e d by a v a r i e t y of
m e t h o d s , has been k n o w n for some time.
(2) T h e specific i n d u c t i v e capacity, K, of a n y t r a n s p a r e n t
dielectric should equal the square of its index of refraction.
T h e discrepancies at this point are so g r e a t t h a t all one can
say in the m o s t favorable case.is t h a t K is the m o s t import-
ant term in the expression for the refractive index, while in
other cases no confirmation w h a t e v e r can be d r a w n from
this class of evidence.
(3) T h e m a g n e t i c and electric d i s t u r b a n c e s are both at
r i g h t angles to the direction of p r o p a g a t i o n of the wave and
at r i g h t angles to each other. T h e m a t h e m a t i c a l f o r m of
the d i s t u r b a n c e agrees w i t h t h a t w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e s l i g h t in
b e i n g transverse to tile direction of propagation. F u r t h e r ,
the electric d i s t u r b a n c e should be p e r p e n d i c u l a r to the piano
of polarization of plane-polerized light.
(4) In non-conductors the d i s t u r b a n c e should consist of
NOV., I889. ] 7heories of Eh'ctrical Action. 385
electric displacements, but in conductors it should give rise
both to electric displacements and.electric currents by which
the undulations are absorbed by the medium. Most trans-
parent bodies, it is true, are good insulators, and all good
conductors are opaque. The degree of opacity is, however,
far from being proportional to the conductivity.
(5) But perhaps the most important criterion Of all is the
one relating to the very existence itself of a medium. Such
a test lies in the time element invol-ved in transmission
from point to point. Since energy is transmitted from
a luminous body, as the source, to another body, which
may absorb it, then plainly, if time is required for the trans-
mission, the energy must reside in the medium by which
the transmission is effected during the interval between the
emisrion and the absorption. In the emission theory the
light corpuscles are the receptacles of the energ I "
it with ~hem in their flight. According to the
theory, the m e d i u m filling all space is the receptacle of the
energy, and passes it along from point to point by the action
of contiguous parts.
FoucauWs experimentum crucis proved the emission theory
untenable. Roemer's observation of the retardation of the
eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, when the earth is moving
away from Jupiter, is, therefore, a confirmation of the
undulatory theory of light and, in consequence, a demon-
stration of the existence of the luminiferous ether.
At this point the history of the nature of electrical action
touches upon the third period.
The period upon which we have just entered may not
inappropriately be called the period of confirmation. Noth-
ing further appears to be necessary for the complete demon-
stration and establishment of the electro-magnetic theory
of light. The noteworthy experiments of Professor Hertz,
of Carlsruhe, are known to all. Rightly conceiving that the
reality of electro-magnetic waves would be best established
by the same experiments which would also establish the
fundamental identity of such undulations with those of
light, he had recourse to the principle of resonance or sym:
pathetic vibrations for the detection of these long-period
OLE NO. VOL. CXXVIII.~(THIRD SERIES, VoL xcviii.) 25
386 Chrhart." IJ.F.I,,
waves. By a device no less r e m a r k a b l e for its simplicity
t h a n its effectiveness he p r o d u c e d electrical oscillations of
such rapidity t h a t the w a v e s in the s u r r o u n d i n g region were
short e n o u g h to be m e a s u r e d . T h i s he a c c o m p l i s h e d b y
a t t a c h i n g to the s e c o n d a r y terminals of an i n d u c t i o n coil
t w o r e c t a n g u l a r sheets of metal, each supplied w i t h a short,
s t o u t wire e n d i n g in a small ball. T h e balls were b r o u g h t
near each o t h e r and the discharges of the coil took place
b e t w e e n them. U n d e r these conditions the discharge is
oscillatory, and the period m a y be calculated b y the formula
of Sir W m . T h o m s o n , p u b l i s h e d in I853.*
T h e r e c e i v i n g a p p a r a t u s is also of the s i m p l e s t design,
consisting ordinarily of a circle of wire, i n t e r r u p t e d at a
p o i n t with an a d j u s t a b l e opening, and of such dimensions
t h a t the w a v e s p a s s i n g t h r o u g h the circle m a y set u p elec-
trical oscillations in it, s y n c h r o n i z i n g w i t h those of the
t r a n s m i t t i n g apparatus. T h e p a s s a g e of sparks across the
narrow o p e n i n g of the circle indicates an electrical flow ; and
the n e c e s s i t y of a d j u s t i n g the size of the circle in order to
obtain this flow proves that the forces a c t i n g are periodic.
T h e receiving a p p a r a t u s m u s t in fact be t u n e d so t h a t the
period of an electrical oscillation in it shall correspond with
the external i m p u l s e s absorbed. T h e i n t e n s i t y of the
electric and m a g n e t i c d i s t u r b a n c e s is i n d i c a t e d b y the rela-
tive l e n g t h of sparks obtainable.
E q u i p p e d with this apparatus, w h i c h was installed in a
large lecture hall, H e r t z f o u n d n o t only t h a t his t u n e d
receiver r e s p o n d e d to the impulses of the t r a n s m i t t e r in the
precise m a n n e r p o i n t e d o u t b y theory, b u t t h a t the sparks
s h o w e d a series of m a x i m u m and m i n i m u m values r e c u r r i n g
in periodic order as the receiver was carried f u r t h e r a w a y
from the source of the d i s t u r b a n c e s . T h e a s t o u n d i n g fact
w a s t h u s b r o u g h t o u t t h a t t h e s e electro-magnetic w a v e s
were reflectect ~rom the thick wall of the room, and t h a t the
c o m b i n a t i o n of the direct and reflected s y s t e m s p r o d u c e d
s t a t i o n a r y w a v e s with loops and nodes t h a t could be traced
o u t b y the responsive circle of wire. In this m a n n e r w a v e

