file which includes the original illustrations4 ,see #cfdef-;h4htm or #cfdef-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#cfdef_/pg#cfdef-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#cf def_/cfdef-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive_/,american ,libraries4 ,see http3_/_/www4archive4org_/details_/autob iographyofe#jj;gibsrich ,,the ,,autobiography ,,of ,,an ,,electron ,illustration3 ,a ,,well-,,known ,,phenomenon ,,produced ,,by ,,electrons ,photo ,the ,fleet ,agency ,a sudden discharge of electrons from cloud to cloud1 or from cloud to the earth1 constitutes what we call lightning4 ,,the ,,autobiography ,,of ,,an ,,electron4 ,wherein the ,scientific ,ideas of the ,present ,time ,are ,explained in an ,interesting and ,novel ,fashion by ,,charles ,r4 ,,gibson1 ,f4,r4,s4,e4 ,author of ,scientific ,ideas of ,to-,day1 ,electricity of ,to-,day ,the ,romance of ,modern ,electricity1 c4 c4 ,illustrated ,philadelphia ,j4 ,b4 ,lippincott ,company ,london3 ,seeley ,co4 ,limited #aiaa ,,preface ,although text-books of science may appear to the general reader to be very dry material1 there is no doubt that1 when scientific facts and theories are put into everyday language1 the general reader is genuinely interested4 ,the reception accorded to the present author's ,scientific ,ideas of ,to-day bears out this fact4 ,while that volume explains1 in non-technical language1 the latest scientific theories1 it aims at giving a fairly full account1 which1 of course1 necessitates going into a great deal of detail4 ,that the book has been appreciated by very varied classes of readers is evident from the large numbers of appreciative letters received from different quarters4 ,but the author believes that if the story of modern science were told in a still more popular style1 it would serve a further useful purpose4 ,for there are readers who do not care to go into details1 and yet would like to take an intelligent interest in the scientific progress of the present day4 ,some of those readers do not wish to trouble about names and dates1 while the mere mention of rates of vibration and such-like is a worry to them4 ,they wish a book which they may read with the same ease as an interesting novel4 ,hence the form of the present volume4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the author is indebted to ,professor ,james ,muir1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,sc41 of the ,glasgow and ,west of ,scotland ,technical ,college1 and to ,h4 ,stanley ,allen1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,sc41 ,senior ,lecturer in ,physics at ,king's ,college1 ,university of ,london1 for very kindly reading the proof-sheets4 ,the author is indebted further to ,professor ,muir in connection with some of the illustrations1 and for others to ,dixon and ,corbitt and ,r4 ,s4 ,newall1 ,ltd41 ,glasgow2 ,siemens ,schuckert ,werke1 ,berlin4 ,,contents ,,page ,,chapter ,i ,,what ,,the ,,story ,,is ,,about ,the ,scribe introduces the ,electron to the reader4 ,he has something to say also about the mysterious aether which pervades all space4 ,he emphasises the fact that the electron is a real existing thing #ba ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,electron',s ,,preface ,the ,electron explains the reason why it has written its autobiography #bi ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,new ,,arrival ,the ,electron points out who the new arrival is really4 ,it relates an amusing experience4 ,it tells how man disturbed electrons before he discovered their existence4 ,an ancient experiment1 and what the wise men of the ,east thought about it4 ,how electrons are responsible for the electrification of any object4 ,handled by a new experimenter1 they surprise man4 ,man becomes of special interest to the electrons #cb ,,chapter ,,iv ,,some ,,good ,,sport ,the ,electron explains how man succeeded in crowding them together1 with some rather exciting results from the overcrowding4 ,one historical incident4 ,man's fear of the consequences4 ,how a party of electrons wrecked a church steeple4 ,an unfortunate accident #db ,,chapter ,v ,,my ,,earliest ,,recollections ,the ,electron's story begins at a very far distant period1 before this world had taken shape4 ,the ,electron was present when the atoms of matter were being formed4 ,the birth of the moon4 ,something still to be discovered4 ,the moulding of the planet4 ,boiling oceans4 ,the electrons took an active part in making sea-water salt4 ,the ,electron explains why it has been chosen to write the story of itself and its fellows #eb ,,chapter ,,vi ,,man ,,pays ,,us ,,some ,,attention ,the electrons are encouraged by one of the experiments made by man4 ,they hope it may lead to their discovery1 so that their services may be recognised4 ,the ,electron's experience in a vacuum tube4 ,a disappointment and a revival of hope4 ,a great declaration by one individual man4 ,the ,electron misjudges man4 ,mention of a great discovery4 ,the christening of the electrons #fj ,,chapter ,,vii ,a ,,steady ,,march ,the ,electron explains how they produce the electric current4 ,how man discovered means of making the electrons march4 ,a simple explanation of how a complete electric circuit is always necessary4 ,how an earth circuit works4 ,how the marching electrons can do work #fh ,,chapter ,,viii ,a ,,useful ,,dance ,a perpetual dance4 ,a responsible position4 ,how the safety of the mariner depends upon the electrons' dance4 ,how electrons produce a magnet4 ,a convenient kind of magnet1 which gains and loses its attractive power when desired4 ,how a permanent magnet is made4 ,the great service of electrons in modern life #gf ,,chapter ,,ix ,,how ,,we ,,carry ,,man',s ,,news ,the method of sending the news4 ,the ,electron's personal experience4 ,a series of forced marches4 ,how man controls the electrons4 ,how the electrons reproduce the signals #hf ,,chapter ,x ,,how ,,we ,,communicate ,,with ,,distant ,,ships ,an entirely different means of communication4 ,a surprise to man1 but not to the electrons4 ,how the electrons produce waves in the surrounding aether4 ,how these waves disturb distant electrons4 ,the ,electron's personal experience4 ,its description of its actions in a wireless telegraph station #id ,,chapter ,,xi ,,how ,,we ,,reproduce ,,speech ,why it is not correct to speak of the electrons as carriers of speech4 ,the action of electrons in the working of telephones4 ,the ,electron's own experience in wireless telephony #ajf ,,chapter ,,xii ,,our ,,heaviest ,,duties ,a roving commission4 ,how electrons can move gigantic cars and trains4 ,the action of electrons in dynamos and motors4 ,how the electrons transmit the energy4 ,what makes the motor go #aaf ,,chapter ,,xiii ,a ,,boon ,,to ,,man ,a simple explanation of how the electrons produce light4 ,how the ,electron provides a connecting link between matter and the aether4 ,how light reaches the earth from the sun4 ,how the electrons produce that beautiful luminous effect which man calls an ,aurora4 ,how the earth has become a negatively charged body4 ,how electrons produce radiant heat4 ,the difference between light and heat #abf ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,how ,,we ,,produce ,,colour ,what colour is really4 ,how the different colour sensations are stimulated by the electrons4 ,the ,electron as a faithful satellite to the atom4 ,how electrons can produce the different aether waves4 ,how the electrons respond to the different waves4 ,the production of artificial light4 ,co-operation of the electrons4 ,man's ridiculously wasteful processes4 ,the electrons' secret #acf ,,chapter ,,xv ,,we ,,send ,,messages ,,from ,,the ,,stars ,the kind of messages referred to4 ,how the electrons have informed man of what the stars are made4 ,how man reads the electrons' wireless messages4 ,how it is other electrons that enable man to read the messages4 ,the real explanation of reflection of light4 ,how light is absorbed by some objects4 ,how some substances are transparent4 ,why objects appear coloured4 ,what makes the lines in the spectra of stars4 ,the spectroscope #add ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,how ,,man ,,proved ,,our ,,existence ,how man reasoned out a plan for detecting the electron4 ,how the electrons altered some lines in the spectrum4 ,the curious manner in which the ,electron informed man that certain stars are approaching this planet1 while others are receding from it #aeh ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,my ,x-,,ray ,,experience ,x-rays are an old story to some electrons4 ,the ,electron's personal experience4 ,a very sudden stop4 ,how electrons made a fluorescent screen send out light4 ,the electrons assist the surgeon4 ,a curious find4 ,detecting imitation diamonds4 ,the ,electron and the mummy #aff ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,our ,,relationship ,,to ,,the ,,atoms ,how the atoms of matter attract one another4 ,what constitutes the temperature of a body4 ,what the atoms are made of4 ,an important thing still to discover about the atom4 ,the elements4 ,how the electrons produce compound substances4 ,the real explanation of chemical changes #agh ,,chapter ,,xix ,,how ,,we ,,made ,,the ,,world ,,talk ,it was nothing new on the part of the electrons4 ,exaggerated rumours4 ,the electrons and radium4 ,fast-flying electrons4 ,atomic explosions #ahf ,,chapter ,,xx ,,conclusion ,the ,electron is made to sum up a few of the wonders which it has related1 in order to emphasise the great services which electrons render to man #aid ,,appendix #bjj ,,index #baa ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,page ,a ,,well-,,known ,,phenomenon ,,produced ,,by ,,electrons ,frontispiece ,,damage ,,done ,,by ,a ,,party ,,of ,,electrons #de ,a ,,tobacco ,,tin ,,defying ,,gravitation #gi ,a ,,motor-,,car ,,with ,,wireless ,,telegraph #ii ,a ,,train ,,impelled ,,by ,,moving ,,electrons #aai ,,protection ,,against ,a ,,discharge ,,of ,,electrons #abi ,,the ,,spectroscope ,,and ,,the ,,electrons' ,,wireless ,,messages #adi ,,how ,,electrons ,,produce ,x-,,ray ,,images #aga ,,chapter ,i ,,what ,,the ,,story ,,is ,,about ,the reason for writing this story is given in the ,preface1 but the title is so strange that the reader will wish naturally to know what the story is about4 ,what is an electron8 ,is it an imaginary thing1 or is it a reality8 ,one of the reasons for writing this story in its present form is to help the reader to realise that electrons are not mythical1 but real existing things1 and by far the most interesting things we know anything about4 ,the discovery of electrons has shed a new light upon the meaning of very many things which have been puzzles until now4 ,they give us a reasonable explanation of the cause of light and colour4 ,they provide a new idea of the constitution of matter4 ,they enable us to picture an electric current1 and they give us definite1 though by no means final1 answers to the why and wherefore of magnetism1 chemical union1 and radio-activity4 ,the story is imaginary only in so far that one of the electrons itself is supposed to tell the tale4 ,but in the endeavour to make the story interesting1 there has been no sacrifice of accuracy in the statements of fact4 ,while all names and dates1 and many other details1 have been kept out rigidly from the story1 a note of the more important of these has been added in an ,appendix for the sake of those readers who may wish to refer to them4 ,it will be well to introduce the electron to the reader before leaving it to speak for itself4 ,we have definite experimental proof of the existence of electrons1 and yet it is very difficult to realise their existence1 for two reasons4 ,in the first place1 they are so infinitesimally small4 ,we count a microbe a small thing2 we can see it only with the aid of a very powerful microscope4 ,yet that little speck of matter contains myriads of particles or atoms4 ,an atom of matter is therefore an inconceivably little thing1 but even that is a great giant compared to an electron4 ,our second difficulty in realising the existence of an electron is that it is not any form of what we call matter2 it is a particle of electricity1 whatever that may be4 ,from the earliest experiments it became evident that there were two distinct kinds of electricity4 ,these were described by the pioneer workers as positive and negative electricities4 ,to-day we have definite experimental proof that negative electricity is composed of separate particles or units4 ,just as matter is composed of invisible atoms1 so also is negative electricity of an atomic nature4 ,these particles of negative electricity have been christened electrons1 electron being the ,greek word for amber1 from which man first obtained electricity4 ,of course no one can ever hope to see an electron1 but physicists have been able to determine its size and mass1 its electric charge1 and the speeds at which it moves4 ,while it has been known for more than a century that light is merely waves in the all-pervading aether of space1 set up by incandescent bodies1 it has been a puzzle always how matter could cause waves in the aether1 as it offers no resistance to the movement of matter through it4 ,here we are on the back of a great planet1 flying through space at the enormous rate of one thousand miles per minute1 and yet our flimsy atmospheric blanket is in no way disturbed by the aether through which we are flying4 ,in the following story we shall see that these electrons help us towards a solution of this and many other problems2 they provide the missing link between matter and the aether4 ,but what is this aether of which one hears so much in these days8 ,the truth is we know nothing of its nature4 ,we cannot say whether it is lighter than the lightest gas or denser than the densest solid4 ,the aether1 whatever it may be1 is as real as the air we breathe4 ,it is the medium which brings us light and heat from the sun1 and which carries our wireless telegraph and telephone