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Autobiography of an Electron - Charles R Gibson · Autobiography of an Electron

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Speaker 1: Preface of the Autobiography of an Electron. This is a
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LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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The Autobiography of an Electron, wherein the scientific ideas of
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the present time are explained in an interesting and novel fashion,
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by Charles R. Gibson.
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Speaker 2: Preface.
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Speaker 1: Although textbooks of science may appear to the general reader
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to be very dry material, there is no doubt that
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when scientific facts and theories are put into every day language,
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the general reader is genuinely interested. The reception accorded to
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the present author's scientific ideas of today bears out this fact.
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While that volume explains in non technical language the latest
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scientific theories, it aims at giving a fairly full account,
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which of course necessitates going into.
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Speaker 2: A great deal of detail.
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Speaker 1: That the book has been appreciated by very varied classes
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of readers is evident from the large numbers of appreciative
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letters received from different quarters. But the author believes that
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if the story of modern science were told in a
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still more popular style, it would serve a further useful purpose,
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For there are readers who do not care to go
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into details, and yet would like to take an intelligent
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interest in the scientific progress of the present day. Some
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of those readers do not wish to trouble about names
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and dates, while the mere mention of rates of vibration
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and such like is a worry to them. They wish
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a book which they may read with the same ease
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as an interesting novel. Hence the form of the present volume.
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The author is indebted to Professor James Muir, Master of Arts,
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Doctor of Science of the Glasgow and West of Scotland
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Technical College, and to H. Stanley Allen, Master of Arts,
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Doctor of Science, Senior Lecturer in Physics at King's College,
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University of London, for very kindly reading the proof sheets.
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The author is indebted further to Professor Muir in connection
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with some of the illustrations, and for the others to
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Dixon and Corbett and R. S. Newell Limited, Glasgow, Simon
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Schuker Work, Berlin. End of the preface, Chapter one of
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the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
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Speaker 2: Gibson.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter one,
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What the story is about, the reason for writing this
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story is given in the preface, but the title is
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so strange that the reader will wish naturally to know
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what the story is about. What is an electron? Is
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it an imaginary thing? Or is it a reality. One
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of the reasons for writing this story in its present
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form is to help the reader to realize that electrons
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are not mythical but real, existing things, and by far
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the most interesting things we know anything about. The discovery
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of electrons has shed a new light upon the meaning
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of very many things which have been puzzles until now.
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They give us a reasonable explanation of the cause of
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light and color. They provide a new idea of the
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constitution of matter. They enable us to picture an electric current,
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and they give us definite, though by no means final,
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answers to the why and wherefore of magnetism, chemical union,
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and radioactivity. The story is imaginary only in so far
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that one of the electrons itself is supposed to tell
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the tale. But in the endeavor to make the story interesting,
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there has been no sacrifice of accuracy in the statements
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of facts. While all name and dates and many other
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details have been kept out rigidly from the story, a
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note of the more important of these has been added
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in an appendix. For the sake of those readers who
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may wish to refer to them, it will be well
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to introduce the electron to the reader before leaving it
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to speak for itself. We have definite experimental proof of
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the existence of electrons, and yet it is very difficult
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to realize their existence for two reasons. In the first place,
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they are so infinitesimally small. We count a microbe a
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small thing. We can see it only with the aid
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of a very powerful microscope. Yet that little speck of
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matter contains myriads of particles or atoms. An atom of
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matter is therefore an inconceivably little thing. But even that
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is a great giant compared to an electron. Our second
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difficulty in realizing the existence of an electron is that
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it is not any form of what we called matter.
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It is a particle of electricity, whatever that may be.
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From the earliest experiments, it became evident that there were
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two distinct kinds of electricity. These were described by the
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pioneer workers as positive and negative electricities. Today we have
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definite experimental proof that negative electricity is composed of separate
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particles or units, just as matter is composed of invisible atoms,
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so also is negative electricity of an atomic nature. These
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particles of negative electricity have been christened electrons, electron being
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the Greek word for amber, from which man first obtained electricity.
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Of course, no one can ever hope to see any electron,
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but physicists have been able to determine its size and mass,
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its electric charge, and the speeds at which it moves.
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While it has been known for more than a century
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that lie is merely waves in the all pervading ether
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of space set up by incandescent bodies, it has been
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a puzzle always how matter could cause waves in the ether,
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as it offers no resistance to the movement of matter
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through it. Here we are on the back of a
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great planet, flying through space at the enormous rate of
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one thousand miles per minute, and yet our flimsy atmospheric
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blanket is in no way disturbed by the ether through
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which we are flying. In the following story, we shall
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see that these electrons help us towards a solution of
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this and many other problems. They provide the missing link
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between matter and the ether. But what is this ether
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of which one hears so much in these days. The
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truth is, we know nothing of its nature. We cannot
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say whether it is lighter than the lightest gas or
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denser than the densest solid. The ether, whatever it may be,
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is as real as the air we breathe. It is
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the medium which brings us light and heat from the sun,
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and which carries our wireless, telegraph and telephone messages. The
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whole universe is moving in this great ether ocean. In
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order to make the electrons story perfectly intelligible to every reader,
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I have added a short explanatory note at the beginning
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of each chapter. These notes merely state the facts about
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which the electron is speaking. To make the electron's story
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as realistic as possible, it has been necessary to give
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the imaginary electron perfect freedom of knowledge concerning itself and
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its surroundings. In our school days, we had to write
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the autobiographies of still pens and such like. But these
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inanimate things had to be endowed with powers of thought, feeling,
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and desire. It is very important, however, to remember that
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an electron is a particle of negative electricity, a real,
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existing thing. End of chapter one, Chapter two of the
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Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R. Gibson. This LibriVox
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recording is in the public domain. Chapter two, the Electron's Preface.
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While many scientific men now understand our place in the universe,
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we electrons are anxious that every person should know the
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very important part which we play in the workaday world.
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It was for this reason that my fellow electrons urged
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me to write my own biography. My difficulty has been
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to find a scribe who would put down my story
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in the way I desired. The first man with whom
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I opened negotiations wished me to give him dates and
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names of which I knew nothing, and he asked me
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such stupid questions about where I was born and who
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my parents were, as if I were flesh and blood.
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I am pleased to say that my relationship with the
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scribe who has put down my story in the following
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pages has been of the most friendly description. Apart from
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a little tiff which we had at the outset, there
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has been no difference of opinion. He complained that I
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related things into abstract a form. However, we got over
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the difficulty by a compromise. I have allowed him to
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place what he calls the scribes note at the beginning
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of each chapter, but it will be understood clearly that
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these are merely convenient embellishments, and that I am responsible
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for the story of my own experiences. End of chapter two,
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Chapter three of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
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Speaker 2: Gibson.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter three,
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the New Arrival. The scribes note on chapter three, it
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will be well to keep clearly in mind that an
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electron is a real particle of negative electricity. Electrons have
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been discovered only within recent years. No matter from what
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substances we take them, they are always identical in every respect.
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Some electrons are attached to the atoms of matter in
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such a way that they may be removed easily from
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one object to another. When a surplus of these detachable
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electrons is crowded on to any object, we say that
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it is charged with negative electricity. We speak of the
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other object, which has lost these same electrons, as being
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charged with positive electricity. In this chapter, the Electron refers
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to the old world experiment in which a piece of amber,
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when rubbed, attracts any light object to it. For many ages,
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man believe this to be a special property belonging to
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amber alone. One of Queen Elizabeth's physicians discovered that this
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property was common to all substances. End of scribes. Note
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it is most amusing to me and my fellow electrons
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to hear intelligent people speak of us as though we
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were new arrivals on this planet. Dear me, we were
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here for countless ages before man put in an appearance.
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I wonder if any man can realize that we have
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been on the move ever since the foundations of this
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world were laid. It is man himself who is the
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new arrival. It does seem strange to us that men
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should be so distinctly different from one another. We electrons
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are at a decided disadvantage, for we are all identical
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in every respect. I have no individual name. It would
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serve no purpose. Even if you could see me, you
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could not distinguish me from any other electron. I wonder
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sometimes if men appreciate the great advantage they have in
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possessing individual names. I was impressed with this thought one
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fine summer morning, while I was writing on the back
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of a particle of gas in the atmosphere, I was
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carried through an open window of a nursery, just as
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the under nurse was putting the room in order. A
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little later, and there was some commotion in the nursery,
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for the young mother and her mother had come to
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see the twin daughters being bathed by the nurses. The
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grandmother happened to remark how very much alike the two
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little infants were. She said laughingly to the head nurse
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that she must be careful not to get the children mixed.
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But the big brother, aged five years, remarked that it
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would not matter really how much they were mixed until
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they got their names. Sometimes I wish we electrons did
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differ from one another, so that we might each possess.
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Speaker 2: An individual name.
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Speaker 1: But no doubt it is necessary for us all to
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be exactly alike. Long before man had discovered us, he
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caused us deliberately to do certain He was mystified by
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the results of his experiments, for he was not aware
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of our presence. A few of my fellow electrons have
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rather hazy collections of being disturbed while clinging to a
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piece of amber. They had been disturbed often before in
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a similar way by being rubbed against a piece of
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woolen cloth, and the result had been always that a
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number of electrons let go their hold upon the cloth
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and crowded onto the amber. The overcrowding was uncomfortable, but
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it happened usually that the surplus electrons found some means
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of escape to the earth, where there is no need
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of excessive crowding. On the occasion to which I refer it,
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so happened that the rubbing had been unusually vigorous and prolonged,
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so that the electrons were crowded onto the amber in
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great numbers. In their endeavor to escape, they produced a
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strain or stress in the surrounding ether, and this caused
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a small piece of straw, which was lying within the
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disturbed area, to be forced towards the amber. What attracted
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the attention of the electrons was that the man who
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was holding the piece of amber removed the clinging straw
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and replaced it exactly where it had been lying. In
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the meantime, he had been handling the amber, and many
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of the crowded electrons had managed to make a bolt
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for the earth by way of the man's body. They
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did this so very quietly that the man did not
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feel any sensation. However, as soon as the amber was
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rubbed again, a similar crowd provided the same attractive property.
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We electrons became impatient to hear what the man would
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say of our work, for it was apparent that he
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had noticed the movements of the straw. You will hardly
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believe me when I tell you to what decision these
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wise men of the east came. They declared that in
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rubbing the amber, it had received heat and life, As
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if life could be originated in any such simple manner,
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You can picture our disa appointment when we found that
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man was going to ignore our presence. Occasionally we were
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given opportunities of displaying our abilities in drawing light objects
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towards pieces of rubbed amber. But the funny thing was
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that man got hold of the stupid idea that this
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attractive property belonged to the amber instead.
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Speaker 2: Of to us.
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Speaker 1: If he had only tried pieces of sulfur resin or glass,
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he would have found that these substances would have acted
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just as well. You see, it was not really the substance,
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but we electrons, who were the active agents. We had
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given up all hope of being discovered when news came
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along that a learned man was on the hunt for us.
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He was crowding us on all sorts of substances. He
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rubbed a piece of glass with some silk, and at
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first he was surprised greatly to see light objects jump
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towards the excited class. Of course, we were not surprised
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in the very least. The only thing that amused us
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was to find that he was making out a list
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of the different substances which showed attractive properties when rubbed.
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He could not evidently get away from the idea that
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it was the substances themselves that became attractive. We were
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sorry that the poor experimenter wasted so much time and
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energy in trying to crowd us on to a piece
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of metal rod. He rubbed, and he rubbed that metal,
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but it would attract nothing. And I shall tell you
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the reason. You know that we electrons hate overcrowding. Indeed,
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we always separate from one another as far as possible
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when there is no force pulling us together. We only
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crowded on to the amber because we could not help ourselves.
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We had no way of escape, for amber is a
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substance we cannot pass through. But we have no difficulty
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whatever in making our way along a piece of metal.
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And as soon as the rubbing began, some electrons moved
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off the metal by way of the man's arm and
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body to make room for those being crowded on to
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the metal from the rubber, and so there never was
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any overcrowding, and consequently no straining of the ether. But
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it was not long before we found that man had
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succeeded in cutting off our way of escape. He had
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attached a glass handle to the metal rod, and we
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were compelled to overcrowd upon the metal, as we could
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not pass through the glass handle. Neighboring light objects were
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attracted by the excited or electrified metal. Even this demonstration
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did not put Man upon our track. Perhaps I should
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explain in passing that when a glass rod is rubbed
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with a silk handkerchief, we crowd onto the silk and
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not onto the glass. This leaves the glass rod short
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of electrons, and the ether is strained so that light
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objects are attracted. Man did notice that there was some
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difference between a piece of amber and a piece of
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glass when these were excited. What the difference was he
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could not imagine, but to distinguish the two different conditions,
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said that the amber was charged with negative electricity and
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the glass with positive electricity. From that time forward, Man
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became of special interest to us. We felt sure that
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sooner or later he was bound to recognize that we
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were at work behind the scenes. It seemed to us, however,
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that man was desperately slow in turning his attention towards us,
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and we tried to waken him up in a rather
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alarming fashion, as I shall relate in the succeeding chapter.
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End of chapter three, Chapter four of the Autobiography of
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an Electron by Charles R.
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Speaker 2: Gibson.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter four
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Some good Sport. The scribes note on chapter four men
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began to make glass plate machines for producing electrification on
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a larger scale. The electric spark is produced. The Electron
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tells the story of the first attempt to store electricity.
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Speaker 2: In a glass jar.
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Speaker 1: This is what we do now by means of a
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lighting jar. A sudden expulsion of electrons from one object
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to another is called a discharge of electricity. Lightning is
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a discharge of electrons from a cloud to the earth,
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or from cloud to cloud. In repeating Franklin's experiment of
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drawing electricity from thunder clouds, a Russian professor received a
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fatal shock. End of scribes. Note, Now I must tell
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you I've a surprise in which I took an active part.
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Some man thought he would separate a great crowd of
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us from our friends. Of course he did not think
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really of us.
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Speaker 2: But whatever he.
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Speaker 1: May have supposed he was doing, he succeeded in accumulating
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greater crowds of us together than he had done previously.
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He managed this by making simple machines to do the
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rubbing for him on a larger scale. The result was
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really too much for us. We were kept crowding on
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to a sort of brass comb arrangement from which we
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could not escape, as the metal was attached to a
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glass support. Talk about over crowding. I had never experienced
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the like before, and I felt sure some catastrophe would happen.
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Suddenly there was a stampede during which a great crowd
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of electrons forced their way across to a neighboring object,
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and thence.
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Speaker 2: To the earth.
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Speaker 1: I can assure you it was no joke getting through
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the air. We all tried to leap together, but some
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of the crowd were forced back upon us. Then bang
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forward we went again, back once more, and so on
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till we settled down to our normal condition. Of course,
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all this surging to and fro occupied far less time
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than it takes to tell. Indeed, I could not tell
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you what a very small fraction of a second it took.
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I wish you had seen the experiment of surprise. As
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we made this jump, we caused such a bombardment in
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the air that there was a bright spark accompanied by
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a regular explosion. Some men ran away with the idea
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that electricity was a mysterious fire which only showed itself
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when mixed with the atmosphere. Nothing delighted us more after
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our own surprise was over, than to have a chance
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of repeating these explosions to the alarm of the experimenters.
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But the best sport of all was to come, And
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when I heard of it, I was so disappointed that
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I had not been one of the sporting party. It
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came about in the following way. One learned man thought
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he had hit upon a good idea. He tried to
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crowd a tremendous number of us into some water contained
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in a glass jar. Without condescending to think of us.
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He crowded an enormous number of electrons from one of
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his rubbing machines along a piece of chain which led
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them into water. The overcrowding was appalling, for it was
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in possible to escape through the glass vessel. Things had
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reached a terrible state when the experimenter stopped the machine
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and put forward his hand to lift the chain out
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of the water. Now was the chance of escape. So
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the whole excited crowd made one wild rush to earth
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by way of the experimenter's body. The rapid surging to
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and fro of the crowd racked the man's muscles. I
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wish I had been there to see him jump. They
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say it was something grand. You can imagine how the
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little sinners enjoyed the joke. They knew they were safe,
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as men had no idea of their existence at that time.
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Another man was foolhardy enough to try a similar experiment,
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and they say that his alarm was even greater. Indeed,
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he swore he would not take another shock, even for
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the Crown of France. We were all eager to get
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opportunities of alarming man. Not that we wished him any harm,
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but we thought he might pay us a little more attention.