* .41al/z. a n d Phys..P,t2bers, vo!. i, Fade 540.

Nov., I889.] T]zeoriesof Electrical Action. 387

lengths were m e a s u r e d d o w n to sixty cms., and the time

dement w a s e x p e r i m e n t a l l y d e t e c t e d in t h e p r o p a g a t i o n of
electro-static and electro-dynamic induction. It w a s demon-
strated t h a t the d i s t u r b a n c e s p r o d u c i n g the w a v e s are at
right angles to direction o f propagation, as Maxwell pre-
dicted, and as interference p h e n o m e n a show t h e m to be in
light. H e r t z has also f o u n d an electro-dynamic s h a d o w cast
by an iron p o s t ; he has verified the laws of reflection from
plane and concave metallic reflectors, and has s h o w n t h a t
electric w a v e s st~ffer polarization and refraction in a m a n n e r
exactly analogous to light. Professor Fitzgerald, of Dublin,
has a d d e d a n o t h e r confirmation of Maxwell's doctrine,
d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t the electric d i s t u r b a n c e is p e r p e n d i c u l a r
to the plane of polarization, as Maxwel!'s e q u a t i o n s require.
Finally, the velocity of p r o p a g a t i o n of t h e s e electro-dynamic
waves is f o u n d to be the s a m e as the velocity of light. T h u s
not only have all of Maxwe11's criteria, except the seeond~
a b u n d a n t l y confirmed the j u d g m e n t of t h e g r e a t physicist,
but o t h e r proofs h a v e b e e n added. Electro-magnetic w a v e s
are therefore not m e r e l y like light, b u t t h e y are light. Or
perhaps, to speak m o r e exactly, all r a d i a n t e n e r g y is trans-
mitted as electro-magnetic w a v e s in the luminiferous ether.
E l e c t r i c i t y has t h u s a n n e x e d the entire domain of light and
r a d i a n t heat; and, as Profe.ssor L o d g e says, " h a s b e c o m e a
t r u l y imperial realm." T h e difference of w a v e length in the
three classes of p h e n o m e n a is not a f u n d a m e n t a l one.
Increase the rate of the electrical oscillations a million-fold
in Hertz's experiments, and the w a v e s w o u l d not m e r e l y
resemble l i g h t - - t h e y would be light. A wire t h r o u g h which
such oscillations are s u r g i n g b a c k and forth w o u l d g l o w with
light. E v e n the long h e a t w a v e s w o u l d b e absent, and only
those p r o d u c i n g the sensations of light and color w o u l d
remain.
It 'will be o b s e r v e d that the oscillations of an electric
discharge c o n s t i t u t e the point of d e p a r t u r e for the admir-
able researches of H e r t z ; and it is a m a t t e r in w h i c h w e
may m o d e s t l y take a b i t of national pride t h a t the first case
of electric oscillations was discovered b y an A m e r i c a n
physicist. T h e oscillatory character of t h e L e y d e n jar dis-
388 Carhart : [J. F. I.,