messages4 ,the whole universe is moving in this great aether ocean4 ,in order to make the electron's story perfectly intelligible to every reader1 ,i have added a short explanatory note at the beginning of each chapter4 ,these notes merely state the facts about which the electron is speaking4 ,to make the electron's story as realistic as possible1 it has been necessary to give the imaginary electron perfect freedom of knowledge concerning itself and its surroundings4 ,in our schooldays we had to write the autobiographies of steel pens1 and such-like1 but these inanimate things had to be endowed with powers of thought1 feeling1 and desire4 ,it is very important1 however1 to remember that an electron is a particle of negative electricity--a real existing thing4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,electron',s ,,preface ,while many scientific men now understand our place in the universe1 we electrons are anxious that every person should know the very important part which we play in the workaday world4 ,it was for this reason that my fellow-electrons urged me to write my own biography4 ,my difficulty has been to find a scribe who would put down my story in the way ,i desired4 ,the first man with whom ,i opened negotiations wished me to give him dates and names of which ,i knew nothing4 ,and he asked such stupid questions about where ,i was born and who my parents were1 as if ,i were flesh and blood4 ,i am pleased to say that my relationship with the scribe who has put down my story in the following pages has been of the most friendly description4 ,apart from a little tiff which we had at the outset1 there has been no difference of opinion4 ,he complained that ,i related things in too abstract a form4 ,however1 we got over the difficulty by a compromise2 ,i have allowed him to place what he calls ,the ,scribe's ,note at the beginning of each chapter1 but it will be understood clearly that these are merely convenient embellishments1 and that ,i am responsible for the story of my own experiences4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,new ,,arrival ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,three ,it will be well to keep clearly in mind that an electron is a real particle of negative electricity4 ,electrons have been discovered only within recent years4 ,no matter from what substances we take them1 they are always identical in every respect4 ,some electrons are attached to the atoms of matter in such a way that they may be removed easily from one object to another4 ,when a surplus of these detachable electrons is crowded on to any object1 we say that it is charged with negative electricity4 ,we speak of the other object1 which has lost these same electrons1 as being charged with positive electricity4 ,in this chapter the electron refers to the old-world experiment in which a piece of amber when rubbed attracts any light object to it4 ,for many ages man believed this to be a special property belonging to amber alone4 ,one of ,queen ,elizabeth's physicians discovered that this property was common to all substances4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,new ,,arrival ,it is most amusing to me and my fellow-electrons to hear intelligent people speak of us as though we were new arrivals on this planet4 ,dear me6 ,we were here for countless ages before man put in an appearance4 ,i wonder if any man can realise that we have been on the move ever since the foundations of this world were laid4 ,it is man himself who is the new arrival4 ,it does seem strange to us that men should be so distinctly different from one another4 ,we electrons are at a decided disadvantage1 for we are all identical in every respect4 ,i have no individual name--it would serve no purpose4 ,even if you could see me1 you could not distinguish me from any other electron4 ,i wonder sometimes if men appreciate the great advantage they have in possessing individual names4 ,i was impressed with this thought one fine summer morning4 ,while ,i was riding on the back of a particle of gas in the atmosphere1 ,i was carried through the open window of a nursery just as the under-nurse was putting the room in order4 ,a little later there was some commotion in the nursery1 for the young mother and her mother had come to see the twin daughters being bathed by the nurses4 ,the grandmother happened to remark how very much alike the two little infants were4 ,she said laughingly to the head nurse that she must be careful not to get the children mixed4 ,but the big brother1 aged five years1 remarked that it would not matter really how much they were mixed until they got their names4 ,sometimes ,i wish we electrons did differ from one another1 so that we might each possess an individual name1 but no doubt it is necessary for us all to be exactly alike4 ,long before man had discovered us1 he caused us deliberately to do certain things4 ,he was mystified by the results of his experiments1 for he was not aware of our presence4 ,a few of my fellow-electrons have rather hazy recollections of being disturbed while clinging to a piece of amber4 ,they had been disturbed often before in a similar way1 by being rubbed against a piece of woollen cloth1 and the result had been always that a number of electrons let go their hold upon the cloth and crowded on to the amber4 ,the overcrowding was uncomfortable1 but it happened usually that the surplus electrons found some means of escape to the earth1 where there is no need of excessive crowding4 ,on the occasion to which ,i refer1 it so happened that the rubbing had been unusually vigorous and prolonged1 so that the electrons were crowded on to the amber in great numbers4 ,in their endeavour to escape they produced a strain or stress in the surrounding aether1 and this caused a small piece of straw1 which was lying within the disturbed area1 to be forced towards the amber4 ,what attracted the attention of the electrons was that the man who was holding the piece of amber removed the clinging straw and replaced it exactly where it had been lying4 ,in the meantime he had been handling the amber1 and many of the crowded electrons had managed to make a bolt for the earth by way of the man's body4 ,they did this so very quietly that the man did not feel any sensation4 ,however1 as soon as the amber was rubbed again1 a similar crowd provided the same attractive property4 ,we electrons became impatient to hear what man would say of our work1 for it was apparent that he had noticed the movements of the straw4 ,you will hardly believe me when ,i tell you to what decision these wise men of the ,east came4 ,they declared that1 in rubbing the amber1 it had received heat and life4 ,as if life could be originated in any such simple manner6 ,you can picture our disappointment when we found that man was going to ignore our presence4 ,occasionally we were given opportunities of displaying our abilities in drawing light objects towards pieces of rubbed amber4 ,but the funny thing was that man got hold of the stupid idea that this attractive property belonged to the amber instead of to us4 ,if he had only tried pieces of sulphur1 resin1 or glass1 he would have found that these substances would have acted just as well4 ,you see it was not really the substance1 but we electrons who were the active agents4 ,we had given up all hope of being discovered1 when news came along that a learned man was on the hunt for us4 ,he was crowding us on to all sorts of substances4 ,he rubbed a piece of glass with some silk1 and at first he was surprised greatly to see light objects jump towards the excited glass4 ,of course1 we were not surprised in the very least4 ,the only thing that amused us was to find that he was making out a list of the different substances which showed attractive properties when rubbed4 ,he could not1 evidently1 get away from the idea that it was the substances themselves that became attractive4 ,we were sorry that the poor experimenter wasted so much time and energy in trying to crowd us on to a piece of metal rod4 ,he rubbed and he rubbed that metal1 but it would attract nothing1 and ,i shall tell you the reason4 ,you know that we electrons hate overcrowding2 indeed we always separate from one another as far as possible when there is no force pulling us together4 ,we only crowded on to the amber because we could not help ourselves2 we had no way of escape1 for amber is a substance we cannot pass through4 ,but we have no difficulty whatever in making our way along a piece of metal1 and as soon as the rubbing began1 some electrons moved off the metal by way of the man's arm and body to make room for those being crowded on to the metal from the rubber4 ,and so there never was any overcrowding1 and consequently no straining of the aether4 ,but it was not long before we found that man had succeeded in cutting off our way of escape4 ,he had attached a glass handle to the metal rod1 and we were compelled to overcrowd upon the metal as we could not pass through the glass handle4 ,neighbouring light objects were attracted by the excited or electrified metal4 ,even this demonstration did not put man upon our track4 ,perhaps ,i should explain in passing1 that when a glass rod is rubbed with a silk handkerchief we crowd on to the silk1 and not on to the glass4 ,this leaves the glass rod short of electrons1 and the aether is strained so that light objects are attracted4 ,man did notice that there was some difference between a piece of amber and a piece of glass when these were excited4 ,what the difference was he could not imagine1 but to distinguish the two different conditions he said that the amber was charged with negative electricity and the glass with positive electricity4 ,from that time forward man became of special interest to us4 ,we felt sure that sooner or later he was bound to recognise that we were at work behind the scenes4 ,it seemed to us1 however1 that man was desperately slow in turning his attention towards us1 and we tried to waken him up in a rather alarming fashion1 as ,i shall relate in the succeeding chapter4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,some ,,good ,,sport ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,four ,men began to make glass plate machines for producing electrification on a larger scale4 ,the electric spark is produced4 ,the electron tells the story of the first attempt to store electricity in a glass jar4 ,this is what we do now by means of a ,leyden jar4 ,a sudden expulsion of electrons from one object to another is called a discharge of electricity4 ,lightning is a discharge of electrons from a cloud to the earth or from cloud to cloud4 ,in repeating ,franklin's experiment of drawing electricity from thunder-clouds1 a ,russian professor received a fatal shock4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,some ,,good ,,sport ,now ,i must tell you of a surprise in which ,i took an active part4 ,some man thought he would separate a great crowd of us from our friends4 ,of course1 he did not think really of us1 but whatever he may have supposed he was doing1 he succeeded in accumulating greater crowds of us together than he had done previously4 ,he managed this by making simple machines to do the rubbing for him on a larger scale4 ,the result was really too much for us2 we were kept crowding on to a sort of brass comb arrangement from which we could not escape1 as the metal was attached to a glass support4 ,talk about overcrowding6 ,i had never experienced the like before1 and ,i felt sure some catastrophe would happen4 ,suddenly there was a stampede1 during which a great crowd of electrons forced their way across to a neighbouring object and thence to the earth4 ,i can assure you it was no joke getting through the air4 ,we all tried to leap together1 but some of the crowd were forced back upon us2 then bang forward we went again1 back once more1 and so on till we settled down to our normal condition4 ,of course all this surging to and fro occupied far less time than it takes to tell4 ,indeed1 ,i could not tell you what a very small fraction of a second it took4 ,i wish you had seen the experimenter's surprise as we made this jump4 ,we caused such a bombardment in the air that there was a bright spark accompanied by a regular explosion4 ,some men ran away with the idea that electricity was a mysterious fire1 which only showed itself when it mixed with the atmosphere4 ,nothing delighted us more1 after our own surprise was over1 than to have a chance of repeating these explosions1 to the alarm of the experimenters4 ,but the best sport of all was to come1 and when ,i heard of it ,i was so disappointed that ,i had not been one of the sporting party4 ,it came about in the following way4 ,illustration3 ,,damage ,,done ,,by ,a ,,party ,,of ,,electrons ,by permission of ,dixon and ,corbitt and ,r4 ,s4 ,newall1 ,ltd4 ,glasgow ,when a myriad of electrons is discharged suddenly from a cloud to the earth1 it happens sometimes that considerable damage is done4 ,the above photograph is of a church steeple damaged by lightning in #ahge4 ,no lightning-conductor was provided1 so the electrons had to get to earth by way of the steeple itself1 with the disastrous result as shown4 ,one learned man thought he had hit upon a good idea4 ,he tried to crowd a tremendous number of us into some water contained in a glass jar4 ,without condescending to think of us1 he crowded an enormous number of electrons from one of his rubbing machines along a piece of chain which led them into water4 ,the overcrowding was appalling1 for it was impossible to escape through the glass vessel4 ,things had reached a terrible state1 when the experimenter stopped the machine and put forward his hand to lift the chain out of the water4 ,now was the chance of escape1 so the whole excited crowd made one wild rush to earth by way of the experimenter's body4 ,the rapid surging to and fro of the crowd racked the man's muscles4 ,i wish ,i had been there to see him jump2 they say it was something grand4 ,you can imagine how the