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I remember one a case upon which some of us
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were boasting of what we had done in the way
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of alarming men. Where Upon one fellow electron rather belittled
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our doings. He maintained that he had jumped all the
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way from a cloud to the earth, along with a
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crowd of other electrons. In doing so, they had scared
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the inhabitants of a whole village, for they alighted upon
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the steeple of a church, and in their wild rush,
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they played such havoc among the atoms composing the steeple
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that they did considerable outward damage to the great structure.
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I may as well confess that we are not free
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agents in performing these gigantic jumps. We are compelled to
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go with the crowd. When things are in such a
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state of stress, we simply cannot hold on to the
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atoms of matter upon which we happen to be located.
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It is only under very considerable pressure that we can
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perform this class of jump. And I beg to assure
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you that we are perfectly helpless in those cases where
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we have been dashed upon some poor creeture with a
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message of death. Alas on one occasion I was one
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of a party who killed a very learned man. It
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was most distasteful to us, we could not possibly prevent it.
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He had erected a long rod which extended up into
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the air and terminated at the lower end in his laboratory.
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Some of us, who were in the upper atmosphere were
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forced onto this iron rod, and from past experience we
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quite expected that we should be subjected to a sudden
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expulsion to Earth. Indeed, we were waiting for the experimenter
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to provide us with the means of escape, when suddenly
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he brought his head too near to the end of
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the rod, and in a moment we were dashed to
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Earth through his body. We learned with deep regret that
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the poor man had been robbed of his life to
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turn to something of a happier nature. I shall proceed
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to tell you of some of my earliest recollections. Remember,
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I shall be speaking of a time life long before
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man existed, even before this great planet was a solid ball.
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End of chapter four, chapter five of the Autobiography of
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an Electron by Charles R.
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Speaker 2: Gibson.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter five,
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My earliest Recollections. The scribes note on chapter five, this
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great globe upon which we live was once a glowing
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mass of flaming gas. It is possible that the whole
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Solar system was once one great mass. In any case,
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we have no doubt that the moon is simply the
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result of a part of our glowing mass having become detached.
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In the hottest stars we find only the lightest atoms
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of matter, such as hydrogen gas, the atoms of heavier
25:56
substances being found in stars which have begun to cool down.
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The electrons have been present from the very beginning, and
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it is they who go to make up the atoms
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of matter. We picture an atom of matter as a
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miniature solar system of revolving electrons. There is doubtless a
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corresponding amount of positive electricity, but so far we have
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no evidence of its nature. Endscribes note. Before giving an
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account of the everyday duties which we perform, it may
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interest you to hear something of our early history. Not
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only have we been on the move ever since the
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beginning of this world, but some of us have clear
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recollections of this planet. Long before it was a solid body.
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The whole world was a great ball of flaming gas.
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I have heard some fellow electrons say that we were
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attached to a greater mass of incandescent gas before the
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beginning of this world, but I have no personal recollections
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of it. But one thing I do remember is a
26:59
great upheaval which caused a large massive gas to become
27:02
detached from our habitation without any warning. A great myriad
27:07
of our fellow electrons were carried away on this smaller mass.
27:12
At first, this detached mass circled around our greater mass
27:15
at very close quarters, but we soon found that our
27:18
friends were being carried farther and farther away, until they
27:22
are now circling around this solid planet at a comparatively
27:26
great distance. Man calls this detached mass the Moon, And
27:31
when I have heard children say in fun that they
27:34
wish they could visit the man in the Moon, I
27:36
have longed ago and see how it fares with those
27:39
fellow electrons who seemed to be separated from us in
27:42
such a permanent manner. After this exciting event, which I
27:46
have heard described as the birth of the Moon, our
27:50
great ball of flaming gas began to cool gradually. But
27:54
you will be interested in what happened before the Moon's birth.
27:57
I saw a crowd of electrons suddenly congregate together along
28:01
with something else which man has not discovered. Never mind
28:05
the other part, but picture a number of electrons forming
28:09
a little world off their own. There they went whirling
28:12
around in a giddy dance. I saw these little worlds
28:16
or atoms being formed all around, and I feel truly
28:20
thankful now that I was not caught in the mad world,
28:23
for these fellow electrons have been kept hard at it
28:25
ever since, imprisoned within a single atom. I have met
28:30
a very few electrons who have escaped from within an atom,
28:33
but I shall tell you about them later on. The
28:37
first thing I noticed was that each of the atoms
28:39
have practically the same number of electrons in it. At
28:43
that time I thought only in an abstract way. But
28:46
since then I have learned that these were hydrogen atoms,
28:50
hydrogen being the lightest substance known to man. Exactly what
28:55
happened next I cannot recollect. But my attention was attracted
28:58
later to larger congregations of electrons forming other little worlds
29:02
of their own. These atoms were, of course heavier than
29:06
the hydrogen atoms. I saw quite a variety of different systems,
29:11
of which I thought then in an abstract fashion, but
29:15
which I know now to be atoms. Of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, iron, copper,
29:20
and so on. While man has given the atoms these
29:24
distinguishing names, you will understand that the incidents which I
29:27
am relating took place long before there was any appearance
29:30
of solidity about our planet. These substances were all in
29:35
a gaseous state. After this, I recollect that there was
29:40
a great envelope of water vapor condensed around the planet.
29:44
Some condensed into liquid water upon the surface of the globe,
29:47
while part was suspended in the form of clouds. Some
29:51
of my fellow electrons acted as nuclei or foundations for
29:55
the formation of the cloud particles. The water which condensed
29:59
upon the Earth settled down in the hollows which have
30:02
been produced previously by the immense pressure of the water
30:05
vapor envelope. We can hardly believe it is the same world.
30:10
You cannot imagine how strange it was to see the
30:13
great oceans boiling and steaming. Of course, they were fresh water.
30:18
Then I need hardly tell you that they have become
30:21
salt only because the rivers have brought down sodium into them.
30:25
And when these sodium atoms unite with chlorine atoms, they
30:28
form particles of common salt. I know all about this
30:32
because we electrons play a very important part in all
30:36
such combinations. One very memorable recollection is that of life
30:41
originating in the oceans. I wish I could let you
30:45
into the secret of the origin of life, but according
30:48
to the Creator's plan, man must find out for himself.
30:52
Your guesses are all white of the mark. By the way,
30:56
perhaps I should explain why I have been selected to
30:59
rivet this biography. The first reason is that I am
31:03
a free or detachable electron, and the second point in
31:07
my favor is that I have had exceptional opportunities of
31:10
seeing about me. I have heard men say that lookers
31:14
on see most of the game, and as I have
31:17
witnessed the gradual evolution of things, you will understand that
31:20
I have views of my own. A casual observer might
31:24
think that things had deteriorated. For long ago there were
31:28
immense monsters upon this planet, and these would put all
31:31
modern creatures in the shade as far as size and
31:34
strength are concerned. But one of the most interesting things
31:38
to me has been to watch the evolution of man,
31:41
and more especially the gradual development of his brain. Indeed,
31:46
sometimes I have wished that I had happened to be
31:48
an electron in the brain of a man. But on
31:51
the other hand, my career would not have been of
31:54
the very kind which it has been. End of chapter five,
32:05
Chapter six of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
32:09
Speaker 2: Gibson.
32:10
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter six
32:15
man pays us some attention. The scribes note on chapter six.
32:21
Men found that by exhausting the air from glass globes
32:24
or tubes, it was possible to pass electric discharges through them,
32:29
and in so doing some very beautiful luminous effects were
32:32
produced within the vacuum tubes. It was when experimenting with
32:36
one of these tubes that a scientist suggested that radiant
32:39
particles were being shot across the tube. These particles were
32:43
really electrons, but it was thought at that time that
32:46
they were atoms of matter. Another scientist declared from certain
32:51
mathematical calculations that there existed extremely small particles of something
32:56
around the atoms of matter, and that it was the
32:59
motion of these in the ether which produced light. People
33:04
were not willing to accept this theory. Some time later,
33:07
another scientist was able to prove by experiment that these
33:11
particles did exist. This was done by means of the spectroscope,
33:15
as will be related by the electron in a later chapter.
33:20
End of scribes note from the little I have told
33:24
you already of our experiences, you will see that men
33:27
had been making many experiments in which we electrons took
33:30
a very active part. It was disappointing that, even though
33:34
we had surprised man in so many different ways, he
33:37
had never become suspicious of our presence. One day, however,
33:42
we did begin to hope for recognition. I was present
33:46
with a great crowd of electrons imprisoned within a glass
33:49
globe from which the air had been extracted. We were
33:53
very pleased to find that the surrounding space had been
33:55
cleared of air, for it was apparent that the experimenter
33:59
was going to make us jump across from one end
34:01
of the glass tube to the other. A crowd of
34:04
us had collected on the extremity of a wire or
34:07
electrode at the one end of the tube, while another
34:10
similar crowd was present on the other electrode at the
34:13
opposite end of the tube. While I speak of a
34:16
crowd meaning that there were millions of us, I do
34:19
not suggest that we were overcrowded, for we had plenty
34:22
of elbow room to move about on the atoms to
34:24
which we were attached. All in a moment, the scene
34:28
was changed. We felt a crowd of electrons pressing us
34:31
forward and forcing us right up to the very end
34:34
of the electrode. We found that the crowd was approaching
34:37
by a wire leading into the tube. Soon, the crowding
34:41
had reached such a condition that we became alarmed. We
34:44
could see no way of escape. We were imprisoned by
34:48
the glass walls. But we soon discovered that many of
34:51
the electrons who had been stationed on the other electrode
34:54
had deserted their post and fled along a wire leading
34:57
out of the tube. If we couldn only follow them,
35:01
it would be a tremendous jump to get over to
35:03
the other wire, but the way was fairly clear of air.
35:07
When the overcrowding reached a certain point, we were literally
35:10
shot across from the one electrode to the other. This
35:14
was the first time I had ever experienced anything of
35:17
the kind, but many fellow electrons had gone through similar
35:21
performances for years at the hands of other experimenters. However,
35:26
it was somewhat alarming to be fired off like a
35:29
rocket across the tube. What happened after that I cannot recollect.
35:33
But some time later I was present in that or
35:36
a similar tube when I heard the experimenter say to
35:39
a friend that he believed there were particles flying across
35:43
his tube. We sent news all along the line stating
35:47
that at last we had been discovered, And I can
35:50
assure you that we felt proud. But our joy was
35:53
not long lived, for it turned out that we were
35:56
considered to be particles or atoms of matter. The experimenter
36:00
spoke of us as radiant matter. This was a real disappointment.
36:06
It took us some time to recover from our disappointment
36:09
at being mistaken for clumsy atoms of matter. We are
36:13
of a higher order of things altogether. No atom of
36:17
matter can travel at speed such as we can. We
36:20
crossed these vacuum tubes with speed equal to millions of
36:23
miles per minute. A great many of us were kept
36:27
busy within vacuum tubes by other experimenters, but nothing very
36:31
exciting happened. Indeed, we had lost all hope of attracting
36:35
men's attention to ourselves as long as we were imprisoned
36:38
within these tubes. In the meantime, our hopes were revived
36:42
by news which reached us from another quarter. We heard
36:46
that a very learned man had declared boldly that there
36:49
did exist little particles which revolved around the atoms of matter,
36:53
and that it was the motion of these tiny particles
36:55
in the ether which produced the well known waves of light.
37:00
There was considerable rejoicing among us, for we were anxious
37:03
to have our services recognized by man. This great man
37:07
was not guessing merely. He was willing to prove by
37:10
mathematical calculations that.
37:12
Speaker 2: We did exist. In reality.
37:15
Speaker 1: Of course, we ourselves required no proof of our existence,
37:18
but we believed that man would be convinced. Our high
37:22
hopes were soon laid low. News reached us that people
37:26
were shaking their heads and saying that figures could be
37:29
made to prove anything. After we had settled down to
37:33
our ordinary duties, we got word that at last man
37:36
had really detected us in a flame of gas. This
37:40
seemed quite reasonable, for, as I shall relate to you
37:43
in another chapter, we have a very lively time of
37:46
it in a flame of gas. However, when we were
37:49
informed that man had discovered us by means of a
37:52
sort of telescope arrangement. I, for one, began to doubt
37:56
the truth of the discovery. Some time before this I
38:00
had heard that men were spying at gas flames in
38:02
the hope of finding us, And this seemed most ridiculous,
38:06
for if man could not see the large congregations of
38:08
us called adams, how could he expect to see individual electrons.
38:14
My ignorance was dispelled when it was explained that man
38:17
had not been looking for us directly, but for the
38:19
ether waves which we produce. But I have not had
38:23
an opportunity of explaining to you how some of us
38:26
produce waves in the ether. I shall have to wait
38:29
till a later chapter. In the meantime, I may say
38:32
that since this important discovery I have taken some part
38:36
in an experiment similar to the historic one wherein.
38:39
Speaker 2: We were detected.
38:41
Speaker 1: But of that too, I shall have more to say. Again,
38:45
the rejoicing at this discovery was not confined to us,
38:49
for men of science were quick to grasp the importance
38:51
which was attached to this new knowledge. We felt that
38:55
man was bound to acknowledge our services from that day.
38:59
The next event was our christening, and this was not
39:02
all plain sailing. Indeed, we have been rather annoyed with
39:05
one name which some good friends persist in giving us.
39:09
I refer to the name Corpuscle, which we feel to
39:12
be a sort of nickname, although it may have been
39:15
suggested in all kindness. It may be difficult for you
39:19
to appreciate our dislike to this name. But it seems
39:22
to us to savor too much of material things. It
39:26
is not dignified. You must remember, we are not matter.
39:31
We are delighted with what we prefer to call our
39:33
real name, electron, for that speaks of electricity. As you know,
39:39
we are units of particles of negative electricity, and so
39:42
this seems a most sensible and suitable name. But I
39:46
must hasten to tell of some of our everyday duties
39:49
in which we serve man end of chapter six, chapter
40:01
seven of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
40:05
Speaker 2: Gibson.
40:06
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seven
40:11
A steady march. The scribes note on chapter seven the
40:16
steady motion of electrons from atom to adam along a
40:19
wire or other conductor constitutes the well known electric current.
40:25
The moving electrons disturb the ether around the wire, and
40:28
produce what we know as a magnetic field. The electron
40:32
explains why it is necessary to have a complete circuit
40:35
before any electric current can take place. Also how one
40:40
length of wire may be used to connect two distant places,
40:43
provided the two extremities of the wire are buried in
40:46
the earth. End of scribes. Note Personally, I knew nothing
40:52
about marching until quite recently. Indeed, none of my fellow
40:56
electrons seem to have had definite ideas of regular marching
41:00
previous to the last century. That century is prominent in
41:04
our history as well as in man's. There is no
41:07
doubt that before then we must have made more or
41:10
less regular marches through the crust of the earth and elsewhere.
41:14
But for myself, I have no such recollection previous to
41:17
the following occasion. The experience was not a very exciting one.
41:22
I found myself passing along from Adam to Adam in
41:25
a copper wire. But what was of special interest to
41:29
us was that it became evident that these enforced marches
41:32
were being deliberately controlled by man. Of course, you will
41:36
understand that man knew nothing of our existence at that time.
41:40
All he knew was that when he placed a piece
41:43
of zinc and a piece of copper in a chemical solution.
41:46
There were certain effects produced in some mysterious fashion. For instance,
41:51
when he connected the top of the two metals in
41:54
this chemical cell or battery by a piece of wire,
41:57
he got what he described as and a electric current.
42:01
Now all that happened really was this. The chemical action
42:05
in this battery which Man had devised, caused a rearrangement
42:08
among the atoms composing the metals and the solution, with
42:12
the result that we poor electrons, had to rearrange our domiciles.
42:17
As an accumulation of electrons gathered on the zinc, some
42:20
of us were forced along the connecting wire towards the
42:23
copper as long as the chemical action in the battery
42:27
was kept up. So long we were kept on the
42:29
march from the zinc to the copper by way of
42:32
the wire. Man tried increasing the length of this wire
42:36
bridge across which we had to pass, but we had
42:39
no difficulty in making our way along. But you must
42:43
not run away with the idea that we rush along
42:45
the wire with lightning speed. Although we can fly through
42:49
the ether at a prodigious speed, our progress from atom
42:52
to atom in a wire is more like a snail pace.