charge was d e m o n s t r a t e d b y J o s e p h H e n r y , in I832, by

m e a n s of the m a g n e t i c effects p r o d u c e d in small stee~
needles. It was n o t until t w e n t y - o n e years l a t e r t h a t Sir
Win. T h o m s o n p u b l i s h e d t h e c o m p l e t e m a t h e m a t i c a l theory
of such oscillations. T h e y h a v e since b e e n o b s e r v e d directly
b y m e a n s of a r o t a t i n g mirror. Dr. Oliver L o d g e has lately
s h o w n t h a t t h e y rotate the plane of polarization of l i g h t in
one direction and then in the o t h e r as t h e y s u r g e b a c k and
forth. H e has also r e d u c e d the n u m b e r of oscillations from
several millions per second to a few h u n d r e d b y increasing
the capacity and the self-induction. T h e d i s c h a r g e then
vibrates w i t h i n t h e limits of audibility and p r o d u c e s a
m u s i c a l note.
T h e well-known e x p e r i m e n t of H e n r y , iu w h i c h he
o b s e r v e d an i n d u c t i o n c u r r e n t in a wire s t r e t c h e d parallel
to and d i s t a n t t h i r t y feet from one w h i c h served to dis-
c h a r g e a L e y d e n jar, is n o w seen to h a v e b e e n a case of:
resonance; t h a t is, t h e a b s o r p t i o n of electric w a v e s b y a
conductor, p r o d u c i n g c u r r e n t s therein. A n d it is an e v i -
dence of the g r e a t g e n i u s of H e n r y t h a t he saw, s o m e w h a t
d i m l y it m a y be, b u t still w i t h a certain degree of rational
a p p r e h e n s i o n , t h a t the i n d u c t i o n was t r a n s m i t t e d across the
i n t e r v e n i n g space w i t h a velocity c o m p a r a b l e only to that
of light. H e had p e r c h a n c e the divine t o u c h of genius
necessary for the g r e a t d i s c o v e r y of electro-magnetic w a v e s
c o u r s i n g t h r o u g h t h e e t h e r ; b u t t h e w a y leading to this
i m p o r t a n t physical fact h a d n o t then been sufficiently pre-
pared, and its discovery, was impossible.
W a v e s , similar to those from a L e y d e n jar discharge, b u t
of longer period, are sent o u t from a wire c o n v e y i n g alter-
n a t i n g currents. W e m u s t conceive of such a wire not
s i m p l y as affected internally or even superficially b y the
electric e n e r g y s u r g i n g t h r o u g h it, b u t as the source from
w h i c h p u l s a t e o u t w a r d t h r o u g h t h e limitless e t h e r great
w a v e s of electro-magnetic d i s t u r b a n c e . F o r 3oo complete
alternations p e r second, t h e s e w a v e s are a million metres,
or over 6oo miles, in length. T h e y p r e s e n t a m a r k e d con-
t r a s t with the w a v e s c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the D lines of the
spectrum, w h i c h are only a b o u t one five-millionth of a
millimetre long.
Nov., 1889.] Theoriesof Electrical ~4ction. 389