little sinners enjoyed the joke2 they knew they were safe1 as man had no idea of their existence at that time4 ,another man was foolhardy enough to try a similar experiment1 and they say that his alarm was even greater2 indeed1 he swore he would not take another shock even for the crown of ,france4 ,we were all eager to get opportunities of alarming man1 not that we wished him any harm1 but we thought he might pay us a little more attention4 ,i remember one occasion upon which some of us were boasting of what we had done in the way of alarming men1 whereupon one fellow-electron rather belittled our doings4 ,he maintained that he had jumped all the way from a cloud to the earth1 along with a crowd of other electrons4 ,in doing so they had scared the inhabitants of a whole village1 for they alighted upon the steeple of a church1 and in their wild rush they played such havoc among the atoms composing the steeple that they did considerable outward damage to the great structure4 ,i may as well confess that we are not free agents in performing these gigantic jumps2 we are compelled to go with the crowd when things are in such a state of stress4 ,we simply cannot hold on to the atoms of matter upon which we happen to be located4 ,it is only under very considerable pressure that we can perform this class of jump1 and ,i beg to assure you that we are perfectly helpless in those cases where we have been dashed upon some poor creature with a message of death4 ,alas6 on one occasion ,i was one of a party who killed a very learned man4 ,it was most distasteful to us2 we could not possibly prevent it4 ,he had erected a long rod which extended up into the air1 and terminated at the lower end in his laboratory4 ,some of us who were in the upper atmosphere were forced on to this iron rod1 and from past experience we quite expected that we should be subjected to a sudden expulsion to earth4 ,indeed we were waiting for the experimenter to provide us with a means of escape1 when suddenly he brought his head too near to the end of the rod1 and in a moment we were dashed to earth through his body4 ,we learned with deep regret that the poor man had been robbed of his life4 ,to turn to something of a happier nature1 ,i shall proceed to tell you of some of my earliest recollections4 ,remember ,i shall be speaking of a time long before man existed--even before this great planet was a solid ball4 ,,chapter ,v ,,my ,,earliest ,,recollections ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,five ,this great globe upon which we live was once a glowing mass of flaming gas4 ,it is possible that the whole solar system was once one great mass4 ,in any case1 we have no doubt that the moon is simply the result of a part of our glowing mass having become detached4 ,in the hottest stars we find only the lightest atoms of matter1 such as hydrogen gas1 the atoms of heavier substances being found in stars which have begun to cool down4 ,the electrons have been present from the very beginning1 and it is they who go to make up the atoms of matter4 ,we picture an atom of matter as a miniature solar system of revolving electrons4 ,there is doubtless a corresponding amount of positive electricity1 but so far we have no evidence of its nature4 ,,chapter ,v ,,my ,,earliest ,,recollections ,before giving an account of the everyday duties which we perform1 it may interest you to hear something of our early history4 ,not only have we been on the move ever since the beginning of this world1 but some of us have clear recollections of this planet long before it was a solid body4 ,the whole world was a great ball of flaming gas4 ,i have heard some fellow-electrons say that we were attached to a greater mass of incandescent gas before the beginning of this world1 but ,i have no personal recollections of it4 ,but one thing ,i do remember is a great upheaval which caused a large mass of gas to become detached from our habitation4 ,without any warning a great myriad of our fellow-electrons were carried away on this smaller mass4 ,at first this detached mass circled around our greater mass at very close quarters1 but we soon found that our friends were being carried farther and farther away1 until they are now circling around this solid planet at a comparatively great distance4 ,man calls this detached mass the moon1 and when ,i have heard children say in fun that they wish they could visit the man in the moon1 ,i have longed to go and see how it fares with those fellow-electrons who seem to be separated from us in such a permanent manner4 ,after this exciting event1 which ,i have heard described as the birth of the moon1 our great ball of flaming gas began to cool gradually4 ,but you will be interested in what happened before the moon's birth4 ,i saw a crowd of electrons suddenly congregate together along with something else which man has not discovered4 ,never mind the other part1 but picture a number of electrons forming a little world of their own4 ,there they went whirling around in a giddy dance4 ,i saw these little worlds or atoms being formed all around1 and ,i feel truly thankful now that ,i was not caught in the mad whirl1 for these fellow-electrons have been kept hard at it ever since1 imprisoned within a single atom4 ,i have met a very few electrons who have escaped from within an atom1 but ,i shall tell you about them later on4 ,the first thing ,i noticed was that each of the atoms had practically the same number of electrons in it4 ,at that time ,i thought only in an abstract way1 but since then ,i have learned that these were hydrogen atoms2 hydrogen being the lightest substance known to man4 ,exactly what happened next ,i cannot recollect1 but my attention was attracted later to larger congregations of electrons forming other little worlds of their own4 ,these atoms were1 of course1 heavier than the hydrogen atoms4 ,i saw quite a variety of different systems1 of which ,i thought then in an abstract fashion1 but which ,i know now to be atoms of oxygen1 nitrogen1 carbon1 iron1 copper1 and so on4 ,while man has given the atoms these distinguishing names1 you will understand that the incidents which ,i am relating took place long before there was any appearance of solidity about our planet2 these substances were all in a gaseous state4 ,after this1 ,i recollect that there was a great envelope of water-vapour condensed around the planet4 ,some condensed into liquid water upon the surface of the globe1 while part was suspended in the form of clouds4 ,some of my fellow-electrons acted as nuclei or foundations for the formation of the cloud particles4 ,the water which condensed upon the earth settled down in the hollows1 which had been produced previously by the immense pressure of the water-vapour envelope4 ,we can hardly believe it is the same world4 ,you cannot imagine how strange it was to see the great oceans boiling and steaming2 of course1 they were fresh water then4 ,i need hardly tell you that they have become salt only because the rivers have brought down sodium into them1 and when these sodium atoms unite with chlorine atoms they form particles of common salt4 ,i know all about this because we electrons play a very important part in all such combinations4 ,one very memorable recollection is that of life originating in the oceans4 ,i wish ,i could let you into the secret of the origin of life1 but1 according to the ,creator's plan1 man must find out for himself4 ,your guesses are all wide of the mark4 ,by the way1 perhaps ,i should explain why ,i have been selected to write this biography4 ,the first reason is that ,i am a free or detachable electron1 and the second point in my favour is that ,i have had exceptional opportunities of seeing about me4 ,i have heard men say that lookers-on see most of the game1 and as ,i have witnessed the gradual evolution of things1 you will understand that ,i have views of my own4 ,a casual observer might think that things had deteriorated1 for long ago there were immense monsters upon this planet1 and these would put all modern creatures in the shade as far as size and strength are concerned4 ,but one of the most interesting things to me has been to watch the evolution of man1 and more especially the gradual development of his brain4 ,indeed1 sometimes ,i have wished that ,i had happened to be an electron in the brain of a man2 but1 on the other hand1 my career would not have been of the varied kind which it has been4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,man ,,pays ,,us ,,some ,,attention ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,six ,men found that by exhausting the air from glass globes or tubes it was possible to pass electric discharges through them1 and in so doing some very beautiful luminous effects were produced within the vacuum tubes4 ,it was when experimenting with one of these tubes that a scientist suggested that radiant particles were being shot across the tube4 ,these particles were really electrons1 but it was thought at that time that they were atoms of matter4 ,another scientist declared1 from certain mathematical calculations1 that there existed extremely small particles of something around the atoms of matter1 and that it was the motion of these in the aether which produced light4 ,people were not willing to accept this theory4 ,some time later another scientist was able to prove by experiment that these particles did exist4 ,this was done by means of the spectroscope1 as will be related by the electron in a later chapter4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,man ,,pays ,,us ,,some ,,attention ,from the little ,i have told you already of our experiences1 you will see that men had been making many experiments in which we electrons took a very active part4 ,it was disappointing that even although we had surprised man in so many different ways1 he had never become suspicious of our presence4 ,one day1 however1 we did begin to hope for recognition4 ,i was present1 with a great crowd of electrons1 imprisoned within a glass globe from which the air had been extracted4 ,we were very pleased to find that the surrounding space had been cleared of air1 for it was apparent that the experimenter was going to make us jump across from one end of the glass tube to the other4 ,a crowd of us had collected on the extremity of a wire1 or electrode1 at the one end of the tube1 while another similar crowd was present on the other electrode at the opposite end of the tube4 ,while ,i speak of a crowd1 meaning that there were millions of us1 ,i do not suggest that we were overcrowded1 for we had plenty of elbow-room to move about on the atoms to which we were attached4 ,all in a moment the scene was changed4 ,we felt a crowd of electrons pressing us forward and forcing us right up to the very end of the electrode4 ,we found that the crowd was approaching by a wire leading into the tube4 ,soon the crowding had reached such a condition that we became alarmed2 we could see no way of escape4 ,we were imprisoned by the glass walls1 but we soon discovered that many of the electrons who had been stationed on the other electrode had deserted their posts and fled along a wire leading out of the tube4 ,if we could only follow them4 ,it would be a tremendous jump to get over to the other wire1 but the way was fairly clear of air4 ,when the overcrowding reached a certain point we were literally shot across from the one electrode to the other4 ,this was the first time ,i had ever experienced anything of the kind1 but many fellow-electrons had gone through similar performances for years at the hands of other experimenters4 ,however1 it was somewhat alarming to be fired off like a rocket across the tube4 ,what happened after that ,i cannot recollect1 but some time later ,i was present in that or a similar tube when ,i heard the experimenter say to a friend that he believed there were particles flying across his tube4 ,we sent news all along the line stating that at last we had been discovered1 and ,i can assure you that we felt proud4 ,but our joy was not long-lived1 for it turned out that we were considered to be particles or atoms of matter2 the experimenter spoke of us as radiant matter4 ,this was a real disappointment4 ,it took us some time to recover from our disappointment at being mistaken for clumsy atoms of matter4 ,we are of a higher order of things altogether4 ,no atom of matter can travel at speeds such as we can4 ,we cross these vacuum tubes with speeds equal to millions of miles per minute4 ,a great many of us were kept busy within vacuum tubes by other experimenters1 but nothing very exciting happened4 ,indeed1 we had lost all hope of attracting man's attention to ourselves as long as we were imprisoned within these tubes4 ,in the meantime our hopes were revived by news which reached us from another quarter4 ,we heard that a very learned man had declared boldly that there did exist little particles which revolved around the atoms of matter1 and that it was the motion of these tiny particles in the aether which produced the well-known waves of light4 ,there was considerable rejoicing among us1 for we were anxious to have our services recognised by man4 ,this great man was not guessing merely2 he was willing to prove by mathematical calculations that we did exist in reality4 ,of course1 we ourselves required no proof of our existence1 but we believed that man would be convinced4 ,our high hopes were soon laid low2 news reached us that people were shaking their heads and saying that figures could be made to prove anything4 ,after we had settled down to our ordinary duties1 we got word that at last man had really detected us in a flame of gas4 ,this seemed quite reasonable1 for1 as ,i shall relate to you in another chapter1 we have a very lively time of it in a flame of gas4 ,however1 when we were informed that man had discovered us by means of a sort of telescope arrangement1 ,i1 for one1 began to doubt the truth of the discovery4 ,some time before this ,i had heard that men were spying at gas flames in the