42:56
As a matter of fact, our rate of march is
42:59
much less than the walking pace of a man. Indeed,
43:02
it may be stated conveniently as so many yards per hour.
43:07
Some people may find it difficult to believe that our
43:10
rate of march is so very slow. Their front door
43:13
is a good many yards away from their electric bell.
43:16
But it does not take us an hour or any
43:18
appreciable part of a minute to summon the maid. The
43:22
secret is that there is a whole regiment of us
43:24
along the wire, and before one of us moves on
43:27
to a neighboring atom, another electron must move off that
43:30
atom and on to its neighbor, and so on. In
43:34
this way, the electrons at the far end of the
43:36
wire commence to move at practically the same moment as
43:40
to those near the battery. It has been a source
43:43
of amusement to me to see people perfectly mystify by
43:46
the fact that they can get no electric current unless
43:49
they have a complete circuit. What else could they expect?
43:54
How could man march if he had no road to
43:56
march on? You see, the reason for our march is
44:00
that we wish to escape from the overcrowding on the zinc,
44:03
and we are forced towards the copper. The atoms composing
44:07
the wire are our stepping stones, and if there is
44:10
not a complete chain of atoms, we are helpless. You
44:14
have already heard how we can jump in air space
44:17
under very great pressure, but that condition does not exist
44:20
in the present case. When we are disturbed by the
44:23
chemical action of the battery, we should prefer to have
44:26
a short cut from the zinc to the copper. But
44:29
if the only path Man gives us is by way
44:32
of a long wire, then we must be content to
44:35
travel that road in order to reach the copper. It
44:39
is a matter of little moment to us what arrangement
44:41
Man makes, as long as he gives us a complete path.
44:45
For instance, he may lead us out from the zinc
44:48
to a distant telegraph instrument, and then, instead of providing
44:52
a second wire to take us back to the battery,
44:54
he may conduct us by a short wire to the earth.
44:58
We are quite content to loose use ourselves in this
45:01
great reservoir. Provided Man places another short wire from the
45:05
earth to the copper, off the battery at the other
45:07
end of the line. Then as we slip off at
45:10
the one end of the line, an equal number of
45:13
electrons can climb up at the other end, and thus
45:16
enable all our friends in the long wire to keep
45:19
up a steady march. This march of ours is not
45:22
merely a means of transporting ourselves from one place to another.
45:26
It is to enable us to do work. It is
45:29
only when we are in motion that we can do
45:31
useful work, for we must move before we can disturb
45:35
the ether, and it is by means of the ether
45:37
that we transmit energy. If you place a magnetic needle
45:42
or mariner's compass near a wire along which we are
45:45
making a steady march, you will find that we can
45:48
affect our fellow electrons who are stationed within the magnetic needle.
45:53
We cause the needle to swing round and take up
45:55
a position at right angles to our line of march.
46:00
Succeed in doing this because these electrons in the magnetic
46:03
needle are on the move also. But this reminds me
46:07
that I have never told you how we produce the
46:09
ether disturbance which you call magnetism. When as children you
46:14
played with toy magnets in the nursery, little did you
46:17
think that there was a host of tiny electrons amusing
46:20
you and yet we electrons are responsible entirely for all
46:24
magnetic effects, as I shall proceed to explain. End of
46:30
chapter seven, Chapter eight of the Autobiography of an Electron
46:39
by Charles R.
46:40
Speaker 2: Gibson.
46:42
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eight
46:47
a useful dance. The scribes note on chapter eight, we
46:52
believe magnetism to be due to electrons revolving around atoms
46:56
of iron and other magnetic substances, as related by the electron.
47:00
In this chapter, we have seen that the steady motion
47:04
of electrons along a wire produces a magnetic field around
47:07
the wire. Therefore, if we have electrons revolving round and
47:11
round the atoms in a piece of iron, there will
47:14
be a miniature magnetic field around each atom. The electron
47:18
explains why a piece of iron does not show the
47:20
magnetic power locked up within it until it is magnetized.
47:25
The electron refers to electromagnets. An electromagnet is simply a
47:30
piece of soft iron with a coil of insulated wire
47:33
wound around it. The iron only shows its magnetic power
47:38
as long as the current of electricity is kept passing
47:41
through the surrounded coil of wire. For reasons which the
47:45
electron explains. End of scribes. Note, I may tell you
47:51
quite frankly that I have never taken part in the
47:54
perpetual dance of which I am about to tell you.
47:57
I am of a free and roaming disposition. But I
48:00
have often watched some of my fellow electrons at this work.
48:04
Of course, it is pleasant work, as all our duties are.
48:08
Now that man acknowledges our services. We are responsible for
48:13
the behavior of the mariner's compass needle. It is we
48:17
who cause it to point continually in one definite direction.
48:21
If we cease to dance around the iron atoms in
48:23
the compass needle aboard a ship, the man at the
48:26
helm could not tell in what direction he was going,
48:29
and sooner or later he would be almost certain to
48:32
wreck his vessel. For this service alone, man ought to
48:36
be grateful to us. But before I have finished my story,
48:40
you will find that even this important duty is but
48:43
a small affair when compared with many of our other tasks.
48:47
There is one matter I should like to make quite
48:49
clear to you. Although we electrons are all identical, we
48:53
have different stations to fill. You have doubtless become familiar
48:58
with my roving disposition, and you probably think of me
49:01
as a detachable electron. Then there are our friends who
49:05
are locked up within the atoms of matter, part and
49:08
parcel off the atom. And now I am introducing you
49:12
to those electrons who act as satellites to the atoms,
49:16
revolving around them at a comparatively great distance, just as
49:20
the moon revolves around the Earth. These are the electrons
49:24
which give rise to the magnetism in a piece of iron.
49:27
There are other electrons which perform very rapid revolutions around
49:31
all classes of atoms, but I shall introduce these friends
49:35
later on. I need hardly remark that a piece of
49:38
ordinary iron does not behave like a magnet. Indeed, it
49:42
is fortunate that it does not. If it did, man
49:45
could not get along with his work very well. The
49:48
hammer would stick to the head of the nail it
49:50
had struck, the fire irons would stick to the fender,
49:54
while the cook's pots and pans would hold on to
49:57
the kitchen range. That would be a very st stupid arrangement.
50:01
But we electrons have really no say in the matter
50:04
of arrangement. We are always on the move, performing a
50:08
perpetual dance around the iron atoms. But the atoms arrange
50:12
themselves in a higgeldy piggledy fashion, so that the electrons
50:16
on one atom pull the ether in one direction, while
50:19
others pull the ether in an opposite direction. In this way,
50:23
the outward effect is not perceptible. When, however, man places
50:28
a coil of wire around the iron and makes a
50:30
crowd of electrons march along the wire, these marching electrons
50:35
affect the ether, which in turn influences the satellite electrons
50:39
which are revolving around the atoms of iron. You may
50:43
be somewhat surprised when I tell you that, owing to
50:45
this ether disturbance, these satellite electrons are able to produce
50:49
a rearrangement among the atoms. If you doubt my word,
50:54
you may easily prove the truth of the statement. If
50:57
you magnetize a long bar of iron, you will find
51:00
that its length is actually altered. This is due to
51:04
our having disturbed the arrangement of the atoms. Perhaps I
51:08
should explain that when we force the atoms into their
51:11
new condition, we can do so only under the ether
51:14
stress set up by our fellow electrons who are marching
51:17
in the neighboring wire. Whenever their march ceases, the ether
51:22
stress is withdrawn, and the atoms are able to fall
51:25
back into their old higgeldy piggledy condition. In this way,
51:30
man is able to make a piece of iron a magnet,
51:33
and to unmake it as often as he cares, by
51:36
simply switching on and off the electric current from the
51:38
wire surrounding the iron. If a piece of hard steel
51:42
is used in place of soft iron, then we find
51:45
that the atoms are not so easily disturbed. But when
51:48
they are once brought into line with one another, they
51:51
will remain in their new condition after the ether disturbance
51:54
has been withdrawn. It may seem strange to you that
51:57
quite a small percentage of carbon atoms at to the
52:00
pure soft iron should cause such a marked difference, But
52:04
the matter seems plain enough to us. Man was so
52:07
impressed with the manner in which the atoms were evidently
52:10
fixed in their new condition, that he spoke of permanent magnets.
52:15
It is especially fortunate for man that these pieces of
52:18
steel do retain their magnetism and give us a reliable
52:21
mariner's compass. But I shall tell you how you may
52:25
disturb even these sedate atoms. If you hammer the metal
52:30
very vigorously, or if you heat it to redness, you
52:33
will find that the atoms have been freed from what
52:35
appeared to be their permanent position, and they are back
52:38
to their old higgety pigglety condition, So that we electrons
52:42
are all opposing one another. Remember, we are hard at
52:46
work all the time, although we may be giving no
52:49
outward sign of our activity. While we render an important
52:53
aid to man by providing this permanent magnet for his compass,
52:57
you will find that a very great deal of our
52:59
assistance to man in his everyday life depends upon our
53:02
behavior in soft iron electromagnets. It is in these that
53:07
man can control.
53:08
Speaker 2: Our behavior at will.
53:10
Speaker 1: It is through this simple piece of apparatus, the electro magnet,
53:14
that man has been able to accomplish so much in
53:16
signaling to his friends at a distance. It is also
53:20
by means of these electro magnets that man can get
53:23
us to turn an electric motor, and so on. But
53:27
I must tell you first of all, how we enable
53:30
man to signal to a distance, or in other words,
53:33
how we carry man's news. End of chapter eight Chapter
53:44
nine of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
53:47
Speaker 2: Gibson.
53:49
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter nine,
53:53
How we carry Man's News The scribe's note On chapter nine,
54:00
the electron explains wherein its method differs from all other methods.
54:05
It is well known that within recent years the old
54:07
iron telegraph wires have been replaced by much lighter copper wires.
54:13
The Electron explains the reason for this change. It describes
54:17
how the electrons manage to work the most widely used
54:20
form of telegraph instrument, which is called the Morse after
54:24
its inventor. Here we find one of the most practical
54:29
applications of the electro magnet described in the preceding chapter.
54:34
End of scribes Note. It is we electrons who have
54:39
so very far outdistanced all material carriers of news. You
54:44
must acknowledge that the best runner, the swiftest horse, the
54:48
fastest express train, and the prize carrier pigeon are all
54:52
nowhere when compared with us electrons. But I do not
54:56
wish to mislead you in any way, and I can
54:58
speak from personal exp experience.
55:00
Speaker 2: In this case.
55:02
Speaker 1: We do not race off with man's messages in the
55:04
same sense as these other messengers do. Our swiftness of
55:09
communication depends upon the simple fact that man provides a
55:13
whole connecting regiment of us between the two distant places,
55:16
and when the order to march is given, we all
55:19
move off at practically the same moment. In this way,
55:23
the electrons at the far end of the connecting wire
55:26
are able to cause signals there immediately. This is the
55:29
secret of man's success in being able to hold immediate
55:32
communication with his distant friends. His success is due entirely
55:37
to the cooperation of us electrons. My personal experience has
55:42
been in connection with a very simple telegraphic arrangement. Indeed,
55:47
the most of our duties in transmitting messages are performed
55:50
with this particular kind of instrument, known as a Morse sounder.
55:55
At the time of which I speak, I have become
55:58
attached to an atom of iron in the US the
56:00
end of a long telegraph wire. From this you will
56:03
probably guess that my experience was gained some time ago,
56:08
for man does not use iron wires nowadays in fitting
56:11
up telegraph lines. He used iron at first, and some
56:15
of these lines still exist. But when he discovered that
56:18
a very much lighter copper wire would serve the same purpose,
56:22
he discarded the heavy iron wires. Man explained the matter
56:26
by saying that the copper offered less resistance to the
56:29
electric current, and the majority of people were quite satisfied
56:33
with this kind of explanation. Of course, these are merely
56:37
convenient phrases which give Man no real reason for the difference.
56:41
The real reason is that we electrons are able to
56:44
move about from one copper atom to another with very
56:47
much greater ease than we can among the iron atoms.
56:51
That is the reason why Man made the change from
56:53
iron to copper wires, although he had no idea of
56:57
the reason at the time. To return to my experience
57:01
in connection with a telegraph instrument, I found that we
57:05
were being subjected to a series of forced marches. The
57:08
whole regiment of electrons along the line made a forward move.
57:13
The line of march ended in a short length of
57:15
fine wire wound around a piece of soft iron to
57:18
form an electromagnet. The end of the wire dipped into
57:22
the earth. As I have explained in an earlier chapter. Now,
57:26
all that we electrons had to do was to make
57:29
a forward march, halt, forward again, another halt, and so on.
57:35
Sometimes this signal to halt was longer in being given
57:39
than at other times, but we found that this was intentional,
57:42
and that there were two definite lengths of march. I
57:46
have explained already how we marching electrons cause an electro
57:50
magnet to attract a piece of iron, and let it
57:53
go again as soon as we cease marching. It only
57:56
remains for me to give you a general statement of
57:59
how we work them. Horse telegraph man has arranged a
58:03
little lever with an iron end piece immediately above the electromagnet,
58:08
so that the magnet may attract it. Of course, you
58:11
are aware that it is the electrons within the soft
58:14
iron core of the electromagnet who produce the magnetic effect.
58:19
Every time we electrons in the surrounding wire make a
58:21
forward move, the electromagnet pulls down the end of the
58:24
little lever referred to. As long as we keep marching,
58:28
so long will the end of the lever remain down.
58:31
But the moment we halt, the lever is free to
58:33
be pulled up by a spring attached to it. The
58:37
movements of the lever indicate the length of our long
58:40
and short marches, and it is by means of these
58:42
that man sends signals. All that he does is to
58:46
control our march by means of an electric push and
58:49
a battery at one end of the wire, and it
58:52
is we who produce the signals at the distant end
58:55
of the wire. Each time man presses the push, we
58:59
move the distant la. When we pull the lever down,
59:02
it is so arranged that it makes a sound like click,
59:06
And when we let it spring up against a stop,
59:08
it makes another sound, not unlike clack. Our long and
59:13
short marches are therefore converted into long and short click clacks.
59:18
Man has made a simple code of signals representing his alphabet,
59:22
And right merrily do we wrap out the signals for
59:24
which we receive orders at the distant end of the wire,
59:28
while someone at the other end listens to the sounds we.
59:31
Speaker 2: Cause to be made.
59:33
Speaker 1: I have told you enough of our duties to let
59:36
you see how we are able to carry man's news
59:38
from one part of the earth to any other part.
59:41
By far, the greatest part of our signaling work is
59:45
done with this simple morse sounder. It may interest you
59:48
to note that we can produce those signals far faster
59:52
than man can read them. When Man found this out,
59:55
he took advantage of our powers. He made an automatic transmitter,
59:59
which could manipulate the make and break off the battery
1:00:01
current far more rapidly than any human fingers could do it. Then,
1:00:06
as we wrapped off the signals with lightning speed, at
1:00:09
the distant end, he attached a little ink well to
1:00:11
the end of the moving lever, so that it could
1:00:14
mark short and long strokes on a ribbon of paper
1:00:17
passing close to it. Although man could not distinguish the
1:00:21
signals by his ear, he was able to read the
1:00:24
record of those we cause to be left upon the
1:00:26
paper ribbon. We have been made to work many other
1:00:30
forms of telegraph instruments. In some of these we control
1:00:34
type letters, while in others we imitate handwriting. But all
1:00:38
these are merely adaptations of our powers of marching. We
1:00:43
are proud of our achievements in rapid signaling, which all
1:00:46
right thinking people have not been slow to acknowledge. End
1:00:52
of chapter nine, Chapter ten of the Autobiography of an
1:01:01
Electron by Charles R.
1:01:02
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:01:03
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter ten,
1:01:08
How we Communicate with Distant Ships. The scribes note on
1:01:12
chapter ten. In this chapter, the electron deals with the
1:01:17
modern Marvel wireless telegraphy. Here the ether of space plays
1:01:22
a very prominent part. The author has given some particulars
1:01:26
about the ether in the first chapter what the story
1:01:29
is about. In conjunction with that, the electron may be
1:01:33
left to tell its own story. End of scribes. Note
1:01:38
our duties in this case are totally different from those
1:01:41
of which I have been telling you. While we electrons
1:01:44
can do many wonderful things, we cannot march through space.