T h e s e l o n g waves from an a l t e r n a t i n g c u r r e n t represent

energy. T h r o u g h space it is conveyed with the velocity of
light, and t h r o u g h other non-conductors or dielectrics with
a smaller velocity, precisely as in t h e case of the r a d i a n t
energy of l i g h t or heat. H e n c e f o r t h the complete e q u a t i o n
for the d i s t r i b u t i o n of e n e r g y b y m e a n s of a l t e r n a t i n g cur-
rents m u s t include a t e r m to express t h e r a d i a t i o n from t h e
circuit. It m a y i n d e e d be f o u n d t h a t this t e r m represents
no inconsiderable part of the e n e r g y c o m m u n i c a t e d to the
wire in the case of v e r y rapid alternations.
T h u s we see t h a t the e t h e r plays a m a g n i f i c e n t role in
what m a y be called its d y n a m i c relation to electric displace-
ments. In its capacity as a reservoir of static or potential
energy its a g e n c y has been b e t t e r u n d e r s t o o d for a con-
siderable period. W h e n a c o n t i n u o u s c u r r e n t begins to
flow t h r o u g h a closed circuit, a single wave travels out from
the conductor ; and d u r i n g its progress, while the c u r r e n t is
approaching its c o n s t a n t value, the inclosing e t h e r is assum-
ing its condition of static repose u n d e r stress. T h e w h o l e .
ether, e x t e n d i n g indefinitely o u t w a r d from the conductor, is
profoundly modified.
W e know how to map o u t the cir~ular lines of force
about i t by m e a n s of iron filings ; b u t the iron serves only
to show w h a t has already taken place in the ether before
the f i l i n g s are b r o u g h t into the field. E v e r y little iron
particle becomes a m a g n e t , w i t h all the north-seeking poles
stretching in one direction r o u n d the wire, and all the
south-seeking poles in the other. W h a t the m e c h a n i s m of
the stress, or the m o t i o n in the ether to produce these
effects, m a y be, we do n o t k n o w ; b u t we do know t h a t these
lines of force are all subject to a tension t e n d i n g to shorten
them, and t h a t t h e y are m u t u a l l y repellent laterally. W h e n
a current is sent t h r o u g h a conductor, the e t h e r is e x p a n d e d
in concentric cylindrical layers a b o u t a n y s t r a i g h t portions
of the circuit, and becomes the reservoir of p o t e n t i a l energy.
As soon as the current, w h i c h m a i n t a i n s this state of
tension, ceases to flow, the s t r e t c h e d e t h e r collapses upon
the conductor, y i e l d i n g u p its e n e r g y in the, form of self-
induction. If a s t e a d y c u r r e n t is conceived as the s e t t i u j -
 39° Carhart. [ J. F. I.~

up and breaking-down of a static difference of potential

e n e r g y at infinitesimal intervals of time, t h e n the energy
t r a n s m i t t e d m a y depend u p o n a similar f o r m a t i o n and
d e c a y of the static stress in the e n c o m p a s s i n g ether. The
c o n d u c t o r is b~tt the core of an eleetro-magnetic disturbance
in the s u r r o u n d i n g m e d i u m ; a n d it m a y be t h a t t h e enor-
m o u s e n e r g y w h i c h a small copper wire can apparently
c o n v e y is in r e a l i t y t r a n s m i t t e d by the invisible m e d i u m .
F r o m this brief review of t h e t h e o r y of electric action it
will be quite e v i d e n t t h a t h e n e e f o r t h the l a n g u a g e applied
to electrical p h e n o m e n a m u s t always include t h e luminif-
erous e t h e r as a p r o m i n e n t term. T h e e x p e r i m e n t s of Hertz
h a v e m a d e it impossible to explain electrical facts w i t h o u t
t a k i n g this invisible mediu.m into account. T h e r e is no such
t h i n g as eleetrie or m a g n e t i c action at a distance. T h e
e t h e r is always an essentiaI p a r t of t h a t complex system,
t h e interactions of w h i c h m a n i f e s t tliemselves as electric or
magnetic phenomena.
As the e a r responds to t h e slow oscillations of an electric
discharge t h r o u g h the i n t e r m e d i a t e a g e n c y of heat, so the
eye of the m i n d responds to those more rapid oseillations,
the existence of which h a s been d e m o n s t r a t e d b y experi-
ment. No less clearly does the m a g n e t i c field a p p e a r as a
s y s t e m of lines of stress in t h e a m b i e n t ether. Definiteness
has t a k e n the place of the m e t a p h y s i e a l s p e c u l a t i o n s of
earlier times. Complete ignorance has, at least, been super-
seded by half knowledge. W e m a y n o t y e t affirm with
E d l u n d t h a t the e t h e r is electricity, b u t we are doubtless
nearer a solution of this old problem t h a n ever before.