hope of finding us1 and this seemed most ridiculous1 for if man could not see the large congregations of us called atoms1 how could he expect to see individual electrons8 ,my ignorance was dispelled when it was explained that man had not been looking for us directly1 but for the aether waves which we produce4 ,but ,i have not had an opportunity of explaining to you how some of us produce waves in the aether2 ,i shall have to wait till a later chapter4 ,in the meantime ,i may say that since this important discovery ,i have taken some part in an experiment similar to the historic one wherein we were detected1 but of that too ,i shall have more to say again4 ,the rejoicing at this discovery was not confined to us1 for men of science were quick to grasp the importance which was attached to this new knowledge4 ,we felt that man was bound to acknowledge our services from that day4 ,the next event was our christening1 and this was not all plain sailing4 ,indeed1 we have been rather annoyed with one name which some good friends persist in giving us4 ,i refer to the name corpuscle1 which we feel to be a sort of nickname1 although it may have been suggested in all kindness4 ,it may be difficult for you to appreciate our dislike to this name1 but it seems to us to savour too much of material things4 ,it is not dignified2 you must remember we are not matter4 ,we are delighted with what we prefer to call our real name--electron--for that speaks of electricity4 ,as you know1 we are units of particles of negative electricity1 and so this seems a most sensible and suitable name4 ,but ,i must hasten to tell of some of our everyday duties in which we serve man4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,a ,,steady ,,march ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,seven ,the steady motion of electrons from atom to atom along a wire1 or other conductor1 constitutes the well-known electric current4 ,the moving electrons disturb the aether around the wire and produce what we know as a magnetic field4 ,the electron explains why it is necessary to have a complete circuit before any electric current can take place4 ,also how one length of wire may be used to connect two distant places provided the two extremities of the wire are buried in the earth4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,a ,,steady ,,march ,personally ,i knew nothing about marching until quite recently4 ,indeed1 none of my fellow-electrons seem to have had definite ideas of regular marches previous to last century4 ,that century is prominent in our history as well as in man's4 ,there is no doubt that before then we must have made more or less regular marches through the crust of the earth and elsewhere2 but for myself ,i have no such recollection previous to the following occasion4 ,the experience was not a very exciting one4 ,i found myself passing along from atom to atom in a copper wire4 ,but what was of special interest to us was that it became evident that these enforced marches were being deliberately controlled by man4 ,of course you will understand that man knew nothing of our existence at that time4 ,all he knew was that when he placed a piece of zinc and a piece of copper in a chemical solution1 there were certain effects produced in some mysterious fashion4 ,for instance1 when he connected the top of the two metals in this chemical cell or battery by a piece of wire1 he got what he described as an electric current4 ,now all that happened really was this4 ,the chemical action in this battery which man had devised caused a rearrangement among the atoms composing the metals and the solution1 with the result that we poor electrons had to rearrange our domiciles4 ,as an accumulation of electrons gathered on the zinc1 some of us were forced along the connecting wire towards the copper4 ,as long as the chemical action in the battery was kept up1 so long were we kept on the march from the zinc to the copper by way of the wire4 ,man tried increasing the length of this wire bridge across which we had to pass1 but we had no difficulty in making our way along4 ,but you must not run away with the idea that we rush along the wire with lightning speed4 ,although we can fly through the aether at a prodigious speed1 our progress from atom to atom in a wire is more like a snail-pace4 ,as a matter of fact1 our rate of march is much less than the walking pace of a man2 indeed it may be stated conveniently as so many yards per hour4 ,some people may find it difficult to believe that our rate of march is so very slow4 ,their front door is a good many yards away from their electric bell1 but it does not take us an hour1 or any appreciable part of a minute1 to summon the maid4 ,the secret is that there is a whole regiment of us along the wire1 and before one of us moves on to a neighbouring atom1 another electron must move off that atom and on to its neighbour1 and so on4 ,in this way the electrons at the far end of the wire commence to move at practically the same moment as those near the battery4 ,it has been a source of amusement to me to see people perfectly mystified by the fact that they can get no electric current unless they have a complete circuit4 ,what else could they expect8 ,how could man march if he had no road to march on8 ,you see1 the reason for our march is that we wish to escape from the overcrowding on the zinc1 and we are forced towards the copper4 ,the atoms composing the wire are our stepping-stones1 and if there is not a complete chain of atoms we are helpless4 ,you have already heard how we can jump an air-space under very great pressure1 but that condition does not exist in the present case4 ,when we are disturbed by the chemical action of the battery1 we should prefer to have a short-cut from the zinc to the copper1 but if the only path man gives us is by way of a long wire1 then we must be content to travel that road1 in order to reach the copper4 ,it is a matter of little moment to us what arrangement man makes as long as he gives us a complete path4 ,for instance1 he may lead us out from the zinc to a distant telegraph instrument1 and then1 instead of providing a second wire to take us back to the battery1 he may conduct us by a short wire to the earth4 ,we are quite content to lose ourselves in this great reservoir1 provided man places another short wire from the earth to the copper of the battery at the other end of the line4 ,then as we slip off at the one end of the line1 an equal number of electrons can climb up at the other end1 and thus enable all our friends in the long wire to keep up a steady march4 ,this march of ours is not merely a means of transporting ourselves from one place to another2 it is to enable us to do work4 ,it is only when we are in motion that we can do useful work1 for we must move before we can disturb the aether1 and it is by means of the aether that we transmit energy4 ,if you place a magnetic needle or mariner's compass near a wire along which we are making a steady march1 you will find that we can affect our fellow-electrons who are stationed within the magnetic needle4 ,we cause the needle to swing round and take up a position at right angles to our line of march4 ,we succeed in doing this because these electrons in the magnetic needle are on the move also4 ,but this reminds me that ,i have never told you how we produce that aether disturbance which you call magnetism4 ,when1 as children1 you played with toy magnets in the nursery1 little did you think that there was a host of tiny electrons amusing you4 ,and yet we electrons are responsible entirely for all magnetic effects1 as ,i shall proceed to explain4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,a ,,useful ,,dance ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,eight ,we believe magnetism to be due to electrons revolving around atoms of iron and other magnetic substances1 as related by the electron in this chapter4 ,we have seen that the steady motion of electrons along a wire produces a magnetic field around the wire4 ,therefore if we have electrons revolving round and round the atoms in a piece of iron1 there will be a miniature magnetic field around each atom4 ,the electron explains why a piece of iron does not show the magnetic power locked up within it until it is magnetised4 ,the electron refers to electro-magnets2 an electro-magnet is simply a piece of soft iron with a coil of insulated wire wound around it4 ,the iron only shows its magnetic power as long as a current of electricity is kept passing through the surrounding coil of wire1 for reasons which the electron explains4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,a ,,useful ,,dance ,i may tell you quite frankly that ,i have never taken part in the perpetual dance of which ,i am about to tell you4 ,i am of a free and roaming disposition1 but ,i have often watched some of my fellow-electrons at this work4 ,of course1 it is pleasant work1 as all our duties are1 now that man acknowledges our services4 ,we are responsible for the behaviour of the mariner's compass needle4 ,it is we who cause it to point continually in one definite direction4 ,if we ceased to dance around the iron atoms in the compass needle aboard a ship1 the man at the helm could not tell in what direction he was going1 and sooner or later he would be almost certain to wreck his vessel4 ,for this service alone man ought to be grateful to us1 but before ,i have finished my story1 you will find that even this important duty is but a small affair when compared with many of our other tasks4 ,there is one matter ,i should like to make quite clear to you4 ,although we electrons are all identical1 we have different stations to fill4 ,you have doubtless become familiar with my roving disposition1 and you probably think of me as a detachable electron4 ,then there are our friends who are locked up within the atoms of matter--part and parcel of the atom4 ,and now ,i am introducing you to those electrons who act as satellites to the atoms1 revolving around them at a comparatively great distance1 just as the moon revolves around the earth4 ,these are the electrons which give rise to the magnetism in a piece of iron4 ,there are other electrons which perform very rapid revolutions around all classes of atoms1 but ,i shall introduce these friends later on4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,tobacco-,,tin ,,defying ,,gravitation ,that phenomenon known as magnetism is due to the steady locomotion of electrons1 as explained in the text4 ,here we see a large magnet attracting a tinned iron box which is tethered to the table by two cords4 ,the result is that the box is supported in the air4 ,the spiral wires are connected to the electro-magnet1 an explanation of which is given in ,chapter ,,viii4 ,i need hardly remark that a piece of ordinary iron does not behave like a magnet4 ,indeed1 it is fortunate that it does not4 ,if it did1 man could not get along with his work very well4 ,the hammer would stick to the head of the nail it had struck1 the fire-irons would stick to the fender1 while the cook's pots and pans would hold on to the kitchen range4 ,that would be a very stupid arrangement1 but we electrons have really no say in the matter of arrangement4 ,we are always on the move1 performing a perpetual dance around the iron atoms1 but the atoms arrange themselves in a higgledy-piggledy fashion1 so that the electrons on one atom pull the aether in one direction while others pull the aether in an opposite direction4 ,in this way the outward effect is not perceptible4 ,when1 however1 man places a coil of wire around the iron1 and makes a crowd of electrons march along the wire1 these marching electrons affect the aether1 which in turn influences the satellite electrons which are revolving around the atoms of iron4 ,you may be somewhat surprised when ,i tell you that1 owing to this aether disturbance1 these satellite electrons are able to produce a rearrangement among the atoms4 ,if you doubt my word1 you may easily prove the truth of the statement4 ,if you magnetise a long bar of iron you will find that its length is actually altered4 ,this is due to our having disturbed the arrangement of the atoms4 ,perhaps ,i should explain that when we force the atoms into their new condition1 we can do so only under the aether stress set up by our fellow-electrons who are marching in the neighbouring wire4 ,whenever their march ceases the aether stress is withdrawn1 and the atoms are able to fall back into their old higgledy-piggledy condition4 ,in this way man is able to make a piece of iron a magnet and to unmake it as often as he cares by simply switching on and off the electric current from the wire surrounding the iron4 ,if a piece of hard steel is used in place of soft iron1 then we find that the atoms are not so easily disturbed1 but when they are once brought into line with one another1 they will remain in their new condition after the aether disturbance has been withdrawn4 ,it may seem strange to you that quite a small percentage of carbon atoms added to the pure soft iron should cause such a marked difference1 but the matter seems plain enough to us4 ,man was so impressed with the manner in which the atoms were evidently fixed in their new condition that he spoke of permanent magnets4 ,it is especially fortunate for man that these pieces of steel do retain their magnetism1 and give us a reliable mariner's compass4 ,but ,i shall tell you how you may disturb even these sedate atoms4 ,if you hammer the metal very vigorously1 or if you heat it to redness1 you will find that the atoms have been freed from what appeared to be their permanent position1 and they are back to their old higgledy-piggledy condition1 so that we electrons are all opposing one another4 ,remember we are hard at work all the time although we may be giving no outward sign of our activity4 ,while we render an important aid to man by providing this permanent magnet for his compass1 you will find that a very great deal of our assistance to man in his