1:01:49
We may be fired off like bullets from the Sun
1:01:51
to the Earth, but that is quite another matter. I
1:01:54
shall have something to say about that fact later on.
1:01:58
You have seen already that man can make us jump
1:02:01
only a very short distance, even when he has cleared
1:02:05
our path of the obstructing air, as he does in
1:02:07
a vacuum tube. If men were to provide us with
1:02:11
a complete path of metal atoms from the shore to
1:02:14
the ship, we could set to work upon the simple
1:02:16
plan which I have described in the preceding chapter. But
1:02:20
needless to say, man has more sense than to attempt
1:02:23
to keep up metallic connection with a ship going away
1:02:26
out to sea. Even the wisest men were surprised when
1:02:30
they heard that we electrons could signal through space to
1:02:32
great distances without any connecting wires. We ourselves were not
1:02:37
surprised had we not been doing this very thing from
1:02:41
the foundation of the world. Our fellow electrons in the
1:02:45
sun have never ceased to communicate with those of us
1:02:48
upon the Earth. Of course, I am referring at present
1:02:51
to those either waves which man calls heat and light.
1:02:56
But the waves which we make to carry man's messages
1:02:58
through space are of the very same nature, the only
1:03:02
difference being that they are much longer, in other words,
1:03:05
much farther apart. They do not follow each other so closely,
1:03:10
and they do not affect the eye or the sense
1:03:12
of touch. However, these long waves are able to bestir
1:03:17
some of us electrons who are situated at a great
1:03:20
distance from the sending electrons. Our method of producing such
1:03:25
waves in the ether is by surging to and fro
1:03:28
from atom to atom in an upright wire. When we
1:03:32
make a rapid to and fro motion, we send out
1:03:34
great waves in the ether. The original plan adopted by
1:03:39
men was to make us jump across a spark gap,
1:03:42
but in this case also it was our rapid oscillation
1:03:45
to and fro that produced the waves. If we wish
1:03:49
the waves to carry to a great distance. We must
1:03:52
club together in considerable force to supply the necessary energy.
1:03:56
The energy which we can get from a battery and
1:03:59
induction is not sufficient for any very long distances. In
1:04:04
such cases we require the aid of a dynamo, a
1:04:07
machine about which I shall have some experience to relate
1:04:10
in another chapter. In communicating through space, our position is
1:04:16
very similar to that of two men shouting to one
1:04:18
another over a distance. The one man disturbs the air,
1:04:22
thus sending air waves sound over to his friend, and
1:04:27
these waves produce certain sensations which he can interpret. I
1:04:31
should like you to understand that we electrons are upon
1:04:34
a higher plane than atoms of matter. We cause waves
1:04:38
in the all pervading ether, not among clumsy particles of air.
1:04:43
After these ether waves have traveled enormous distances, they retain
1:04:47
sufficient energy to disturb electrons situated at the distant place.
1:04:52
I shall tell you of the first experience I had
1:04:54
in this connection. I found myself attached to an atom
1:04:58
of nickel, a kind atom which looks to us electrons
1:05:02
very much like an iron atom, because it has nearly
1:05:05
the same number of electrons composing it, only they are
1:05:08
arranged differently, But I was telling you that I found
1:05:12
myself on this nickel atom sealed up in a small
1:05:15
glass tube. Of course, there were myriads of similar atoms
1:05:19
all around me, but I did not feel very happy.
1:05:22
I was being urged forward, and yet I could not
1:05:25
get across from some atoms to others. For the nickel
1:05:29
was in the form of loose filings. From past experience,
1:05:33
I knew that there was a battery along the line
1:05:36
somewhere I could fill the string. All of a sudden
1:05:39
I was startled to find that I could move forward.
1:05:42
Exactly what happened, I am not at liberty to tell,
1:05:46
but this much I may say that it was the
1:05:48
arrival of some ether waves which altered the condition of
1:05:51
things among the filings in the tube. We had just
1:05:55
started out on our march forward when we received such
1:05:58
a shaking that we found ourselves in the same isolated
1:06:02
positions as at first. We could not get across from
1:06:06
one particle to another. More ether waves arrived, we made
1:06:10
a fresh start. Then came another rude shaking, and so
1:06:14
on we went, starting and stopping. Indeed, it was the
1:06:18
regularity of these long and short marches that gave me
1:06:21
the first idea that we were being controlled by some
1:06:24
telegraph operator. We were amused to find that the rude
1:06:28
shaking of which I have been telling you was caused
1:06:30
by the action of some of our fellow electrons. Some
1:06:34
of them, in their march around an electro magnet in
1:06:37
the receiving instrument, caused a little lever to knock against
1:06:40
our tube and give us a sudden jolt. I should
1:06:44
like you to notice that the energy with which we
1:06:46
moved the telegraph instrument did not come from the distant station.
1:06:50
It was a local battery which worked the receiving instrument.
1:06:54
But this battery was controlled by the incoming ether waves
1:06:57
affecting the tube of filings. There is really no mystery
1:07:01
about the matter. But I am anxious not to take
1:07:04
credit for anything more wonderful than we have actually accomplished.
1:07:09
We electrons have rendered a very great service to man
1:07:12
by enabling him to communicate with his friends who are
1:07:15
far out on the ocean and cut off from all
1:07:18
possible chance of material communication. We are willing to serve
1:07:22
man on land also, though we very much prefer the
1:07:26
ordinary marching arrangement, if he will provide a connecting wire.
1:07:30
The fact is that we find it very much more
1:07:33
difficult to send either waves over land than we do
1:07:36
over water. I have heard some men ask how many
1:07:39
different telegraph instruments may be worked at one place simultaneously
1:07:43
without confusion. That is a question for man himself to answer.
1:07:49
We electrons are able to produce any variety of waves
1:07:52
of different frequency or length. It remains only for man
1:07:56
to construct apparatus that will respond only to a definite
1:08:00
of waves. I hear that man has made considerable progress
1:08:04
in tuning the wireless instruments.
1:08:07
Speaker 2: Some men are.
1:08:07
Speaker 1: Eager to get us to carry messages through space across
1:08:11
the Great Oceans, from shore to shore. We shall not refuse,
1:08:15
provided man supply sufficient energy. But I must admit that
1:08:19
we electrons prefer the submarine cable. Of course, man may
1:08:24
put this down to our laziness. We certainly prefer as
1:08:27
little severe straining as possible. I have been telling you
1:08:31
of my earliest and only personal experience in connection with
1:08:35
space telegraphy. I understand that greatly improved methods have been
1:08:40
adopted since that time, but I have never happened to
1:08:43
drift in their direction. End of Chapter ten, Chapter eleven
1:08:54
of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
1:08:57
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:08:59
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eleven,
1:09:04
How We Reproduce Speech The Scribe's note on Chapter eleven.
1:09:10
In the first part of this chapter, the electron explains
1:09:13
the part it plays in ordinary telephony. The reader will
1:09:17
picture the transmitting instrument at the one end of the
1:09:20
line influencing the receiving instrument at the distant end. Towards
1:09:25
the end of the chapter, the electron turns its attention
1:09:28
to the newer subject of wireless telephony, which has been
1:09:31
accomplished now over a distance of several hundred miles. End
1:09:36
of scribes note. My scribe suggested a rather clumsy title
1:09:41
for this chapter, Electrons verses atoms as carriers of speech.
1:09:47
I expect he made this suggestion without much thought, for
1:09:50
there are two serious objections to such a title. In
1:09:54
the first place, we are not carriers of speech. We
1:09:57
are controlled by speech at one end of the telephone line,
1:10:01
and we make a reproduction of the speech at the
1:10:03
distant end of the line. No sound passes between the
1:10:07
two places. There is only a movement of electrons along
1:10:11
the connecting line. My second objection to the hurriedly suggested
1:10:16
title is that it is hardly fair to make any
1:10:18
comparison between the achievements of atoms of matter and those
1:10:22
of ourselves. We are not in the same category as atoms. Besides,
1:10:27
we electrons are dependent entirely upon the material atoms for
1:10:31
making our work useful to man. For instance, we might
1:10:35
keep on making waves in the ether for all time,
1:10:39
and yet if the atoms of matter were to pay
1:10:41
no heed to those imperceptible waves, man would never be
1:10:44
aware of their presence. Indeed, we electrons act solely as
1:10:49
go betweens. On the other hand, it is only fair
1:10:52
to ourselves to point out that a group of atoms
1:10:55
in one town could never communicate with a group of
1:10:58
atoms in a distant town unless we electrons came to
1:11:02
their aid. It is true that over a very short
1:11:05
distance the atoms may communicate directly. For instance, if a
1:11:09
heavy blow is given to a large gong, the atoms
1:11:13
of metal may vibrate so energetically that they succeed in
1:11:16
disturbing the atoms of gas of the surrounding atmosphere for
1:11:20
some considerable distance. But in the case of speech, the
1:11:24
speaker cannot supply any great energy so that he can
1:11:27
disturb the atmosphere only to a very limited distance. We electrons, however,
1:11:33
can do Yeoman's service. In this respect. We have enabled
1:11:37
men to speak to one another over immense distances. The
1:11:41
whole affair is very simple. Man speaks and causes the
1:11:45
atmospheric atoms to vibrate and impinge upon a light disc
1:11:49
or diaphragm in a simple instrument which man has named
1:11:52
the telephone. This vibrating disc presses upon a myriad of
1:11:57
carbon particles contained in a small case or box, the
1:12:01
disk forming one side of the box. When these carbon
1:12:05
particles are pressed together, we electrons can get across more
1:12:09
easily from atom to atom. There is a battery urging
1:12:13
us forward, but our motion is dependent entirely upon the
1:12:17
manner in which the vibrating disc presses upon the carbon particles.
1:12:21
I cannot describe our movement in the line wire as
1:12:25
a march. It is in reality of surging to and fro.
1:12:30
You will understand that this to and fro motion of
1:12:32
the electrons in the line wire varies according to the
1:12:35
vibrations of the sending disc, which is controlled by the
1:12:38
speaker's voice at the distant end of the line. We
1:12:42
electrons bring our magnetic powers into action. We keep varying
1:12:47
the attractive powers of an electromagnet according to the motion
1:12:51
of the electrons in the wire. This ever changing magnet
1:12:55
produces vibrations in an iron disc which is fixed close
1:12:58
to the magnet. This disk is set vibrating in exact
1:13:03
sympathy with the sending disc. When the listener places this
1:13:06
receiving disc close to his ear, the vibrations are carried
1:13:10
by the atmospheric atoms to his hearing apparatus. All that
1:13:15
we electrons have done is to cause one disc to
1:13:17
vibrate in exact synchrony with another distant disc. But that
1:13:22
is all that is required for the receiving disc will
1:13:25
reproduce similar air vibrations to those set up by the
1:13:28
man's voice at the distant place. I have pointed out
1:13:32
already that we do not attempt to carry the sound.
1:13:35
It is true that the atoms of matter do the
1:13:38
hard work. That it is we electrons who enable a
1:13:41
group of atoms in one town to communicate with a
1:13:43
group of atoms in a distant town. It was natural
1:13:47
that as soon as man found that he could work
1:13:49
his telegraph instruments without the aid of connecting wires, he
1:13:53
should try to do the same with his telephone instruments.
1:13:57
We were sorry when we found men trying to use
1:13:59
the original Spark telegraphy methods for telephones. While we had
1:14:04
no difficulty in operating a telegraph instrument by means of
1:14:07
ether waves and the tube of filings, it was quite
1:14:10
impossible for us to produce telephone vibrations on the same principle.
1:14:15
This Spark method was a too rough and ready plan.
1:14:19
The waves we produced were like sudden splashes in the
1:14:22
ether ocean, whereas we knew that we must produce regular
1:14:25
trains of continuous waves in order to reproduce telephone vibrations. However,
1:14:31
you may be aware that we have succeeded by a
1:14:34
different arrangement of apparatus. Indeed, it may interest you to
1:14:38
know that one of my most recent experiences has been
1:14:41
in connection with some wireless telephone experiments. Unfortunately, I was
1:14:47
not in a very favorable position to learn all that
1:14:50
was going on, but it was quite exciting work. I
1:14:53
happened to be attached to an atom of copper in
1:14:56
a length of wire which had been run up into
1:14:58
the air on a sort of flag arrangement. I need
1:15:02
hardly say that I was not alone, for by this
1:15:05
time you will have become accustomed to picture myriads of
1:15:08
electrons occupying a very small space. We were set vibrating
1:15:13
to and fro with tremendous energy. But what bothered me
1:15:17
most was the great variation in our movements.
1:15:21
Speaker 2: It was the.
1:15:21
Speaker 1: Nature of these variations which gave me the clue that
1:15:24
we were being controlled by the vibrations of a telephone disc.
1:15:28
I can tell you we did make a complex series
1:15:31
of waves in the surrounding ether. These waves went out
1:15:35
through space and influenced some electrons stationed at a great distance.
1:15:40
When these electrons at the receiving station were set in motion,
1:15:44
they controlled the electric current from a local battery, which
1:15:47
set a second telephone disc vibrating in synchrony with the
1:15:50
one at the sending station. On questioning some of my
1:15:55
fellow electrons, who happened to have been nearer the transmitting
1:15:58
part of the instrument than I I had been, I
1:16:01
got some interesting information. They tell me that there was
1:16:05
a dynamo and an arc lamp in our circuit while
1:16:09
the telephone instrument was in a neighboring circuit. The electron
1:16:12
surging to and fro in the telephone circuit influenced those
1:16:16
energetic electrons in the arc lamp circuit to which the
1:16:19
aerial wire was attached. You see that my position in
1:16:23
the aerial wire was not a very advantageous one for
1:16:27
observing what was taking place. This was truly a great
1:16:31
achievement to enable one man to speak to another distant
1:16:34
hundreds of miles and without the aid of any connecting wire.
1:16:39
I think you will agree with me that we have
1:16:41
excelled all past records in the world of wonders. End
1:16:47
of chapter eleven, Chapter twelve of the Autobiography of an
1:16:56
Electron by Charles R.
1:16:58
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:16:59
Speaker 1: This slibrivox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twelve,
1:17:05
Our Heaviest Duties the Scribe's note on Chapter twelve. Here
1:17:10
the electron explains its behavior in a dynamo at work.
1:17:14
The principle of the dynamo was discovered by Faraday in
1:17:18
the thirties of the last century. He found that when
1:17:22
a coil of wire was moved through a magnetic field,
1:17:25
there was a current of electricity induced in the moving coil.
1:17:29
Experimental machines were constructed, and after a while a practical
1:17:33
dynamo was evolved. Wires are attached to a dynamo and
1:17:38
the electric current is led out. This current may be
1:17:42
conducted to a distant tramway car, and by sending the
1:17:45
current through an electric motor, mechanical motion is produced and
1:17:49
the car propelled along. An electric motor is practically the
1:17:54
same as a dynamo, but instead of turning its coil
1:17:57
round in order to produce an electric current, we pass
1:18:00
a current into the coil and it moves round. It
1:18:04
will be sufficient to leave the electron to tell its
1:18:06
own story. End of scribes. Note this is another of
1:18:12
those roving commissions in which I have been privileged to
1:18:15
take part on more than one occasion. If you think
1:18:19
of the giant size of an electric tramway car or
1:18:22
a railway train, and try to compare one of these
1:18:25
with any electron, such as your humble servant, it will
1:18:28
seem quite ridiculous that I should suggest that it is
1:18:32
we electrons who move those huge vehicles. Yet such is
1:18:37
the actual case. Of course, we require the application of
1:18:41
very considerable power to urge us to so heavy a task.