everyday life depends upon our behaviour in soft iron electro-magnets4 ,it is in these that man can control our behaviour at will4 ,it is through this simple piece of apparatus--the electro-magnet--that man has been able to accomplish so much in signalling to his friends at a distance4 ,it is also by means of these electro-magnets that man can get us to turn an electric motor1 and so on4 ,but ,i must tell you1 first of all1 how we enable man to signal to a distance1 or1 in other words1 how we carry man's news4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,how ,,we ,,carry ,,man',s ,,news ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,nine ,the electron explains wherein its method differs from all other methods4 ,it is well known that within recent years the old iron telegraph wires have been replaced by much lighter copper wires2 the electron explains the reason for this change4 ,it describes how the electrons manage to work the most widely used form of telegraph instrument1 which is called the ,morse1 after its inventor4 ,here we find one of the practical applications of the electro-magnet described in the preceding chapter4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,how ,,we ,,carry ,,man',s ,,news ,it is we electrons who have so very far outdistanced all material carriers of news4 ,you must acknowledge that the best runner1 the swiftest horse1 the fastest express train1 and the prize carrier pigeon1 are all nowhere when compared with us electrons4 ,but ,i do not wish to mislead you in any way1 and ,i can speak from personal experience in this case4 ,we do not race off with man's messages in the same sense as these other messengers do4 ,our swiftness of communication depends upon the simple fact that man provides a whole connecting regiment of us between the two distant places4 ,and when the order to march is given we all move off at practically the same moment4 ,in this way the electrons at the far end of the connecting wire are able to cause signals there immediately4 ,this is the secret of man's success in being able to hold immediate communication with his distant friends4 ,his success is due entirely to the co-operation of us electrons4 ,my personal experience has been in connection with a very simple telegraphic arrangement4 ,indeed1 the most of our duties in transmitting messages are performed with this particular kind of instrument1 known as a ,morse sounder4 ,at the time of which ,i speak1 ,i had become attached to an atom of iron in the end of a long telegraph wire4 ,from this you will probably guess that my experience was gained some time ago1 for man does not use iron wires nowadays in fitting up telegraph lines4 ,he used iron at first1 and some of these lines still exist1 but when he discovered that a very much lighter copper wire would serve the same purpose1 he discarded the heavy iron wires4 ,man explained the matter by saying that the copper offered less resistance to the electric current1 and the majority of people were quite satisfied with this kind of explanation4 ,of course these are merely convenient phrases which give man no real reason for the difference4 ,the real reason is that we electrons are able to move about from one copper atom to another with very much greater ease than we can among the iron atoms4 ,that is the reason why man made the change from iron to copper wires1 although he had no idea of the reason at the time4 ,to return to my experience in connection with a telegraph instrument1 ,i found that we were being subjected to a series of forced marches4 ,the whole regiment of electrons along the line made a forward move4 ,the line of march ended in a short length of fine wire wound around a piece of soft iron to form an electro-magnet4 ,the end of the wire dipped into the earth1 as ,i have explained in an earlier chapter4 ,now all that we electrons had to do was to make a forward move1 halt1 forward again1 another halt1 and so on4 ,sometimes the signal to halt was longer in being given than at other times1 but we found that this was intentional1 and that there were two definite lengths of march4 ,i have explained already how we marching electrons cause an electro-magnet to attract a piece of iron and let it go again as soon as we cease marching4 ,it only remains for me to give you a general statement of how we work the ,morse telegraph4 ,man has arranged a little lever with an iron end-piece immediately above the electro-magnet1 so that the magnet may attract it4 ,of course you are aware that it is the electrons within the soft-iron core of the electro-magnet who produce the magnetic effect4 ,every time we electrons in the surrounding wire make a forward move1 the electro-magnet pulls down the end of the little lever referred to4 ,as long as we keep marching1 so long will the end of the lever remain down1 but the moment we halt1 the lever is free to be pulled up by a spring attached to it4 ,the movements of the lever indicate the length of our long and short marches1 and it is by means of these that man sends signals4 ,all that he does is to control our march1 by means of an electric push and a battery at one end of the wire1 and it is we who produce the signals at the distant end of the wire4 ,each time man presses the push we move the distant lever4 ,when we pull the lever down it is so arranged that it makes a sound like click1 and when we let it spring up against a stop it makes another sound not unlike clack4 ,our long and short marches are therefore converted into long and short click-clacks4 ,man has made a simple code of signals representing his alphabet1 and right merrily do we rap out the signals for which we receive orders at the distant end of the wire1 while some one at the other end listens to the sounds we cause to be made4 ,i have told you enough of our duties to let you see how we are able to carry man's news from one part of the earth to any other part4 ,by far the greatest part of our signalling work is done with this simple ,morse sounder4 ,it may interest you to note that we can produce those signals far faster than man can read them4 ,when man found this out he took advantage of our powers4 ,he made an automatic transmitter which could manipulate the make-and-break of the battery current far more rapidly than any human fingers could do4 ,then as we rapped off the signals with lightning speed at the distant end1 he attached a little ink-wheel to the end of the moving lever1 so that it could mark short and long strokes on a ribbon of paper passing close to it4 ,although man could not distinguish the signals by his ear he was able to read the record of those we caused to be left upon the paper ribbon4 ,we have been made to work many other forms of telegraph instruments4 ,in some of these we control type-letters1 while in others we imitate handwriting1 but all these are merely adaptations of our powers of marching4 ,we are proud of our achievements in rapid signalling1 which all right-thinking people have not been slow to acknowledge4 ,,chapter ,x ,,how ,,we ,,communicate ,,with ,,distant ,,ships ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,ten ,in this chapter the electron deals with that modern marvel--,wireless ,telegraphy4 ,here the aether of space plays a very prominent part4 ,the author has given some particulars about the aether in the first chapter 7,what the ,story is about74 ,in conjunction with that1 the electron may be left to tell its own story4 ,,chapter ,x ,,how ,,we ,,communicate ,,with ,,distant ,,ships ,our duties in this case are totally different from those of which ,i have been telling you4 ,while we electrons can do many wonderful things1 we cannot march through space4 ,we may be fired off like bullets from the sun to the earth1 but that is quite another matter4 ,i shall have something to say about that fact later on4 ,you have seen already that man can make us jump only a very short distance1 even when he has cleared our path of the obstructing air1 as he does in a vacuum tube4 ,if men were to provide us with a complete path of metal atoms from the shore to the ship1 we could set to work upon the simple plan which ,i have described in the preceding chapter4 ,but1 needless to say1 man has more sense than to attempt to keep up metallic connection with a ship going away out to sea4 ,even the wisest men were surprised when they heard that we electrons could signal through space to great distances without any connecting wires4 ,we ourselves were not surprised4 ,had we not been doing this very thing from the foundation of the world8 ,our fellow-electrons in the sun have never ceased to communicate with those of us upon the earth4 ,of course ,i am referring at present to those aether waves which man calls heat and light4 ,but the waves which we make to carry man's messages through space are of the very same nature1 the only difference being that they are much longer1 or1 in other words1 much farther apart4 ,they do not follow each other so closely1 and they do not affect the eye or the sense of touch4 ,however1 these long waves are able to bestir some of us electrons who are situated at a great distance from the sending electrons4 ,our method of producing such waves in the aether is by surging to and fro from atom to atom in an upright wire4 ,when we make a rapid to-and-fro motion we send out great waves in the aether4 ,the original plan adopted by man was to make us jump across a spark-gap1 but in this case also it was our rapid oscillation to and fro that produced the waves4 ,if we wish the waves to carry to a great distance1 we must club together in considerable force to supply the necessary energy4 ,the energy which we can get from a battery and induction coil is not sufficient for any very long distances4 ,in such cases we require the aid of a dynamo1 a machine about which ,i shall have some experience to relate in another chapter4 ,in communicating through space1 our position is very similar to that of two men shouting to one another over a distance4 ,the one man disturbs the air1 thus sending air-waves 7sound7 over to his friend1 and these waves produce certain sensations which he can interpret4 ,i should like you to understand that we electrons are upon a higher plane than atoms of matter4 ,we cause waves in the all-pervading aether1 not among clumsy particles of air4 ,after these aether waves have travelled enormous distances they retain sufficient energy to disturb electrons situated at the distant place4 ,i shall tell you of the first experience ,i had in this connection4 ,i found myself attached to an atom of nickel1 a kind of atom which looks to us electrons very much like an iron atom1 because it has nearly the same number of electrons composing it1 only they are arranged differently4 ,but ,i was telling you that ,i found myself on this nickel atom sealed up in a small glass tube4 ,of course there were myriads of similar atoms all around me1 but ,i did not feel very happy4 ,i was being urged forward1 and yet ,i could not get across from some atoms to others1 for the nickel was in the form of loose filings4 ,from past experience ,i knew that there was a battery along the line somewhere2 ,i could feel the strain4 ,all of a sudden ,i was startled to find that ,i could move forward4 ,exactly what happened1 ,i am not at liberty to tell1 but this much ,i may say1 that it was the arrival of some aether waves which altered the condition of things among the filings in the tube4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,motor-,,car ,,with ,,wireless ,,telegraph ,it has become quite a fashion in ,america to have motor-cars fitted up for wireless telegraphy4 ,that the electrons play an important part in telegraphing through space is explained fully in ,chapter ,x4 ,we had just started out on our march forward when we received such a shaking that we found ourselves in the same isolated positions as at first2 we could not get across from one particle to another4 ,more aether waves arrived1 we made a fresh start1 then came another rude shaking1 and so on we went starting and stopping4 ,indeed1 it was the regularity of these long and short marches that gave me the first idea that we were being controlled by some telegraph operator4 ,we were amused to find that the rude shaking1 of which ,i have been telling you1 was caused by the action of some of our fellow-electrons4 ,some of them in their march around an electro-magnet in the receiving instrument caused a little lever to knock against our tube and give us a sudden jolt4 ,i should like you to notice that the energy with which we moved the telegraph instrument did not come from the distant station4 ,it was a local battery which worked the receiving instrument1 but this battery was controlled by the incoming aether waves affecting the tube of filings4 ,there is really no mystery about the matter1 but ,i am anxious not to take credit for anything more wonderful than we have actually accomplished4 ,we electrons have rendered a very great service to man by enabling him to communicate with his friends who are far out on the ocean1 and cut off from all possible chance of material communication4 ,we are willing to serve man on land also1 though we very much prefer the ordinary marching arrangement if he will provide a connecting wire4 ,the fact is that we find it very much more difficult to send aether waves over land than we do over water4 ,i have heard some men ask how many different telegraph instruments may be worked at one place simultaneously without confusion4 ,that is a question for man himself to answer4 ,we electrons are able to produce any variety of waves of different frequency or length2 it remains only for man to construct apparatus that will respond only to a definite rate of waves4 ,i hear that man has made considerable progress in tuning the wireless instruments4 ,some men are eager to get us to carry messages through space across the great oceans from shore to shore4 ,we shall not refuse1 provided man supplies sufficient energy1 but ,i must admit that we electrons prefer the submarine cable4 ,of course man may put this down to our laziness2 we certainly prefer as little severe straining as possible4 ,i have been telling you of my earliest and only personal experience in connection with space telegraphy4 ,i understand that greatly improved methods have been adopted since that time1 but ,i have never happened to drift in their direction4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,how ,,we ,,reproduce ,,speech ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,eleven ,in the first part of this chapter the electron explains the part it plays in ordinary telephony4 ,the reader will picture the transmitting instrument at the one end of the line influencing the receiving instrument at the distant end4 ,towards the end of the chapter the electron turns its attention to the newer subject of wireless telephony1 which has been accomplished now over a distance of several hundred miles4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,how ,,we ,,reproduce ,,speech ,my scribe suggested a rather clumsy title for this chapter--,electrons versus atoms as carriers of speech4 ,i expect he made this suggestion without much thought1 for there are two serious objections to such a title4 ,in the first place1 we are not carriers of speech4 ,we are controlled by speech at one end of the telephone line1 and we make a reproduction of the speech at the distant end of the line4 ,no sound passes between the two places2 there is only a movement of electrons along the connecting line4 ,my second objection to the hurriedly suggested title is that it is hardly fair to make any comparison between the achievements of atoms of matter and those of ourselves4 ,we are not in the same category as atoms4 ,besides1 we electrons are dependent entirely upon the material atoms for making our work useful to man4 ,for instance1 we might keep on making waves in the aether for all time1 and yet if the atoms of matter were to pay no heed to those imperceptible waves1 man would never be aware of their presence4 ,indeed we electrons act solely as go-betweens4 ,on the other hand1 it is only fair to ourselves to point out that a group of atoms in one town could never communicate with a group of atoms in a distant town unless we electrons came to their aid4 ,it is true that over a very short distance the atoms may communicate directly4 ,for instance1 if a heavy blow is given to a large gong1 the atoms of metal may vibrate so energetically that they succeed in disturbing the atoms of gas of the surrounding atmosphere for some considerable distance4 ,but in the case of speech1 the speaker cannot supply any great energy1 so that he can disturb the atmosphere only to a very limited distance4 ,we electrons1 however1 can do yeoman service in this respect4 ,we have enabled men to speak to one another over immense distances4 ,the whole affair is very simple4 ,man speaks and causes the atmospheric atoms to vibrate and impinge upon a light disc or diaphragm in a simple instrument which man has named the telephone4 ,this vibrating disc presses upon a myriad of carbon particles contained in a small case or box1 the disc forming one side of the box4 ,when these carbon particles are pressed together we electrons can get across more easily from atom to atom4 ,there is a battery urging us forward1 but our motion is dependent entirely upon the manner in which the vibrating disc presses upon the carbon particles4 ,i cannot describe our movement in the line-wire as a march2 it is in reality a surging to and fro4 ,you will understand that this to-and-fro motion of the electrons in the line-wire varies according to the vibrations of the sending disc1 which is controlled by the speaker's voice4 ,at the distant end of the line we electrons bring our magnetic powers into action4 ,we keep varying the attractive powers of an electro-magnet1 according to the motion of the electrons in the wire4 ,this ever-changing magnet produces vibrations in an iron disc which is fixed close to the magnet4 ,this disc is set vibrating in exact sympathy with the sending disc4 ,when the listener places this receiving disc close to his ear1 the vibrations are carried by the atmospheric atoms to his hearing apparatus4 ,all that we electrons have done is to cause one disc to vibrate in exact synchrony with another distant disc4 ,but that is all that is required1 for the receiving disc will reproduce similar air-vibrations to those set up by the man's voice at the distant place4 ,i have pointed out already that we do not attempt to carry the sound4 ,it is true that the atoms of matter do the hard work1 but it is we electrons who enable a group of atoms in one town to communicate with a group of atoms in a distant town4 ,it was natural that as soon as man found that he could work his telegraph instruments without the aid of connecting wires1 he should try to do the same with his telephone instruments4 ,we were sorry when we found men trying to use the original spark-telegraphy methods for telephones4 ,while we had no difficulty in operating a telegraph instrument by means of aether waves and the tube of filings1 it was quite impossible for us to produce telephone vibrations on the same principle4 ,this spark method was a too rough-and-ready plan4 ,the waves we produced were like sudden splashes in the aether ocean1 whereas we knew that we must produce regular trains of continuous waves in order to reproduce telephone vibrations4 ,however1 you may be aware that we have succeeded by a different arrangement of apparatus4 ,indeed it may interest you to know that one of my most recent experiences has been in connection with some wireless-telephone experiments4 ,unfortunately ,i was not in a very favourable position to learn all that was going on1 but it was quite exciting work4 ,i happened to be attached to an atom of copper in a length of wire which had been run up into the air on a sort of flag-pole arrangement4 ,i need hardly say that ,i was not alone1 for by this time you will have become accustomed to picture myriads of electrons occupying a very small space4 ,we were set vibrating to and fro with tremendous energy1 but what bothered me most was the great variation in our movements4 ,it was the nature of these variations which gave me the clue that we were being controlled by the vibrations of a telephone disc4 ,i can tell you we did make a complex series of waves in the surrounding aether6 ,these waves went out through space and influenced some electrons stationed at a great distance4 ,when these electrons at the receiving station were set in motion they controlled the electric current from a local battery which set a second telephone disc vibrating in synchrony with the one at the sending station4 ,on questioning some of my fellow-electrons who happened to have been nearer the transmitting part of the instrument than ,i had been1 ,i got some interesting information4 ,they tell me that there was a dynamo and an arc lamp in our circuit1 while the telephone instrument was in a neighbouring circuit4 ,the electrons surging to and fro in the telephone circuit influenced those energetic electrons in the arc-lamp circuit to which the aerial wire was attached4 ,you see that my position in the aerial wire was not a very advantageous one for observing what was taking place4 ,this was truly a great achievement--to enable one man to speak to another distant hundreds of miles1 and without the aid of any connecting wire4 ,i think you will agree with me that we have excelled all past records in the world of wonders4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,our ,,heaviest ,,duties ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,twelve ,here the electron explains its behaviour in a dynamo at work4 ,the principle of the dynamo was discovered by ,faraday in the thirties of last century4 ,he found that when a coil of wire was moved through a magnetic field1 there was a current of electricity induced in the moving coil4 ,experimental machines were constructed1 and after a while a practical dynamo was evolved4 ,wires are attached to a dynamo and the electric current is led out4 ,this current may be conducted to a distant tramway car1 and1 by sending the current through an electric motor1 mechanical motion is produced and the car propelled along4 ,an electric motor is practically the same as a dynamo1 but instead of turning its coil round in order to produce an electric current1 we pass a current into the coil and it moves round4 ,it will be sufficient to leave the electron to tell its own story4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,our ,,heaviest ,,duties ,this is another of those roving commissions in which ,i have been privileged to take part on more than one occasion4 ,if you think of the giant size of an electric tramway car or a railway train1 and try to compare one of these with an electron1 such as your humble servant1 it will seem quite ridiculous that ,i should suggest that it is we electrons who move those huge vehicles4 ,yet such is the actual case4 ,of course we require the application of very considerable power to urge us to so heavy a task4 ,all the energy which we can get from a few electric batteries might enable us to drive a toy car1 but when it comes to turning the wheels of a real car or train1 we require a correspondingly greater amount of energy4 ,i may as well tell you quite frankly that we electrons are only the intermediaries or go-betweens4 ,indeed1 you must have noticed that in every case we act merely as a connecting link between matter and the aether1 and between the aether and matter4 ,but what ,i want to tell you of1 is the part we play in moving an electric car or railway train4 ,it is really all very simple if you could only see it from our standpoint4 ,picture a host of us attached to copper atoms in a coil of wire which is being moved through that disturbed aether called a magnetic field4 ,we are set in motion immediately4 ,it is true that when we are moved forward into the field we march off in one direction1 only to be arrested and made to move off in the opposite direction as we leave the field1 but it really makes no difference in our working capabilities as long as we are kept on the move4 ,this is what is actually taking place in the armature of a dynamo as it revolves between the poles of the electro-magnet4 ,there is no peace for us so long as the coil is kept revolving2 we are kept in a constant state of rapid to-and-fro motion4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,train ,,impelled ,,by ,,moving ,,electrons ,by permission of ,siemens ,schuckert ,werke ,berlin ,it is remarkable that the motion of electrons in an electric conductor can result in the movement of heavy vehicles4 ,how this comes about is explained in ,chapter ,,xii4 ,this is all we electrons do in a dynamo1 but when the ends of the outer circuit or mains are brought into contact with the ends of our revolving coil1 we set the electrons in the mains surging to and fro in step with ourselves4 ,man describes this motion of the electrons in the mains as an alternating electric current1 but by a simple commutator on the dynamo he may arrange that we set the electrons marching in one direction in the mains4 ,this he describes as a direct electric current4 ,it is a matter of indifference to us whether man drives our coil round by means of a steam-engine1 a water-wheel1 or a wind-mill2 all that we electrons want is to be kept surging or vibrating to and fro4 ,now you will be able to appreciate how we electrons get up sufficient motion to enable us to perform what ,i have described as our heaviest duties4 ,perhaps you will find it difficult to believe me when ,i tell you that as we march along the connecting wire to a distant tramway car we transmit the energy through the surrounding aether1 and not through the wire4 ,this is our mode of working in every case1 whether it be an electric bell1 a telegraph1 or telephone4 ,that is to say1 while we electrons move from atom to atom in the connecting wire1 it is the disturbed aether surrounding us which transmits the energy4 ,you must have realised by this time how very intimate is the relationship between ourselves and the aether4 ,to return to the tale of our tramway work1 you will picture my fellow-electrons aboard the car being energised by the incoming current4 ,those electrons present in the armature coil of the motor are set into motion1 as also are those in the wire of the neighbouring electro-magnet4 ,the result is that these two sets of electrons so disturb the aether and affect one another that the coil is moved round into a different position4 ,you will remember the experiment of which ,i told you1 in which a magnetic needle would insist always in taking up a position at right angles to a wire in which an electric current is passing4 ,well1 when the motor coil has turned into its new position1 we electrons receive an impulse from our friends in the line-wire which causes us to retrace our steps in the coil4 ,this action of ours causes the coil to make a further movement in the same direction as at first4 ,again we change our direction of march1 and again the coil changes its position towards the electro-magnet4 ,the sole duty of these electrons in the armature coil is to keep surging to and fro1 while those electrons in the electro-magnet keep up a steady march in one direction4 ,this arrangement necessitates the armature coil to keep changing its position continually1 and when we have the armature coil spinning round at a steady pace1 it is easy for man to connect the armature to the axles of the tramway car and cause us to drive the wheels round4 ,i need hardly say that it makes no difference to us whether we are asked to drive a tramway car1 a railway train1 or a host of machines in a factory or workshop4 ,all that we electrons in the motor require is to have sufficient energy passed along to us from our fellows in the distant dynamo4 ,again ,i admit frankly that the atoms of matter play a very important part