1:18:45
All the energy which we can get from a few
1:18:48
electric batteries might enable us to drive a toy car,
1:18:52
but when it comes to turning the wheels of a
1:18:54
real car or train, we require a correspondingly greater amount
1:18:58
of energy. I may as well tell you, quite frankly,
1:19:02
that we electrons are only the intermediaries or go betweens. Indeed,
1:19:07
you must have noticed that in every case we act
1:19:10
merely as a connecting link between matter and the ether,
1:19:14
and between the ether and matter. But what I want
1:19:17
to tell you of is the part we play in
1:19:20
moving an electric car or railway train. It is really
1:19:24
all very simple if you could only see it from
1:19:26
our standpoint. Picture a host of us attached to copper
1:19:30
atoms in a coil of wire which is being moved
1:19:33
through that disturbed ether called a magnetic field. We are
1:19:38
set in motion immediately. It is true that when we
1:19:41
are moved forward into the field, we march off in
1:19:44
one direction, only to be arrested and made to move
1:19:48
off in the opposite direction as we leave the field,
1:19:51
But it really makes no difference in our working capabilities
1:19:55
as long as we are kept on the move. This
1:19:58
is what is actually taking place in the armature of
1:20:01
a dynamo as it revolves between the poles of the electromagnet.
1:20:06
There is no piece for us, so long as the
1:20:08
coil is kept revolving and we are kept in a
1:20:11
constant state of rapid to and fro motion. This is
1:20:15
all we electrons do in a dynamo. But when the
1:20:18
ends of the outer circuit or manes are brought into
1:20:21
contact with the ends of our revolving coil, we set
1:20:25
the electrons in the mains surging to and fro in
1:20:29
step with ourselves. Man describes this motion of the electrons
1:20:33
in the mains as an alternating electric current, But by
1:20:38
a simple commutator on the dynamo, he may arrange that
1:20:41
we set the electrons marching in one direction in the mains.
1:20:46
This he describes as a direct electric current. It is
1:20:50
a matter of indifference to us whether man drives our
1:20:54
coil round by means of a steam engine, or water wheel,
1:20:57
or a windmill. That we electrons want is to keep
1:21:01
surging or vibrating to and fro. Now you will be
1:21:05
able to appreciate how we electrons get up sufficient motion
1:21:09
to enable us to perform what I have described as
1:21:12
our heaviest duties. Perhaps you will find it difficult to
1:21:16
believe me when I tell you that as we march
1:21:19
along the connecting wire to a distant tramway car, we
1:21:22
transmit the energy through the surrounding ether and not through
1:21:26
the wire. This is our mode of working in every case,
1:21:30
whether it be an electric bell, a telegraph, or a telephone.
1:21:35
That is to say, while we electrons move from atom
1:21:38
to adam in the connecting wire, it is the disturbed
1:21:41
ether surrounding us which transmits the energy. You must have
1:21:46
realized by this time how very intimate is the relationship
1:21:49
between ourselves.
1:21:51
Speaker 2: And the ether.
1:21:52
Speaker 1: To return to the tell of our tramway work, you
1:21:55
will picture my fellow electrons aboard the car being energized
1:21:59
by the end coming current. Those electrons present in the
1:22:03
armature coil of the motor are set into motion, as
1:22:07
also are those in the wire of the neighboring electromagnet.
1:22:11
The result is that these two sets of electrons so
1:22:15
disturb the ether and affect one another, that the coil
1:22:19
is moved round into a different position. You will remember
1:22:23
the experiment of which I told you, in which a
1:22:26
magnetic needle would insist always in taking up a position
1:22:29
at right angles to a wire in which an electric
1:22:32
current is passing. Well, when the motor coil has turned
1:22:37
into its new position. We electrons receive an impulse from
1:22:40
our friends in the line wire, which causes us to
1:22:43
retrace our steps in the coil. This action of ours
1:22:48
causes the coil to make a further movement in the
1:22:50
same direction as at first. Again we change our direction
1:22:55
of march, and again the coil changes its position towards
1:22:59
the electro magas. The sole duty of these electrons in
1:23:03
the armature coil is to keep surging to and fro,
1:23:07
while those electrons in the electromagnet keep up a steady
1:23:10
march in one direction. This arrangement necessitates the armature coil
1:23:15
to keep changing its position continually, and when we have
1:23:19
the armature coil spinning round at a steady pace, it
1:23:23
is easy for man to connect the armature to the
1:23:25
axles of the tramway car and cause us to drive
1:23:28
the wheels round. I need hardly say that it makes
1:23:32
no difference to us whether we are asked to drive
1:23:34
a tramway car, a railway train, or a host of
1:23:38
machines in a factory or workshop. All that we electrons
1:23:42
in the motor require is to have sufficient energy passed
1:23:45
along to us. From our fellows in the distant dynamo. Again,
1:23:49
I admit frankly that the atoms of matter play a
1:23:53
very important part in these our heaviest duties. But you
1:23:57
will see that without our active assistance they could not
1:24:01
transmit the necessary energy to a distant car or train.
1:24:07
End of chapter twelve, Chapter thirteen of the Autobiography of
1:24:17
an Electron by Charles R.
1:24:19
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:24:20
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter thirteen
1:24:26
a boon to man. The scribes note on chapter thirteen.
1:24:31
While it has been known for a long time that
1:24:34
light and radiant heat are merely waves in the ether,
1:24:37
it was not known until recently how these waves were produced.
1:24:42
The discovery of electrons has given us a reasonable solution
1:24:45
of our difficulty. The electron explains the actions of its
1:24:50
fellows in this great work of producing light and heat. Incidentally,
1:24:56
the electron explains how they produce an aurora in the heavens,
1:25:00
and how it is that the Earth has become a
1:25:02
negatively electrified body. End of scribes note. Every living thing
1:25:10
is dependent upon our activities. It is we electrons who
1:25:13
send out heat and light from the sun, and it
1:25:16
is we who received these on their arrival upon this planet.
1:25:21
Our action in the matter is really very simple. But
1:25:24
until man discovered our existence, he was mystified considerably. We
1:25:30
were amused to hear Man say that the atoms of
1:25:33
incandescent matter in the Sun produced waves in the ether,
1:25:37
and that when these ether waves fell upon other atoms
1:25:39
on this planet, these were set into a state of vibration,
1:25:44
thus producing heat and light. Now, if man had only
1:25:48
stopped to think, he would have seen how ridiculous it
1:25:51
was to speak of atoms of matter producing waves in
1:25:54
the ether. He ought to have known that atoms of
1:25:57
matter cannot affect the ether. It offers no resistance to
1:26:01
matter moving through it. Man might have pictured himself riding
1:26:06
on the back of this great planet, flying through space
1:26:09
at a speed very similar to that of.
1:26:11
Speaker 2: A rifle bullet.
1:26:12
Speaker 1: And yet even the flimsy blanket of air surrounding the
1:26:15
planet is not disturbed by the ether through which it
1:26:18
is rushing. It is true that the atoms of matterplay
1:26:22
an important part in the origin of heat, but the
1:26:25
atoms in the Sun could no more effect the atoms
1:26:28
on the Earth than could a man on the Earth
1:26:30
push the Moon about. It is the very intimate connection
1:26:34
between us electrons and the all pervading ether, which enables
1:26:38
our fellows in the Sun to communicate with those of
1:26:41
us upon this planet. Where would man be without us?
1:26:46
I cannot understand wherein man should find any mystery. In
1:26:49
connection with this very simple action of ours, you will
1:26:53
picture our distant fellow electrons making very rapid revolutions around
1:26:57
the atoms of matter to which they are attached as satellites.
1:27:02
Just as the Moon circles around the Earth, so do
1:27:04
we circle around our atoms, but at an enormously greater speed.
1:27:10
Of course, the whole length of our orbit is inconceivably small,
1:27:13
and the speed of our revolutions is inconceivably great. It
1:27:18
is our rapid motion through the ether which produces those
1:27:21
waves known to man as radiant heat and light. Someone
1:27:25
may ask how it is that we electrons can disturb
1:27:28
the ether while the giant atoms cannot. The obvious answer
1:27:33
is that we are not matter but electricity. We are
1:27:37
not in the same category.
1:27:38
Speaker 2: As atoms of matter.
1:27:40
Speaker 1: To complete the picture which I was drawing, you have
1:27:43
only to think of the ether waves arriving upon this
1:27:46
planet and disturbing sympathetic electrons causing them to revolve around
1:27:51
their atoms in similar fashion to our distant fellows who
1:27:54
are producing the ether waves. It may be that some
1:27:58
people get confused between this section and that of those
1:28:01
electrons who are shot off bodily from the Sun towards
1:28:04
the Earth. Believe me, there is no connection between the
1:28:08
two things. The stream of electrons shot off from the
1:28:12
Sun is deflected towards the magnetic poles of the Earth,
1:28:16
and as the electrons enter the upper layers of the atmosphere,
1:28:20
they produce that beautiful luminous effect which man describes as
1:28:24
an aurora. I have never taken part in one of
1:28:28
these great displays. For as far as my recollection goes,
1:28:31
I have never been in the Sun, although some fellow
1:28:34
electrons declare that at one time we were all in
1:28:37
the same great glowing mass of which the Sun and
1:28:41
every member of the Solar system formed a part. However
1:28:45
that may be. I certainly have no experience of a roary,
1:28:49
but I have assisted in producing the very same effect
1:28:52
upon a small scale within a vacuum tube. The air
1:28:56
remaining in these so called vacuum tubes is just as
1:28:59
rare as the air in the upper layers of the atmosphere,
1:29:03
and when we are shot across the tube, we act
1:29:06
in the same way as those electrons arriving upon this
1:29:09
planet from the Sun. You will observe that as a
1:29:13
surplus of electrons arrives upon the Earth from the Sun,
1:29:17
the Earth is naturally a negatively electrified body. But I
1:29:22
need hardly say that the Earth does not keep all
1:29:24
the electrons which arrive upon it. My scripe points out
1:29:29
that I am wandering from the story which I set
1:29:31
out to tell in this chapter, so I shall try
1:29:34
and please him. The direct cause of light, whether it
1:29:38
be natural or artificial, is the rapid motion of electrons
1:29:42
around atoms of matter. If they revolve at a comparatively
1:29:47
slow speed, they produce those ether waves which man calls
1:29:51
radiant heat. If these satellite electrons, however, desire to affect
1:29:56
the eye of man, they have to move around at
1:29:59
a very much greater speed. If we travel at too
1:30:02
fast a speed, then we cease to cause the sensation
1:30:06
of light. But believe me, all the waves we make
1:30:10
are of the same nature, no matter what name Man
1:30:13
has given them. The only difference we can make in
1:30:16
the waves is the rate at which they follow one another.
1:30:19
Of course, we can always make them larger or smaller
1:30:23
in height, or in other words, of greater or less amplitude,
1:30:27
but that does not affect their properties. In the following chapter,
1:30:31
I shall tell you of some remarkable phenomena which our
1:30:35
different ether waves produce in the brain of man. End
1:30:40
of chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen of the Autobiography of an
1:30:50
Electron by Charles R.
1:30:52
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:30:53
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fourteen.
1:30:58
How we produce color? The scribes note on chapter fourteen,
1:31:04
color is merely a sensation in the brain. What the
1:31:08
electrons really produce are ether waves, and these give rise
1:31:11
to the sensations of color. However, the electrons may claim
1:31:16
to produce color in the same sense as we savages
1:31:20
produce pain and fellow men by firing rifle bullets at them.
1:31:25
The electron explains how some objects appear white, while others
1:31:29
are red, and so forth. It explains also how electrons
1:31:33
produce artificial light. The electron twits men upon his ridiculously
1:31:39
wasteful processes of obtaining artificial light. End of scribes Note
1:31:46
in the preceding chapter, I have been telling you how
1:31:48
we electrons produce waves in the ether ocean. I pointed
1:31:52
out that if we make the waves follow each other
1:31:55
at too slow or too fast a rate, they fail
1:31:58
to affect man's eyes. It may seem strange to you
1:32:01
that only a very small range of our ether waves
1:32:04
should affect man's visionary apparatus. Of course, this limitation lies
1:32:09
beyond our province. We can produce endless variety of ether waves.
1:32:14
It is man's organs which fail to appreciate the bulk
1:32:17
of these. However, there is plenty of variety in the
1:32:21
sensations which we can produce in man. If we make
1:32:25
the waves follow each other at a certain speed, man
1:32:28
says he has the sensation of red. If we move faster,
1:32:32
he speaks of orange color. And as we increase our speed,
1:32:36
he names his further sensations as yellow, green, blue.
1:32:40
Speaker 2: And violet.
1:32:42
Speaker 1: Then if we combine all these waves, that is, if
1:32:45
we produce them all at one time, he says he
1:32:47
has the sensation of white. If we produce none of
1:32:51
these waves, he calls the result black. While we electrons
1:32:56
are very versatile, our actions are dependent in a great
1:32:59
many measure upon circumstances. For instance, if an electron is
1:33:04
acting as a satellite to one particular kind of atom,
1:33:07
its rate of revolution around that atom may be very
1:33:11
different from that of an electron similarly attached to another
1:33:14
kind of atom. We electrons are all identical, but the
1:33:18
speed of revolution is determined by the kind of atom.
1:33:22
The reason is very simple. Electrons revolve around some atoms
1:33:27
at a much greater distance than they would around other atoms.
1:33:31
Those making only the smaller orbits not only get around
1:33:34
their atoms in less time, but they are also traveling
1:33:37
at a greater pace. It is this fact which enables
1:33:41
the electrons to produce the various wavelengths which stimulate the
1:33:45
different color sensations in the brain of Man. I think
1:33:49
you will have no difficulty in seeing how it is
1:33:52
that we come to produce such a variety of wavelengths,
1:33:56
In other words, how we are able to make the
1:33:58
waves follow each other more or less rapidly. You will
1:34:02
understand that we do not produce colors. We merely make
1:34:06
various waves in the ether, and these waves excite the
1:34:09
color sensations in man. I mentioned this simple fact because
1:34:13
I hear many people speaking of our ether waves as
1:34:17
colored rays, which of course is quite a ridiculous description.
1:34:22
Suppose some of those waves which give rise to the
1:34:25
red sensation happen to fall upon a lump of matter
1:34:28
which contains only electrons capable of producing waves that only
1:34:32
affect the green sensation.
1:34:34
Speaker 2: What will happen.
1:34:36
Speaker 1: There will be no response, and the object, although viewed
1:34:39
by red light, will appear black. If an object, such
1:34:44
as the white paper upon which my scribe is recording
1:34:46
my story, contains a variety of atoms with electrons capable
1:34:51
of revolving at all the different rates which produce color sensations,
1:34:55
then when white light falls upon the object, it appears
1:34:58
white all the colors sensations combined. If, on the other hand,
1:35:03
a red light only falls upon it, then only the
1:35:06
electrons capable of responding to that rate of wave will
1:35:10
be set in motion, and the object will appear red,
1:35:13
and so on with the other rates of either waves.
1:35:17
So far I have been telling you what happens when
1:35:19
different waves of light fall upon us. Now I shall
1:35:23
endeavor to explain how Man has caused us to produce
1:35:26
artificial light. At present, all Man's methods in this direction
1:35:30
are dependent upon making some substance so hot that it
1:35:34
becomes incandescent. Even his most modern methods seem to us
1:35:39
to be ridiculously wasteful, and most round about. I shall
1:35:43
speak only of the electric glow lamp, as I have
1:35:46
had some experience in connection with this. On one occasion,
1:35:51
I have been taking part in a regular forward march
1:35:53
from copper atom to copper atom in a conducting wire.
1:35:58
I had no idea of the purpose of our march
1:36:00
till I suddenly found myself handed over to some carbon
1:36:04
atoms who were in a very lively state of vibration.
1:36:07
We had much more difficulty in making our way through
1:36:10
this substance, and it was the passive resistance offered to
1:36:14
the advance of the electrons who had preceded me that
1:36:17
had driven the carbon atoms into this state of great excitement.
1:36:21
In our march through the copper conductor, we had been
1:36:25
offered very little resistance, so that we had left the
1:36:28
copper atoms in peace. At least man could not detect
1:36:32
easily any excitement heat. But so long as our forest
1:36:36
march was maintained among the carbon atoms, so long did
1:36:40
the high temperature exist. You will understand I and the
1:36:44
other marching electrons did not produce the waves of light
1:36:47
sent out by the glow lamp. What we did was
1:36:51
to set the atoms of carbon into a rapid vibratory state,
1:36:55
and they, in turn caused their satellite electrons to hasten
1:36:58
their pace. Some electrons produced one rate of waves, and
1:37:03
some another rate, But by the time the carbon was incandescent,
1:37:07
there were electrons sending out all the variety of wave lengths,
1:37:10
the combination of which produces the sensation of white. I
1:37:16
have accused men of adopting very wasteful processes, so I
1:37:20
had better explain the matter. In the preceding description of
1:37:24
what is occurring in an electric glow lamp, I have
1:37:27
spoken only of those ether waves which constitute light. But
1:37:31
there are myriads of electrons in the carbon of the
1:37:34
glow lamp that never attain their requisite speed to produce
1:37:37
those waves. They revolve around their atoms at too slow
1:37:41
a rate. They certainly disturb the ether, but the crests
1:37:45
of the waves are so far apart that they do
1:37:48
not effect the eyes of man. The business of these
1:37:51
waves is to set up heat in the bodies upon
1:37:54
which they fall. You may be surprised to know that
1:37:58
in this contrivance of man called an electric glow lamp,
1:38:01
and indeed, in all his other artificial light producers, he
1:38:05
causes far more electrons to produce radiant heat than the
1:38:09
desired light waves, a most wasteful process. Man has a
1:38:14
long way to travel yet before he succeeds in producing
1:38:18
artificial light by a reasonable process. Indeed, I doubt if
1:38:22
any of you can realize, as we do, how exceedingly
1:38:26
stupid the existing methods are. Think for a moment of
1:38:30
the glow worm, in which we electrons produce light without
1:38:33
setting up any wasteful heat waves.
1:38:36
Speaker 2: There is a.
1:38:36
Speaker 1: Strong contrast between this peaceful plan and that of the
1:38:40
excited carbon atoms. When will man succeed in discovering this
1:38:44
secret of ours? End of chapter fourteen, Chapter fifteen of
1:38:56
the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
1:38:59
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:39:00
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter fifteen.
1:39:04
We send messages from the stars. The scribes note on
1:39:08
chapter fifteen, it is remarkable that man has been able
1:39:13
to discover what the distant stars are made of. Our
1:39:17
knowledge concerning the chemistry of the stars has been obtained
1:39:20
by means of the spectroscope, in which a beam of
1:39:23
light from the star is passed through a glass prism.
1:39:26
The result is the well known image of the colored spectrum,
1:39:30
in which certain well defined lines appear according to the
1:39:33
distant elements originating the ether waves. The electron explains the
1:39:39
whole subject from its own point of view. End of scribes.
1:39:43
Note it is only within recent times that man has
1:39:47
observed that we send messages from the distant stars to
1:39:50
this planet. But there is nothing new to us in
1:39:54
this proceeding. We have been busy sending these messages ever
1:39:58
since the solar system was formed. Through all those ages,
1:40:02
we have kept on sending these messages, knowing that in
1:40:05
time man must come to take notice of them. If
1:40:09
the subject should happen to be new to you, you
1:40:12
will be anxious to know to what kind of messages
1:40:14
I refer. Needless to say, they are wireless messages waves
1:40:19
in the great ether ocean. The waves to which I
1:40:23
refer specially fall within that small range of which I
1:40:26
told you something in the preceding chapter. In other words,
1:40:30
they are those waves to which man has given.
1:40:32
Speaker 2: The name light.
1:40:35
Speaker 1: But what special information do these waves coming from the
1:40:38
stars convey to man?
1:40:41
Speaker 2: They tell him.
1:40:42
Speaker 1: Of what materials these distant stars are made? Needless to say,
1:40:46
it is we electrons who produce those informative waves. You
1:40:51
are familiar with our method of producing waves. You know
1:40:54
that we whirl around the atoms of matter at prodigious speeds,
1:40:58
and that according to the number of revolutions we make
1:41:00
per second, we produce waves of corresponding frequencies. In an
1:41:05
earlier chapter, I have hinted that the speed of the
1:41:08
revolving electron is determined by the kind of atom to
1:41:11
which it acts as a satellite.
1:41:14
Speaker 2: For instance, when.
1:41:15
Speaker 1: Electrons revolve around iron atoms, they produce certain wavelengths, while
1:41:20
those moving around hydrogen atoms produce an entirely different series
1:41:24
of waves. But how is man to recognize these? It
1:41:29
is quite evident that man may gaze at a distant
1:41:31
star and belittle the wiser concerning the different lengths of
1:41:35
the waves which impinge upon his eyes. He may observe
1:41:39
that the sensation is inclined to red, from which he
1:41:42
may infer that the waves are long ones, that they
1:41:45
are farther apart than some of the waves produced by
1:41:48
a white hot body. But had man been content to
1:41:51
try and decipher our wireless messages in this rough and
1:41:56
ready manner, he would never have gained the interesting information
1:42:00
which we have now placed in his hands. How then,
1:42:03
did we enable man to read our messages? Our plan
1:42:07
may seem to be somewhat mysterious, but I assure you
1:42:10
that it is really very simple. When these ether waves
1:42:14
of light fall upon a triangular prism of glass, the
1:42:17
waves are bent out of their normally straight path. But
1:42:21
the point that may seem strange to you is that
1:42:23
those waves which produce the sensation of red are not
1:42:27
bent so much as the others. The more rapidly the
1:42:30
waves follow one another, the greater is the bending of
1:42:33
such a ray from its original direction. In this way,
1:42:37
the various wavelengths are all spread out, so that they
1:42:40
form an image like a colored ribbon, red at one end,
1:42:44
being followed by orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Every
1:42:50
man must be familiar with this colored spectrum. When some
1:42:54
of my fellows are enclosed in drops of water in
1:42:57
the air, they produce a great rainbow spectrum across the heavens.
1:43:01
But I must tell you how we electrons succeed in
1:43:04
bending these rays of light. I have told you already
1:43:08
how we either absorb or reflect the ether waves which
1:43:11
happen to fall upon us. In most substances, it is
1:43:15
only those electrons very near the surface that are disturbed.
1:43:19
They succeed in stopping the waves. They may do this
1:43:22
in either of two different ways. If the satellite electrons
1:43:27
are attracted strongly by their atoms, the electrons will spin
1:43:30
around the atoms, keeping time to the movements of the
1:43:33
incoming waves, and in this way the electrons take up
1:43:37
the energy of the waves. In doing this, the electrons
1:43:41
send out fresh waves in the ether. This is the
1:43:44
real explanation of what Man calls reflection of light. In
1:43:49
the second case, the electrons are not so firmly attached
1:43:53
to their atoms so that the incoming waves dislodge them,
1:43:56
and they are knocked about from atom to atom, and
1:43:59
in this way the energy of the waves is frittered away.
1:44:03
Man speaks of the light having been absorbed by the
1:44:06
substance upon which it fell. In both cases, the only
1:44:10
electrons which take part in these actions are those electrons
1:44:14
who can move in sympathy with the incoming waves. It
1:44:18
will be clear to you that only those of us
1:44:20
who are near the surface of a substance know anything
1:44:23
about these incoming waves. The electrons attached to atoms in
1:44:27
the interior of the substance are left in peace, owing
1:44:30
to the defensive actions of our fellows on the outside.
1:44:35
But this is not the case with all substances. There
1:44:38
are some congregations of atoms through which the ether waves
1:44:42
can make their way. Man calls such materials transparent. For example,
1:44:48
glass and water are transparent substances. The fact of the
1:44:52
matter is that in such substances, none of us are
1:44:55
able to respond to the incoming waves, and so we
1:44:58
cannot stop them. I should say almost none of us,
1:45:03
for there are always a few electrons present who happen
1:45:06
to be in sympathy with the incoming waves. That is
1:45:09
why no substance is perfectly transparent. The point concerning which
1:45:14
I wish to speak in particular is this, although we
1:45:18
allow the ether waves to pass through such substances, we
1:45:21
do offer some slight resistance to the passage of the waves.
1:45:26
The faster the to and fro motion of the waves,
1:45:29
the more resistance do we offer. That is why the
1:45:33
waves of highest frequency are bent farthest from the straight
1:45:36
line when passed through a glass prism. We actually force
1:45:40
the ether waves to travel slower through a piece of
1:45:43
glass than through the air. Now there should be no
1:45:46
mystery concerning our action. In a triangular piece of glass,
1:45:51
whatever combination of ether waves falls upon it, the different
1:45:54
trains of waves are sorted out according to their frequencies. Suppose,
1:45:59
for instance, that ether waves emitted from some incandescent sodium
1:46:04
are passed through a glass prism. The bulk of the
1:46:07
electrons attached to the sodium atoms are capable of revolving
1:46:10
at speeds which produce waves causing the sensation of yellow. Hence,
1:46:15
there will appear a very distinct line of yellow light
1:46:18
in the spectrum. But why should the light be in
1:46:21
the form of a line, Simply because our ether waves
1:46:25
are passed through a narrow slit in a shutter. But
1:46:28
I need not trouble you with further details of our actions, which,
1:46:32
although very simple to us, may seem somewhat strange to you.
1:46:37
You will understand, however, that we form bright lines in
1:46:40
different parts of the spectrum according to the kinds of
1:46:43
atoms to which we are attached. It was this fact
1:46:46
which attracted Man's attention to our wireless messages. He soon
1:46:51
discovered the meaning of these lines, for he commenced to
1:46:54
take exact notes of the different positions in which we
1:46:57
place these lines. He saw that when we were attached
1:47:01
to hydrogen atoms, we always produced three prominent lines, a
1:47:06
very distinct line in the red section, another in the
1:47:09
blue part, and a third one somewhat fainter and farther
1:47:13
along in the blue. On the other hand, when attached
1:47:17
to sodium atoms, we produce two very distinct lines in
1:47:20
the yellow. When attached to iron atoms, we produced a
1:47:24
great variety of lines in the spectrum. Of course, these
1:47:28
substances have to be incandescent to enable us to produce.
1:47:31
Speaker 2: The ether waves.
1:47:33
Speaker 1: Now it will be clear to you how we send
1:47:36
wireless messages from the distant stars. These stars are great
1:47:40
masses of flaming gases, so that the satellite electrons are
1:47:44
kept busy dancing attendants to excited atoms. The electrons are
1:47:49
constantly sending out ether waves which reach this planet. We
1:47:54
sort out these waves when man passes them through a
1:47:56
glass prism mounted in a telescope arrangement, which which he
1:48:00
calls a spectroscope. He then examines the positions of the
1:48:04
lines we produce in the resulting spectrum, and from these
1:48:08
he knows what kinds of atoms are present in the
1:48:10
distant star. It is we who have informed Man that
1:48:14
there are forty different materials in the Sun, the most
1:48:18
common of which are hydrogen, sodium, iron, copper, nickel.
1:48:22
Speaker 2: And zinc.
1:48:24
Speaker 1: Of course, these all exist in a gaseous form. There
1:48:28
is one point about which I need hardly trouble you,
1:48:31
although it is worth mentioning in passing. While we produce
1:48:35
bright lines in the spectrum of any incandescent substance on
1:48:38
this planet, our messages from the stars appear as dark lines.
1:48:43
The reason for this is that there are cooler masses
1:48:46
of the gases surrounding the incandescent masses forming the stars,
1:48:50
and these cooler gases completely absorb the waves we produce.
1:48:55
So completely are these waves absorbed that blank spaces are
1:48:59
left in the spectrum. And these are the dark lines
1:49:02
to which I refer. As they are in the same
1:49:05
positions that the bright lines would have occupied had the
1:49:08
waves reached the Earth. It makes no difference to the
1:49:11
reading of our messages. Curiously enough, some of our actions
1:49:16
in forming lines in the spectrum led to our actual
1:49:19
discovery by Man that I shall tell you of this
1:49:22
in the following chapter. End of chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen
1:49:33
of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
1:49:37
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:49:38
Speaker 1: This liprivox recording is in the public domain. Chapter sixteen,
1:49:43
How Man proved our existence? The scribes note on chapter sixteen,
1:49:50
several men of note declared that little particles revolved around
1:49:53
the atoms of matter, and that it was the motion
1:49:56
of these particles which produce the well known ether waves
1:49:59
of light. This ideal was suggested by the result of
1:50:02
certain mathematical calculations. It was some time before real experimental
1:50:08
proof was obtained. The electron tells its own tale of
1:50:12
this great discovery. When the electron speaks of a spectrum
1:50:16
line being shifted up or down the scale, it means
1:50:19
towards the violet or the red end, respectively. We may
1:50:23
picture the spectrum as analogous to the keyboard of a piano.
1:50:28
In the second part of this chapter, the electron explains
1:50:31
how it has enabled man to discover that certain stars
1:50:34
are approaching the Earth, while others are receding from it.
1:50:39
End of scribes note, We electrons have waited long ages
1:50:44
for man to acknowledge our services, but we did not
1:50:47
despise the acknowledgment which a few men accorded us upon
1:50:50
the basis of their mathematical calculations. It was natural, however,
1:50:55
that we should want something more definite than this. You
1:50:59
can image our joy when real experimental proof of our
1:51:03
existence was established. Perhaps you think that we should have
1:51:07
been satisfied with this, But even this did not bring
1:51:10
acknowledgment from many outside scientific circles, and not even from
1:51:15
all within those circles. As our services to man are universal,
1:51:20
we feel that all men should become acquainted with our doings. Indeed,
1:51:24
that was the chief argument used by my fellow electrons
1:51:28
who urged me to write this autobiography. The story of
1:51:32
our actual discovery by Man is an interesting one. It
1:51:36
all came about in a very simple manner, but in
1:51:38
quite a different way from what most electrons expected. Man
1:51:43
reasoned within himself that if we electrons really did revolve
1:51:46
around atoms and thus produced waves in the ether, as
1:51:50
had been suggested, he ought to be able to effect
1:51:53
our movements by disturbing the ether in.
1:51:55
Speaker 2: Which we were revolving.
1:51:57
Speaker 1: Of course, Man cannot disturb the ether directly. He must
1:52:01
employ some of us to do this for him. He
1:52:04
caused us to produce a very powerful magnetic field, which,
1:52:08
as you know, is a disturbance of the ether. Man
1:52:12
did not bother thinking about us in this connection. He
1:52:15
simply sent an electric current around an electro magnet. But
1:52:19
I have explained to you the very active part we
1:52:21
play in electric and magnetic actions from my story in
1:52:26
the preceding chapter. You are aware that man had observed
1:52:30
the meaning of the bright lines in the spectrum of
1:52:32
any incandescent body. When he examined the ether waves we
1:52:37
send out from sodium atoms, he found two very distinct
1:52:40
lines in the yellow. Because of the brightness of these lines,
1:52:45
Man selected a sodium flame to experiment with.
1:52:48
Speaker 2: In the present.
1:52:49
Speaker 1: Case, you will picture a great host of my fellow
1:52:52
electrons revolving around the atoms in a sodium flame. The
1:52:56
flame was placed between the poles of a very powerful
1:52:59
election tromagnet, and a beam of ether waves light produced
1:53:03
by us was directed into the spectroscope. The experimenter focused
1:53:09
all his attention upon one of the bright yellow lines.
1:53:12
He noted very carefully the exact position in which we
1:53:16
placed it. He then produced the magnetic field around the
1:53:19
flame in which my fellow electrons were revolving at a
1:53:22
steady pace, and behold, the line which he was watching
1:53:26
split up into two lines, one taking up a position
1:53:30
a little higher up the spectrum scale, and the other
1:53:33
going a little lower down towards the red end.
1:53:36
Speaker 2: What could this mean?
1:53:38
Speaker 1: Man had no difficulty in knowing the cause of this alteration. Indeed,
1:53:42
it was exactly what he had hoped would take place.
1:53:46
Of the two new lines, one represented waves a little shorter,
1:53:50
while the other line indicated waves a little longer or
1:53:53
farther apart than the original waves forming the single line.
1:53:58
This could only come about by some of the electrons
1:54:01
having had their rate of revolution increased, while that of
1:54:04
the others had been reduced. These alterations were due to
1:54:08
the ether disturbance the magnetic field. Those electrons whose orbits
1:54:14
happened to lie in one position had their rate of
1:54:16
revolution increased, while those whose orbits lay in another position
1:54:20
had their speed reduced. Man was convinced at last that
1:54:25
we particles were real, existing things. Whenever Man withdrew the
1:54:30
ether disturbance, the electrons fell back into their natural rate
1:54:34
of revolution, and the original single line appeared in the spectrum.
1:54:39
I took no part in the original experiment, which gave
1:54:42
absolute proof of our existence. But since then I have
1:54:46
been present in a laboratory when the same experiment has
1:54:49
been repeated. This is not the only case in which
1:54:53
we alter the positions of definite lines in the spectrum. Indeed,
1:54:57
we have given man some interesting information about the motions
1:55:00
of distant stars, information which he could not have obtained
1:55:05
in any other way. We have sent wireless messages from
1:55:09
distant stars indicating that they were approaching the Earth, while
1:55:13
electrons aboard other stars have signaled that they are receding
1:55:17
from the Earth. All this may seem mysterious to you,
1:55:21
and yet our actions in the matter are very simple. Indeed,
1:55:25
we do nothing but what I have told you of
1:55:27
in the preceding chapters. We send out definite wave links
1:55:32
in the manner described already. But if we are on
1:55:34
board a star which is traveling towards the Earth, our
1:55:38
waves will naturally follow a little closer at each other's heels.
1:55:42
On the other hand, if the star is receding from
1:55:44
the Earth, the waves must be a little farther apart
1:55:47
than they would be if the star were at rest.
1:55:50
You will understand that the electrons are revolving at the
1:55:53
same speeds in both cases, But the forward movement of
1:55:57
the star crowds the waves together, while receding stars stretches
1:56:01
them out a little farther apart. The result at the
1:56:04
receiving end is that the crowded waves are just as
1:56:07
though they had come from electrons revolving at a greater
1:56:10
speed than is actually the case. Hence, the lines appear
1:56:14
farther along the spectrum up the scale of frequencies than
1:56:18
would have been the case had the star not been
1:56:21
moving forward in the line of sight. Thus, if the
1:56:24
hydrogen lines of which I have spoken elsewhere should appear
1:56:27
higher up in the spectrum than usual, then man knows
1:56:31
that the star from which these waves are coming is
1:56:33
approaching the Earth. It will be evident that when known
1:56:37
lines in the spectrum are shifted down the scale towards
1:56:40
the red end of the spectrum, then the rate of
1:56:43
the waves has been decreased, and man knows that the
1:56:46
star carrying these stimulating electrons is receding from him. You
1:56:51
will observe that we electrons perform no new duty in
1:56:54
the connection with this matter. It is entirely the motion
1:56:58
of the body carrying us that alters the positions of
1:57:01
the lines. But I must hasten on to tell you
1:57:05
of some personal experiences. End of chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen
1:57:17
of the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
1:57:20
Speaker 2: Gibson.
1:57:21
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seventeen,
1:57:26
My X ray Experiences. The scribes note on chapter seventeen,
1:57:32
the present generation, we're all very much interested in the
1:57:35
discovery of X rays. With the aid of a battery
1:57:38
and an induction coil, Man causes an energetic electrical discharge
1:57:43
to pass through a vacuum tube. When the flying electrons
1:57:47
strike upon a little metal target placed in their path,
1:57:50
they produce the well known Wrinchen race. We have all
1:57:54
become familiar with the great penetrating powers of these rays.
1:57:58
The electron may be lew to tell its own story.
1:58:02
End of scribes note. It was no surprise to us
1:58:06
that we could produce what Man calls X rays, but
1:58:10
we were very much surprised at the use to which
1:58:12
Man put these splashes which we made in the ether.
1:58:16
A limited number of us have been producing X rays
1:58:18
on our own account for many ages, but I shall
1:58:21
tell you of that in a later chapter. When you
1:58:24
will hear how we made the world talk. I must
1:58:27
tell you of my own experiences in connection with these
1:58:31
X rays, which I hear some men describe also as
1:58:34
wrenchin rays. I found myself once more within a large
1:58:39
vacuum tube, and as soon as I felt a crowd
1:58:41
of my fellows pushing me forward, I was quite prepared
1:58:45
to be shot across the tube, as on previous occasions. Personally,
1:58:50
I was not prepared for what was to come. Just
1:58:54
as we reached the center of the tube, we collided
1:58:56
with a metal plate or target. It was no joke
1:59:00
to be pulled up so suddenly when traveling at a
1:59:03
terrific speed. I noticed at the time that our very
1:59:07
sudden stoppage had a peculiar effect upon the ether. Of course,
1:59:11
we never bothered about a name for this disturbance. It
1:59:14
is man who requires to have names for everything. He
1:59:18
was quite right to call this ether disturbance X rays,
1:59:22
for even now he does not know the real nature
1:59:24
of these. I have heard him describe them as thin
1:59:27
pulses in the ether. But there is something more. I
1:59:32
may as well confess that although we observed this ether
1:59:35
disturbance arising from our sudden stoppage, we paid little attention
1:59:40
to it until it became apparent that Man was continuing
1:59:43
to produce these rays for some special purpose. He had
1:59:48
discovered that we could shoot these rays right through many
1:59:51
solid substances which were not transparent to light. But I
1:59:55
have not told you how Man came to know that
1:59:57
we could produce these penetrating rays. On one occasion, we
2:00:01
were sending out these rays, which, by the way, do
2:00:04
not cause any sensation in Man's visionary apparatus. The room
2:00:09
was in darkness. Some of the invisible rays fell upon
2:00:12
a collection of small chemical crystals, which were fixed on
2:00:16
the surface of a screen. Our fellow electrons, who were
2:00:20
attached to the atoms of the crystals, were bestirred into action.
2:00:24
They could not reflect the X rays, but they set
2:00:27
up regular trains of waves in the ether, some of
2:00:30
which came within the range that affects Man's vision. Man
2:00:34
knew that this chemical screen could not produce light on
2:00:37
its own account, and it became apparent that the vacuum
2:00:40
tube must be sending some ether waves towards the chemical screen.
2:00:46
As the electrons on the screen produced an ether disturbance
2:00:49
different from that which fell upon it. Man called this
2:00:52
a fluorescent screen. At first, we took merely a passing
2:00:56
interest in the experiments which man made with these X
2:00:59
rays off, for it seemed to us as though Man
2:01:02
thought them only good enough for amusing his friends. Indeed,
2:01:06
we paid little heed to what he was doing until
2:01:08
we observed that the rays were being used by surgeons.
2:01:12
We were interested at once, for here we could serve man.
2:01:17
My first experience in this connection was quite interesting. A
2:01:21
young girl had got a needle into her hand while
2:01:23
she was playing about, and the surgeons were at a
2:01:26
loss to know where the needle had lodged. We lost
2:01:29
no time in producing X rays which could penetrate the
2:01:32
flesh off the hand and reach the fluorescent screen on
2:01:36
the other side. The bones of the hand blocked the
2:01:39
way of our rays, but not so completely as the
2:01:42
needle did. Hence we produced upon the screen a faint
2:01:46
shadow of the flesh of the hand, a much deeper
2:01:49
image of the bones, and a black shadow of the needle.
2:01:53
This enabled the surgeon to see where the needle was hiding.
2:01:57
Sometimes we were called upon to produce re for detecting
2:02:00
bullets in the flesh, or for showing the nature of
2:02:03
a fractured bone. We were never surprised to find that
2:02:07
our call was to detect a coin in the throat
2:02:10
of a child. But in this connection a big surprise
2:02:13
awaited some of us. I was not one of the party,
2:02:17
but I have the information from some fellow electrons. A
2:02:22
party of electrons were present within an X ray tube
2:02:25
at a large hospital when they were called upon to
2:02:28
produce rays for examining the throat of a little girl.
2:02:32
They had become so used to this call that they
2:02:34
did not doubt that there would be a coin in
2:02:36
the child's throat. However, they lost no time in producing
2:02:41
the penetrating rays, and you can imagine their surprise when
2:02:45
they produced the image of a toy bicycle upon the screen.
2:02:49
It seemed ridiculous that such a toy could have entered
2:02:52
a child's throat. When we had shown the surgeons exactly
2:02:56
where the toy was, they set to work to remove it.
2:03:00
The electrons heard later that the operation was successful in
2:03:04
every way. Everyone was interested, and we were proud. I
2:03:09
do not wish to appear boastful, but I wonder how
2:03:12
many operations owe their success to these rays which we
2:03:16
produce for man. It was natural that man should try
2:03:19
if these searching rays could affect the chemicals upon a
2:03:22
photographic plate, and we soon proved that they could. It
2:03:27
made no difference to us whether man kept the plate
2:03:29
sealed up in its light proof envelope or whether he
2:03:33
placed the plate within a wooden box. These protecting covers
2:03:37
offered no barrier to our rays. We produced shadow graphs
2:03:41
of any objects placed between our tube and the photographic plate.
2:03:46
Two of my early experiences may be of interest to you.
2:03:50
The first of these seemed to me a rather tame affair.
2:03:54
Our X ray tube appeared to be arranged for the
2:03:57
amusement of fashionable folk. One grand lady placed her hand
2:04:01
behind the fluorescent screen, whereupon we produced an image of
2:04:04
the bones of her hand, and very dark images of
2:04:08
all the many rings upon her fingers. Several of the
2:04:12
rings had enormous diamonds. But it was after she had
2:04:15
gone away that I overheard two gentlemen speaking about the rings.
2:04:20
One asked the other if he had observed the beautiful diamonds,
2:04:23
whereupon the other roared with laughter. It seems that we
2:04:28
proved them to be imitation diamonds, for our rays could
2:04:31
not penetrate them, whereas they have no difficulty in passing
2:04:36
through real diamonds. We therefore produced black shadows of the
2:04:40
imitation diamonds. Little did the grand lady know how we
2:04:44
had exposed her sham jewels. My second experience was a
2:04:49
very curious one. I learned that our tube was being
2:04:52
carried to some distance. After a while, we were placed
2:04:56
beside a peculiar looking object, which the men referred to
2:04:59
as the mummy. One of the men suggested that they
2:05:03
should photograph its feet, but before doing so, they darkened
2:05:06
the room and set us to work upon the fluorescent screen.
2:05:10
The owner of the mummy got rather nervous as to
2:05:13
what we might disclose, and as the force urging us
2:05:16
into action was somewhat erratic, at first we produced only
2:05:20
a varied, indistinct image. We were greatly amused at the
2:05:24
nervous excitement of the owner. He seemed to think our
2:05:27
verdict was that there were no bones. However, the man
2:05:31
with the apparatus soon got things into better condition, and
2:05:34
this enabled us to produce X rays satisfactorily. The result
2:05:39
was that they secured some excellent photographs of the hidden
2:05:42
bones of the mummy. Before telling you how we made
2:05:46
the world talk, I should like to give you a
2:05:49
clear idea of our relationship to the atoms of matter.
2:05:54
End of chapter seventeen. Chapter eighteen of the Autobiography of
2:06:04
an Electron by Charles R.
2:06:06
Speaker 2: Gibson.
2:06:07
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter eighteen,
2:06:12
Our Relationship to the atoms. The scribes note on chapter eighteen,
2:06:19
we have no doubt that an atom of matter is
2:06:21
a miniature solar system of revolving electrons. These electrons, being
2:06:26
negative particles of electricity, would repel each other, just as
2:06:30
any two similarly electrified bodies do. There must therefore be
2:06:35
some equivalent of positive electricity. But whether this exists in
2:06:39
the form of a sphere or in separate particles, we
2:06:42
have no definite knowledge. One atom differs from another in
2:06:47
the number of electrons which go to make up the atom.
2:06:51
The Electron explains how the atoms of matter are united
2:06:54
to one another, how different compound substances are formed, and
2:06:58
how chemical changes take place. End of scribes note, I
2:07:05
am sorry that this part of my story must remain
2:07:08
incomplete for the present. I am not free to tell
2:07:11
you all I know. You must try and get behind
2:07:14
the scenes on your own account. One thing I am
2:07:18
at liberty to tell you is that my fellow electrons
2:07:21
who are locked up within the atoms are not without
2:07:24
hope that they may gain their freedom once more at
2:07:27
some future time. I know this firsthand, for I have
2:07:31
met some fellow electrons who have escaped from within an atom.
2:07:35
But I shall delay telling you about these fellows till
2:07:39
the succeeding chapter. My object in mentioning this fact now
2:07:43
is to give you confidence in what I am about
2:07:46
to say regarding the nature of the atom. On one
2:07:50
occasion I overheard a conversation between two men who were
2:07:53
discussing the construction of matter. One remarked that the atoms
2:07:57
were the bricks of the universe, whereupon the other asked
2:08:00
how the little bricks were cemented together. I wish that
2:08:04
man could have seen a lump of matter as we
2:08:06
see it. He would have been surprised to learn that
2:08:09
the atoms never really touch each other. They are always
2:08:13
surging to and fro or vibrating, and it is this
2:08:17
motion which constitutes the temperature of the body which they compose.
2:08:22
It must be clear, however, that in a solid body,
2:08:25
one atom attracts another atom across the intervening atomic spaces.
2:08:30
This is another duty devolving upon us. What we do
2:08:34
really is to upset the electric balance between the different
2:08:37
atoms and thus produce electrical attraction. First of all, perhaps
2:08:42
I should explain that the different kinds of atoms are
2:08:45
simply congregations of different numbers of electrons. Of course, there
2:08:49
is the other part of which I am forbidden to speak,
2:08:53
the part which man vaguely describes as positive electricity. However,
2:08:59
you may take it from me that while it is
2:09:01
true that the main difference between an atom of gold
2:09:04
and an atom of iron or of oxygen is in
2:09:07
the number of electrons it contains, there is a very
2:09:11
important difference in the arrangement of the electrons. You know
2:09:15
that they form rings outside one another, all of which
2:09:18
revolve at enormous speeds. The number of electrons in the
2:09:22
different rings varies according to the kind of atom. It
2:09:26
is quite correct for Man to speak of the atoms
2:09:29
containing certain definite numbers of electrons. But I should like
2:09:33
you to understand clearly that the exact number of electrons
2:09:37
is not permanently fixed. One or more electrons can slip
2:09:41
off one atom and become attached to a neighboring atom
2:09:44
which happens to be capable of accepting it, or them.
2:09:49
It is the interchange of these few detachable electrons that
2:09:52
causes one atom to attract another. In other words, it
2:09:56
is the differently charged atoms which attract each other. Just
2:10:00
as man crowds a surplus of electrons onto one object
2:10:04
and finds it attracted bodily towards another object having a
2:10:07
deficiency of electrons. It is this electrical attraction between the
2:10:13
atoms which enables us to build up the particles or
2:10:16
molecules of matter in such a variety of forms. First
2:10:21
of all, we play the most important part within the atoms.
2:10:25
We have formed only a limited number of such atoms.
2:10:29
I am not free to tell you exactly how many,
2:10:32
For man has discovered only about eighty of these different
2:10:35
congregations of electrons, each kind of which he calls an element.
2:10:41
The way in which we have coupled these different elementary
2:10:44
atoms together must appear remarkable to all thinking men. There
2:10:49
seems to be no end to the possible variety of combinations.
2:10:53
In one case, we unite an atom of chlorine to
2:10:56
an atom of sodium, and thereby produce a molecule of
2:11:00
common salt. In another case, we unite an atom of
2:11:04
oxygen to two atoms of hydrogen, and the resulting combination
2:11:08
is an invisible molecule of ordinary water. It has always
2:11:13
seemed to me very strange how some men have difficulty
2:11:16
in regard to these combinations. I have heard a man
2:11:20
ask how two different gases hydrogen and oxygen, when united,
2:11:24
should form a liquid and not a gas. I wish
2:11:28
you could see these things as we see them. The
2:11:31
atoms are neither gaseous, liquid nor solid. They are little
2:11:35
worlds of revolving electrons. I have spoken of the attraction
2:11:40
between atoms, and again between molecules in forming a solid body.
2:11:45
It will be clear that there is less of this
2:11:47
cohesive force in the case of a liquid, whereas it
2:11:51
is absent entirely in the case of a gas. In
2:11:54
this case, the molecules have become so far separated from
2:11:58
one another that they cease to attract each other, and
2:12:01
if left free, they will soon part company and spread
2:12:05
themselves broadcast over the face of the earth. Whether a
2:12:10
substance passes into a solid, a liquid, or a gaseous state,
2:12:14
the atoms remain constant, but their vibratory motion is altered
2:12:18
very considerably. However, I was about to tell you that
2:12:22
we electrons can make some very interesting combinations of atoms.
2:12:27
Those I have mentioned so far are of a very
2:12:30
simple nature. But we have built up individual molecules containing
2:12:34
hundreds of atoms. We link about one hundred atoms together
2:12:39
and produce a molecule of what man calls allen, and
2:12:42
we require to unite about a thousand atoms together to
2:12:46
make one molecule of albumen, the white of an egg.
2:12:51
When man speaks of a chemical change having taken place
2:12:54
in a substance, it is simply the electrons who have
2:12:57
made a friendly interchange of detachable electrone, thereby causing a
2:13:02
different assemblage of the same atoms. During these changes, we
2:13:06
never alter the nature of the atom. That little world
2:13:10
of revolving electrons, known as an atom of gold remains
2:13:14
always an atom of gold. But you must not run
2:13:17
away with the idea that the atoms will never change. Indeed,
2:13:22
man has discovered that the atoms are not eternal, as
2:13:25
I shall explain in the following chapter end of chapter
2:13:31
eighteen chapter nineteen of the Autobiography of an Electron by
2:13:42
Charles R.
2:13:42
Speaker 2: Gibson.
2:13:44
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter nineteen,
2:13:49
How we made the world, Talk describes, Note on chapter nineteen,
2:13:55
the discovery of radium is within the memory of all
2:13:59
many exaggerated statements when abroad at the outset, But the
2:14:02
real facts are full of interest, and they have shed
2:14:05
much new light on many subjects. Three different kinds of
2:14:10
radiation were found to be emitted by radium. At first
2:14:14
man could not tell what these were, so he named
2:14:17
them after the first three letters of the Greek alphabet alpha, beta,
2:14:22
and gamma rays. The Electron tells the interesting story of
2:14:26
these rays, and relates the experiences of some fellow electrons
2:14:30
who escaped from within a radium atom.
2:14:35
Speaker 2: End of scribes.
2:14:35
Speaker 1: Note, we electrons were amused at the stir which we
2:14:40
unconsciously caused throughout the civilized world. We had done nothing
2:14:45
different from what we had been doing for ages. But
2:14:48
a few men had been taking notes of what we
2:14:50
were about, and when the phenomena to which I refer
2:14:53
became known to the world, many wild rumors were circulated.
2:14:59
One of these rumors was to the effect that steam
2:15:02
engines and their expensive furnaces were to disappear very quickly.
2:15:07
If the two last words had been omitted, I should
2:15:10
not say that the prophecy is untrue. But man has
2:15:14
a long way to travel yet before reaching that goal.
2:15:17
My fellows within the atoms have sufficient energy to supply
2:15:21
all mankind with power, if he could but unlock even
2:15:24
a small fraction of it. Another statement was that this
2:15:28
newly discovered substance radium, could cure some diseases which man
2:15:33
had believed to be incurable. All I shall say about
2:15:37
this is that the statement was an exaggerated one. Then
2:15:41
it was said that radium disproved much of man's scientific knowledge.
2:15:45
But instead of that being so, we electrons have greatly
2:15:49
extended man's knowledge by our radioactive actions. If any man
2:15:54
believed the atoms of matter to be eternal, we certainly
2:15:58
disproved that in radium man could see atoms going to pieces.
2:16:04
I have questioned a fellow electron who escaped from a
2:16:07
radium atom as to what upset their equilibrium, But I
2:16:11
find that he does not know, or he pretends not
2:16:14
to know. All he has told me is that he
2:16:17
was flung off suddenly from within the atom with great energy,
2:16:21
for he had been revolving at a tremendous speed. In
2:16:25
his sudden flight, he passed some newly formed helium atoms,
2:16:28
which contained many of those electrons who have been his
2:16:31
co partners in the former radium atom. Being an electron,
2:16:36
he was traveling at a far greater speed than these
2:16:39
flying atoms of matter. But he assures me that these
2:16:42
helium atoms were going faster than atoms can travel under
2:16:45
any other circumstances. Another thing that this escaped electron told
2:16:51
me was that when he and his fellow electrons made
2:16:54
a sudden start on leaving the atom of radium, they
2:16:57
caused a proper splash in the surrounding ether, just such
2:17:01
as we electrons produce when we are suddenly stopped in
2:17:04
an X ray tube. Man observed these rays proceeding from radium,
2:17:09
but not knowing the cause of them, he called them
2:17:11
gamma rays. We can, of course produce radiographs when these
2:17:16
rays fall upon photographic plates. Indeed, some of my fellow electrons,
2:17:21
when escaping from radium, have produced rays sufficient to penetrate
2:17:25
a six inch boulder and effect a photographic plate lying
2:17:29
beneath the boulder. In time, Man recognized these rays as
2:17:33
X rays. Man did not find only these rays. He
2:17:38
discovered that electrons were escaping. But before he had recognized
2:17:42
what we were. He had named us beta rays. These
2:17:46
fast flying electrons have had experiences which never fall to electrons,
2:17:51
except when escaping from an atom. Their velocity is so
2:17:56
great that they can be shot right through a sheet
2:17:58
of aluminum foil. If these escaped electrons are allowed to
2:18:02
settle on any object, they will necessarily cause an overcrowding, or,
2:18:06
in other words, the object will become negatively electrified. The
2:18:12
one thing that puzzled Man most was to find out
2:18:14
what the helium atoms were. He had named them alpha rays,
2:18:19
but as he found he could not get them to
2:18:21
penetrate even a thin sheet of paper, he was confident
2:18:25
that they must be atoms of matter. It was only
2:18:28
when he had gathered sufficient to examine the spectrum that
2:18:31
he found these to be helium atoms. I think what
2:18:35
really made the world talk was the fact that electrons
2:18:38
were escaping from what had been supposed to be an
2:18:41
eternal habitation. In other words, this material rating was actually
2:18:46
going to pieces, that is to say, gradually, as far
2:18:50
as man is concerned. For looking at it from our
2:18:54
point of view, the word gradual seems out of place entirely.
2:18:58
The breaking up of an aptur atom is really of
2:19:01
the nature of an explosion. It is a continual bombardment
2:19:05
that is proceeding in radium. Why man is apt to
2:19:08
think of it as a gradual effect is that there
2:19:11
is such an enormous number of atoms in a tiny
2:19:14
speck of radium that even the incessant series of explosions
2:19:18
will take a very long time to break down the
2:19:20
whole of the small particle. Electrons differ in their opinions
2:19:25
as to whether man will succeed in drawing upon this
2:19:28
internal energy of the atom. My own difficulty is that,
2:19:33
having been a roaming electron at all times, I have
2:19:36
no idea regarding the cause of the atomic explosions. I
2:19:40
have remarked already that the electrons locked up within the
2:19:43
atoms possess more energy than man could ever use. If
2:19:48
all these electrons were deprived of their energy, the atoms
2:19:51
of matter would cease to exist, and man where would
2:19:55
he be? End of chapter nineteen, Chapter twenty of the
2:20:06
Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
2:20:09
Speaker 2: Gibson.
2:20:10
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter twenty conclusion.
2:20:18
The scribes note on chapter twenty, not many of us
2:20:22
have realized the true importance of electrons in the Creator's plans.
2:20:27
In the following short chapter, the electron is made to
2:20:30
sum up a few of the wonders which it has related,
2:20:33
in order to focus our attention upon the grand place
2:20:36
which the electrons occupy in the universe. End of scribes. Note,
2:20:43
from what I have told you of myself and my
2:20:45
fellow electrons, it must be apparent that we are of
2:20:48
tremendous importance to man. I have told you something of
2:20:52
the part we played in building up this world. How
2:20:55
we not only form the atoms of matter, but also
2:20:58
hold these bricks of the us universe together. I have
2:21:02
given you a rough sketch of the composition of these bricks.
2:21:06
You must have realized also that without us, the whole
2:21:10
universe would be in darkness. There would be no light,
2:21:14
no heat, and consequently no life. Indeed, there could be
2:21:19
no material existence Without us. Where would man be if
2:21:24
we failed to perform our mission? He could not exist
2:21:27
if we even neglected a few of our duties. Not
2:21:31
only do we form the atoms of which his body
2:21:33
is composed, also holding these together, but we produce all
2:21:38
those chemical changes within his body which are absolutely necessary
2:21:42
to maintain life. His very thoughts are dependent upon our activities.
2:21:48
I have told you how we send man's messages across
2:21:51
the earth, and how we transmit power from place to place.
2:21:55
Also how we have enabled man to gain knowledge of
2:21:59
the distant star and to examine the bones of his
2:22:02
living body. If man could cross examine me or any
2:22:06
of my fellows, I expect the first question would be,
2:22:10
what are you electrons made of? But man must find
2:22:14
this out for himself. The Creator has placed man in
2:22:18
a world full of activity, and it is of intense
2:22:22
interest to man to discover the meaning of all that
2:22:24
lies around him. That is why I have been bound
2:22:28
over by my fellows to tell you only so much
2:22:30
of our history as man has discovered. But I am
2:22:34
disclosing no secret when I admit that our very existence
2:22:38
as electrons is dependent upon the ether. If I can
2:22:42
find another scribe to write a revised biography for me
2:22:46
a few hundred years, hence I shall have a much
2:22:48
more interesting tale to tell, For many of our doings,
2:22:52
of which man knows nothing at present, will be secrets
2:22:55
no longer by that time. End of Chapter twenty Appendix
2:23:06
to the Autobiography of an Electron by Charles R.
2:23:10
Speaker 2: Gibson.
2:23:11
Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain appendix the
2:23:17
Scribes note on appendix, as explained by the author in
2:23:21
chapter one. This appendix has been added for the sake
2:23:24
of those readers who may wish further details than have
2:23:27
been given in the Electron's story. It is only necessary
2:23:32
to give a brief notice of the more important particulars,
2:23:35
as the author has written recently upon this subject in
2:23:37
a popular form. End of Scribes Note. It was known
2:23:42
two thousand years ago that when a piece of amber
2:23:45
was rubbed with a woolen cloth, the amber would attract
2:23:48
light objects towards it. Amber was considered to be unique
2:23:52
in this respect. About the year sixteen hundred, one of
2:23:56
Queen Elizabeth's physicians, doctor William Gilly Robert, inquired into this
2:24:01
attractive property of amber. He found that many other substances
2:24:05
possessed the same property. Indeed, it is common to all substances.
2:24:10
In some degree. We say the amber or other object
2:24:14
is electrified. It was observed by the early experimenters that
2:24:18
there were two kinds of electrification. To one of these
2:24:22
they gave the name positive electricity, and to the other
2:24:26
negative electricity. Every electrified object will attract an object which
2:24:32
is not electrified, and two objects which are oppositely electrified
2:24:36
will attract one another also, but two objects which are
2:24:40
similarly electrified will repel each other. Man got tired of
2:24:46
rubbing objects by hand, so he fitted up simple machines
2:24:49
in which glass cylinders or plates were rubbed against leather cushions.
2:24:54
The electricity was then collected by little metal points supported
2:24:58
on an insulated metal sphere. The experiment of attempting to
2:25:02
store electricity in a glass vessel filled with water was
2:25:06
made at the University of Leiden, Netherlands. The water was
2:25:10
replaced later by a coating of tinfoil on the inner surface,
2:25:15
while a similar metallic coating on the outside took the
2:25:18
place of the experimenter's hand. These jars are called Leiden jars,
2:25:23
after the place in which the discovery was made. About
2:25:27
seventeen ninety, professor Galvani of Italy observed that the legs
2:25:32
of a freshly killed frog twitched at each discharge of
2:25:35
an electrical machine. Later, he found that the same twitching
2:25:39
occurred when he connected certain parts with a piece of
2:25:42
copper and zinc. He believed this to be due to
2:25:45
animal electricity. Secreted within the frog. Professor Volta, also of Italy,
2:25:52
proved that Galvani's idea was wrong and that the electricity
2:25:56
resided in the metals rather than in the frog. He
2:26:00
showed that when two pieces of dissimilar metal were put
2:26:03
in contact with one another, there was a slight transference
2:26:06
of electricity between them. He constructed a pile of copper
2:26:11
and zinc discs with a moist cloth between each pair
2:26:15
or couple, and by connecting wires from the top copper
2:26:18
disc to the lowest zinc disc, he was able to
2:26:21
show that an appreciable current of electricity was produced. Later,
2:26:26
he placed a piece of copper and a piece of
2:26:28
zinc in a vessel containing acidulated water, whereupon he found
2:26:33
that a steady current of electricity was obtained. This was
2:26:38
the invention of electric batteries. The phenomena of magnetism were
2:26:43
known to the ancients, but it was not until the
2:26:45
nineteenth century that we found any real connection between electricity
2:26:50
and magnetism. In eighteen nineteen, a Danish philosopher, Hans Christian
2:26:56
Orsted discovered that an electric current passing in a wire
2:27:00
affected a magnet in its neighborhood. If the magnet were
2:27:04
supported on a pivot after the manner of a compass needle,
2:27:07
it would turn round and take up a position at
2:27:10
right angles to the wire carrying the electric current. The
2:27:14
molecular theory of magnetism presumes that every molecule of iron
2:27:19
is a tiny magnet, having a north and south pole.
2:27:23
In a piece of unmagnetized iron, these tiny magnets are
2:27:27
all lying so that they neutralize one another. When they
2:27:31
are turned round so that their north poles are all
2:27:33
lying in one direction, then the iron is said to
2:27:36
be magnetized. The electron theory of magnetism does not do
2:27:41
away with the older molecular theory just referred to. The
2:27:45
electron theory goes a step farther and tells us that
2:27:48
these molecules are magnets because of a steady motion of
2:27:52
electrons around the atoms of iron. It was discovered in
2:27:57
eighteen twenty five that when an electric current was sent
2:28:00
through an insulated wire wound around a piece of soft iron,
2:28:04
the iron became a magnet. When the current was stopped,
2:28:08
the magnetism disappeared. Such magnets are called electromagnets. If a
2:28:14
piece of hard steel is treated in the same way
2:28:16
it becomes a permanent magnet. It was this intimate connection
2:28:21
between electricity and magnetism, or in other words, the invention
2:28:25
of these electromagnets which brought us electric bells, telegraphs, telephones, dynamos,
2:28:32
and electric motors. It should be noted that while iron
2:28:36
is attracted by either pole of a magnet, there is
2:28:39
such a thing as magnetic repulsion. This, however, takes place
2:28:44
only between two magnets, and then only between like poles.
2:28:49
Some German physicists made a number of electrical experiments with
2:28:53
vacuum tubes. When Sir William Crook's England was experimenting with
2:28:58
similar vacuum tubes, suggested that matter was in a radiant
2:29:01
state during the electric discharge within the tubes. In eighteen
2:29:06
eighty h A. Lrenz of Amsterdam declared that light was
2:29:10
due to the motion of small particles revolving around the
2:29:13
atoms of matter. Professor Zeeman of Holland produced experimental proof
2:29:19
of Lawrence's theory. He showed that the revolving particles were
2:29:23
influenced by a powerful magnetic field in the manner explained
2:29:27
in the Electron's story. This discovery was made in eighteen
2:29:31
ninety six, or sixteen years after Lorenz's declaration. It was
2:29:37
doctor Johnston Stoney of Dublin University, Ireland who christened these
2:29:42
particles electrons. The X rays were observed for the first
2:29:46
time by Professor Rinchin of Germany in eighteen ninety five.
2:29:51
The screens used for viewing the luminous effects produced by
2:29:54
the X rays are coated with very fine crystals of
2:29:57
barium platinus cyanide. These screens were in use for another
2:30:02
purpose previous to the discovery of X rays. We know
2:30:06
now that chemical affinity is merely electrical attraction between the
2:30:10
atoms of matter. The spectroscope consists of a glass prism
2:30:15
or series of prisms, mounted between two metal tubes. One
2:30:20
tube is provided at one end with a vertical slit
2:30:23
through which the light that is to be examined is passed.
2:30:26
At the other end of the tube is a lens,
2:30:29
so that the beam of light from the slit emerges
2:30:31
through the lens as a pencil of parallel rays. The
2:30:35
pencil of light then falls upon the glass prism, striking
2:30:39
it at an angle. In passing through the prism, the
2:30:42
light is bent round so that it enters the second tube,
2:30:45
which is simply a small telescope. The prism separates the
2:30:50
ether waves according to their wavelengths and produces the well
2:30:54
known colored spectrum, which is magnified by the telescope. The
2:30:58
reason for the bending of the day different waves is
2:31:01
explained in The Electron's Story end of the Appendix recording
2:31:08
by Laura Victoria. End of the Autobiography of an Electron
2:31:14
by Charles R.
2:31:15
Speaker 2: Gibson