in these our heaviest duties1 but you will see that without our active assistance they could not transmit the necessary energy to a distant car or train4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,a ,,boon ,,to ,,man ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,thirteen ,while it has been known for a long time that light and radiant heat are merely waves in the aether1 it was not known until recently how these waves were produced4 ,the discovery of electrons has given us a reasonable solution of our difficulty4 ,the electron explains the actions of its fellows in this great work of producing light and heat4 ,incidentally the electron explains how they produce an aurora in the heavens1 and how it is that the earth has become a negatively electrified body4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,a ,,boon ,,to ,,man ,every living thing is dependent upon our activities4 ,it is we electrons who send out heat and light from the sun1 and it is we who receive these on their arrival upon this planet4 ,our action in the matter is really very simple1 but until man discovered our existence1 he was mystified considerably4 ,we were amused to hear man say that the atoms of incandescent matter in the sun produced waves in the aether1 and that when these aether waves fell upon other atoms on this planet1 these were set into a state of vibration1 thus producing heat and light4 ,now if man had only stopped to think1 he would have seen how ridiculous it was to speak of atoms of matter producing waves in the aether4 ,he ought to have known that atoms of matter cannot affect the aether1 for it offers no resistance to matter moving through it4 ,man might have pictured himself riding on the back of this great planet1 flying through space at a speed very similar to that of a rifle bullet1 and yet even the flimsy blanket of air surrounding the planet is not disturbed by the aether through which it is rushing4 ,it is true that the atoms of matter play an important part in the origin of heat1 but the atoms in the sun could no more affect the atoms on the earth than could a man on the earth push the moon about4 ,it is the very intimate connection between us electrons and the all-pervading aether which enables our fellows in the sun to communicate with those of us upon this planet4 ,where would man be without us8 ,illustration3 ,,protection ,,against ,a ,,discharge ,,of ,,electrons ,by permission of ,siemens ,schuckert ,werke ,berlin ,when a man is encased completely in an over-all made of flexible metallic gauze he is proof against shock due to a discharge of high-tension electricity4 ,the part played by electrons in the case of electric shock is explained in ,chapter ,,iv4 ,i cannot understand wherein man should find any mystery in connection with this very simple action of ours4 ,you will picture our distant fellow-electrons making very rapid revolutions around the atoms of matter to which they are attached as satellites4 ,just as the moon circles around the earth1 so do we circle around our atoms1 but at an enormously greater speed4 ,of course the whole length of our orbit is inconceivably small1 and the speed of our revolutions is inconceivably great4 ,it is our rapid motion through the aether which produces those waves known to man as radiant heat and light4 ,some one may ask how it is that we electrons can disturb the aether while the giant atoms cannot4 ,the obvious answer is that we are not matter1 but electricity2 we are not in the same category as atoms of matter4 ,to complete the picture which ,i was drawing1 you have only to think of the aether waves arriving upon this planet and disturbing sympathetic electrons1 causing them to revolve around their atoms in similar fashion to our distant fellows who are producing the aether waves4 ,it may be that some people get confused between this action and that of those electrons who are shot off bodily from the sun towards the earth4 ,believe me1 there is no connection between the two things4 ,the stream of electrons shot off from the sun is deflected towards the magnetic poles of the earth1 and as the electrons enter the upper layers of the atmosphere they produce that beautiful luminous effect which man describes as an ,aurora4 ,i have never taken part in one of these great displays1 for1 as far as my recollection goes1 ,i have never been in the sun1 although some fellow-electrons declare that at one time we were all in the same great glowing mass of which the sun1 and every member of the solar system1 formed a part4 ,however that may be1 ,i certainly have no experience of aurorae1 but ,i have assisted in producing the very same effect upon a small scale within a vacuum tube4 ,the air remaining in these so-called vacuum tubes is just as rarified as the air in the upper layers of the atmosphere1 and when we are shot across the tube we act in the same way as those electrons arriving upon this planet from the sun4 ,you will observe that as a surplus of electrons arrives upon the earth from the sun1 the earth is naturally a negatively electrified body1 but ,i need hardly say that the earth does not keep all the electrons which arrive upon it4 ,my scribe points out that ,i am wandering from the story which ,i set out to tell in this chapter1 so ,i shall try and please him4 ,the direct cause of light1 whether it be natural or artificial1 is the rapid motion of electrons around atoms of matter4 ,if they revolve at a comparatively slow speed they produce those aether waves which man calls radiant heat4 ,if these satellite electrons1 however1 desire to affect the eye of man1 they have to move around at a very much greater speed4 ,if we travel at too fast a speed1 then we cease to cause the sensation of light4 ,but1 believe me1 all the waves we make are of the same nature1 no matter what names man has given them4 ,the only difference we can make in the waves is the rate at which they follow one another4 ,of course we can also make them larger or smaller in height1 or1 in other words1 of greater or less amplitude1 but that does not affect their properties4 ,in the following chapter ,i shall tell you of some remarkable phenomena which our different aether waves produce in the brain of man4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,how ,,we ,,produce ,,colour ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,fourteen ,colour is merely a sensation in the brain4 ,what the electrons really produce are aether waves1 and these give rise to the sensations of colour4 ,however1 the electrons may claim to produce colour in the same sense as we savages produce pain in fellow-men by firing rifle-bullets at them4 ,the electron explains how some objects appear white1 while others are red1 and so forth4 ,it explains also how electrons produce artificial light4 ,the electron twits man upon his ridiculously wasteful processes of obtaining artificial light4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,how ,,we ,,produce ,,colour ,in the preceding chapter ,i have been telling you how we electrons produce waves in the aether ocean4 ,i pointed out that if we make the waves follow each other at too slow or too fast a rate they fail to affect man's eyes4 ,it may seem strange to you that only a very small range of our aether waves should affect man's visionary apparatus4 ,of course this limitation lies beyond our province2 we can produce endless variety of aether waves--it is man's organs which fail to appreciate the bulk of these4 ,however1 there is plenty of variety in the sensations which we can produce in man4 ,if we make the waves follow each other at a certain speed1 man says he has the sensation of red4 ,if we move faster1 he speaks of orange-colour1 and as we increase our speed he names his further sensations as yellow1 green1 blue1 and violet4 ,then if we combine all these waves--that is1 if we produce them all at one time--he says he has the sensation of white4 ,if we produce none of these waves1 he calls the result black4 ,while we electrons are very versatile1 our actions are dependent in a great measure upon circumstances4 ,for instance1 if an electron is acting as a satellite to one particular kind of atom1 its rate of revolution around that atom may be very different from that of an electron similarly attached to another kind of atom4 ,we electrons are all identical1 but the speed of revolution is determined by the kind of atom4 ,the reason is very simple2 electrons revolve around some atoms at a much greater distance than they would around other atoms4 ,those making only the smaller orbits not only get around their atoms in less time1 but they are also travelling at a greater pace4 ,it is this fact which enables the electrons to produce the various wave-lengths which stimulate the different colour sensations in the brain of man4 ,i think you will have no difficulty in seeing how it is that we come to produce such a variety of wave-lengths--in other words1 how we are able to make the waves follow each other more or less rapidly4 ,you will understand that we do not produce colours2 we merely make various waves in the aether1 and these waves excite the colour sensations in man4 ,i mention this simple fact1 because ,i hear many people speaking of our aether waves as coloured rays1 which1 of course1 is quite a ridiculous description4 ,suppose some of those waves which give rise to the red sensation happen to fall upon a lump of matter which contains only electrons capable of producing waves that affect the green sensation4 ,what will happen8 ,there will be no response1 and the object1 although viewed by red light1 will appear black4 ,if an object1 such as the white paper upon which my scribe is recording my story1 contains a variety of atoms with electrons capable of revolving at all the different rates which produce colour sensations1 then when white light falls upon the object it appears white 7all the colour sensations combined74 ,if1 on the other hand1 a red light only falls upon it1 then only the electrons capable of responding to that rate of wave will be set in motion1 and the object will appear red1 and so on with the other rates of aether waves4 ,so far ,i have been telling you what happens when different waves of light fall upon us4 ,now ,i shall endeavour to explain how man has caused us to produce artificial light4 ,at present all man's methods in this direction are dependent upon making some substance so hot that it becomes incandescent4 ,even his most modern methods seem to us to be ridiculously wasteful and most roundabout4 ,i shall speak only of the electric glow lamp1 as ,i have had some experience in connection with this4 ,on one occasion ,i had been taking part in a regular forward march from copper atom to copper atom in a conducting wire4 ,i had no idea of the purpose of our march till ,i suddenly found myself handed over to some carbon atoms1 who were in a very lively state of vibration4 ,we had much more difficulty in making our way through this substance1 and it was the passive resistance offered to the advance of the electrons who had preceded me that had driven the carbon atoms into this state of great excitement4 ,in our march through the copper conductor we had been offered very little resistance1 so that we had left the copper atoms in peace--at least man could not detect easily any excitement 7heat74 ,but so long as our forced march was maintained among the carbon atoms1 so long did the high temperature exist4 ,you will understand ,i and the other marching electrons did not produce the waves of light sent out by the glow lamp4 ,what we did was to set the atoms of carbon into a rapid vibratory state1 and they in turn caused their satellite electrons to hasten their pace4 ,some electrons produced one rate of waves1 and some another rate1 but by the time the carbon was incandescent there were electrons sending out all the variety of wave-lengths1 the combination of which produces the sensation of white4 ,i have accused man of adopting very wasteful processes1 so ,i had better explain the matter4 ,in the preceding description of what is occurring in an electric glow lamp1 ,i have spoken only of those aether waves which constitute light4 ,but there are myriads of electrons in the carbon of the glow lamp that never attain the requisite speed to produce those waves2 they revolve around their atoms at too slow a rate4 ,they certainly disturb the aether1 but the crests of the waves are so far apart that they do not affect the eyes of man4 ,the business of these waves is to set up heat in the bodies upon which they fall4 ,you may be surprised to know that in this contrivance of man1 called an electric glow lamp1 and1 indeed1 in all his other artificial light-producers1 he causes far more electrons to produce radiant heat than the desired light waves4 ,a most wasteful process6 ,man has a long way to travel yet before he succeeds in producing artificial light by a reasonable process4 ,indeed ,i doubt if any of you can realise1 as we do1 how exceedingly stupid the existing methods are4 ,think for a moment of the glow-worm1 in which we electrons produce light without setting up any wasteful heat waves4 ,there is a strong contrast between this peaceful plan and that of the excited carbon atoms4 ,when will man succeed in discovering this secret of ours8 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,we ,,send ,,messages ,,from ,,the ,,stars ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,fifteen ,it is remarkable that man has been able to discover what the distant stars are made of4 ,our knowledge concerning the chemistry of the stars has been obtained by means of the spectroscope1 in which a beam of light from the star is passed through a glass prism4 ,the result is the well-known image of the coloured spectrum1 in which certain well-defined lines appear1 according to the distant elements originating the aether waves4 ,the electron explains the whole subject from its own point of view4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,we ,,send ,,messages ,,from ,,the ,,stars ,it is only within recent times that man has observed that we send messages from the distant stars to this planet4 ,but there is nothing new to us in this proceeding2 we have been busy sending these messages ever since the solar system was formed4 ,through all those ages we have kept on sending these messages1 knowing that in time man must come to take notice of them4 ,if the subject should happen to be new to you1 you will be anxious to know to what kind of messages ,i refer4 ,needless to say1 they are wireless messages--waves in the great aether ocean4 ,the waves1 to which ,i refer specially1 fall within that small range of which ,i told you something in the preceding chapter4 ,in other words1 they are those waves to which man has given the name light4 ,but what special information do these waves1 coming from the stars1 convey to man8 ,they tell him of what materials these distant stars are made4 ,needless to say1 it is we electrons who produce those informative waves4 ,you are familiar with our method of producing waves4 ,you know that we whirl around the atoms of matter at prodigious speeds1 and that according to the number of revolutions we make per second1 we produce waves of corresponding frequencies4 ,in an earlier chapter ,i have hinted that the speed of the revolving electron is determined by the kind of atom to which it acts as a satellite4 ,for instance1 when electrons revolve around iron atoms they produce certain wave-lengths1 while those moving around hydrogen atoms produce an entirely different series of waves4 ,but how is man to recognise these8 ,it is quite evident that man may gaze at a distant star and be little the wiser concerning the different lengths of the waves which impinge upon his eyes4 ,he may observe that the sensation is inclined to red1 from which he may infer that the waves are long ones--that they are farther apart than some of the waves produced by a white-hot body4 ,but had man been content to try and decipher our wireless messages in this rough-and-ready manner1 he would never have gained the interesting information which we have now placed in his hands4 ,how1 then1 did we enable man to read our messages8 ,our plan may seem to be somewhat mysterious1 but ,i assure you that it is really very simple4 ,when these aether waves of light fall upon a triangular prism of glass1 the waves are bent out of their normally straight path4 ,but the point that may seem strange to you1 is that those waves which produce the sensation of red are not bent so much as the others4 ,the more rapidly the waves follow one another1 the greater is the bending of such a ray from its original direction4 ,in this way the various wave-lengths are all spread out1 so that they form an image like a coloured ribbon1 red at one end1 being followed by orange1 yellow1 green1 blue1 and violet4 ,every man must be familiar with this coloured spectrum4 ,when some of my fellows are enclosed in drops of water in the air they produce a great rainbow spectrum across the heavens4 ,but ,i must tell you how we electrons succeed in bending these rays of light4 ,i have told you already how we either absorb or reflect the aether waves which happen to fall upon us4 ,in most substances it is only those electrons very near the surface that are disturbed4 ,they succeed in stopping the waves4 ,they may do this in either of two different ways4 ,if the satellite electrons are attracted strongly by their atoms1 the electrons will spin around the atoms keeping time to the movements of the incoming waves1 and in this way the electrons take up the energy of the waves4 ,in doing this1 the electrons send out fresh waves in the aether4 ,this is the real explanation of what man calls reflection of light4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,spectroscope ,,and ,,the ,,electrons' ,,wireless ,,messages ,the spectroscope is seen in the extreme left of ,no4 #a photograph4 ,the instrument is explained at page #bjg4 ,the operator is passing an electric current through a glass tube containing a rarefied gas1 causing the gas to become luminous4 ,when he examines its light through the spectroscope he sees bright lines as shown in photograph ,no4 #b1 and from the position of these lines he can tell what substance is producing the light4 ,no4 #b is the spectrum of mercury vapour4 ,no4 #c is part of the spectrum of the sun4 ,note the dark lines1 as explained in the text4 ,in the second case1 the electrons are not so firmly attached to their atoms1 so that the incoming waves dislodge them1 and they are knocked about from atom to atom1 and in this way the energy of the waves is frittered away4 ,man speaks of the light having been absorbed by the substance upon which it fell4 ,in both cases the only electrons which take part in these actions are those electrons who can move in sympathy with the incoming waves4 ,it will be clear to you that only those of us who are near the surface of a substance know anything about these incoming waves4 ,the electrons attached to atoms in the interior of the substance are left in peace1 owing to the defensive actions of our fellows on the outside4 ,but this is not the case with all substances4 ,there are some congregations of atoms through which the aether waves can make their way4 ,man calls such materials transparent2 for example1 glass and water are transparent substances4 ,the fact of the matter is that in such substances none of us are able to respond to the incoming waves1 and so we cannot stop them4 ,i should say almost none of us1 for there are always a few electrons present who happen to be in sympathy with the incoming waves4 ,that is why no substance is perfectly transparent4 ,the point concerning which ,i wish to speak in particular is this4 ,although we allow the aether waves to pass through such substances1 we do offer some slight resistance to the passage of the waves2 the faster the to-and-fro motion of the waves1 the more resistance do we offer4 ,that is why the waves of highest frequency are bent farthest from the straight line when passed through a glass prism4 ,we actually force the aether waves to travel slower through a piece of glass than through the air4 ,now there should be no mystery concerning our action in a triangular piece of glass4 ,whatever combination of aether waves falls upon it1 the different trains of waves are sorted out according to their frequencies4 ,suppose1 for instance1 that aether waves emitted from some incandescent sodium are passed through a glass prism4 ,the bulk of the electrons attached to the sodium atoms are capable of revolving at speeds which produce waves causing the sensation of yellow4 ,hence there will appear a very distinct line of yellow light in the spectrum4 ,but why should the light be in the form of a line8 ,simply because our aether waves are passed through a narrow slit in a shutter4 ,but ,i need not trouble you with further details of our actions1 which1 although very simple to us1 may seem somewhat strange to you4 ,you will understand1 however1 that we form bright lines in different parts of the spectrum1 according to the kinds of atoms to which we are attached4 ,it was this fact which attracted man's attention to our wireless messages4 ,he soon discovered the meaning of these lines1 for he commenced to take exact notes of the different positions in which we placed these lines4 ,he saw that when we were attached to hydrogen atoms we always produced three prominent lines2 a very distinct line in the red section1 another in the blue part1 and a third one somewhat fainter and farther along in the blue4 ,on the other hand1 when attached to sodium atoms1 we produced two very distinct lines in the yellow4 ,when attached to iron atoms we produced a great variety of lines in the spectrum4 ,of course these substances have to be incandescent to enable us to produce the aether waves4 ,now it will be clear to you how we send wireless messages from the distant stars4 ,these stars are great masses of flaming gases1 so that the satellite electrons are kept busy dancing attendance to excited atoms4 ,the electrons are constantly sending out aether waves1 which reach this planet4 ,we sort out these waves when man passes them through a glass prism1 mounted in a telescope arrangement which he calls a spectroscope4 ,he then examines the positions of the lines we produce in the resulting spectrum1 and from these he knows what kinds of atoms are present in the distant star4 ,it is we who have informed man that there are forty different materials in the sun1 the most common of which are hydrogen1 sodium1 iron1 copper1 nickel1 and zinc4 ,of course these all exist in a gaseous form4 ,there is one point about which ,i need hardly trouble you1 although it is worth mentioning in passing4 ,while we produce bright lines in the spectrum of any incandescent substance on this planet1 our messages from the stars appear as dark lines4 ,the reason for this is that there are cooler masses of the gases surrounding the incandescent masses forming the stars1 and these cooler gases completely absorb the waves we produce4 ,so completely are these waves absorbed that blank spaces are left in the spectrum1 and these are the dark lines to which ,i refer4 ,as they are in the same positions that the bright lines would have occupied had the waves reached the earth1 it makes no difference to the reading of our messages4 ,curiously enough1 some of our actions in forming lines in the spectrum led to our actual discovery by man2 but ,i shall tell you of this in the following chapter4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,how ,,man ,,proved ,,our ,,existence ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,sixteen ,several men of note declared that little particles revolved around the atoms of matter1 and that it was the motion of these particles which produced the well-known aether waves of light4 ,this idea was suggested by the result of certain mathematical calculations4 ,it was some time before real experimental proof was obtained4 ,the electron tells its own tale of this great discovery4 ,when the electron speaks of a spectrum line being shifted up or down the scale1 it means towards the violet or the red end respectively4 ,we may picture the spectrum as analogous to the keyboard of a piano4 ,in the second part of this chapter1 the electron explains how it has enabled man to discover that certain stars are approaching the earth1 while others are receding from it4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,how ,,man ,,proved ,,our ,,existence ,we electrons had waited long ages for man to acknowledge our services1 but we did not despise the acknowledgment which a few men accorded us upon the basis of their mathematical calculations4 ,it was natural1 however1 that we should want something more definite than this4 ,you can imagine our joy when real experimental proof of our existence was established4 ,perhaps you think that we should have been satisfied with this4 ,but even this did not bring acknowledgment from many outside scientific circles1 and not even from all within those circles4 ,as our services to man are universal1 we feel that all men should become acquainted with our doings4 ,indeed that was the chief argument used by my fellow-electrons1 who urged me to write this autobiography4 ,the story of our actual discovery by man is an interesting one4 ,it all came about in a very simple manner1 but in quite a different way from what most electrons expected4 ,man reasoned within himself that if we electrons really did revolve around atoms and thus produce waves in the aether1 as had been suggested1 he ought to be able to affect our movements by disturbing the aether in which we were revolving4 ,of course man cannot disturb the aether directly2 he must employ some of us to do this for him4 ,he caused us to produce a very powerful magnetic field1 which1 as you know1 is a disturbance of the aether4 ,man did not bother thinking about us in this connection2 he simply sent an electric current around an electro-magnet1 but ,i have explained to you the very active part we play in electric and magnetic actions4 ,from my story in the preceding chapter1 you are aware that man had observed the meaning of the bright lines in the spectrum of any incandescent body4 ,when he examined the aether waves we send out from sodium atoms1 he found two very distinct lines in the yellow4 ,because of the brightness of these lines1 man selected a sodium flame to experiment with in the present case4 ,you will picture a great host of my fellow-electrons revolving around the atoms in a sodium flame4 ,the flame was placed between the poles of a very powerful electro-magnet1 and a beam of aether waves 7light7 produced by us was directed into the spectroscope4 ,the experimenter focussed all his attention upon one of the bright yellow lines4 ,he noted very carefully the exact position in which we placed it4 ,he then produced the magnetic field around the flame1 in which my fellow-electrons were revolving at a steady pace1 and1 behold1 the line which he was watching split up into two lines1 one taking up a position a little higher up the spectrum scale1 and the other going a little lower down towards the red end4 ,what could this mean8 ,man had no difficulty in knowing the cause of this alteration2 indeed1 it was exactly what he had hoped would take place4 ,of the two new lines1 one represented waves a little shorter1 while the other line indicated waves a little longer or farther apart1 than the original waves forming the single line4 ,this could only come about by some of the electrons having had their rate of revolution increased1 while that of others had been reduced4 ,these alterations were due to the aether disturbance 7the magnetic field74 ,those electrons whose orbits happened to lie in one position had their rate of revolution increased1 while those whose orbits lay in another position had their speed reduced4 ,man was convinced at last that we particles were real existing things4 ,whenever man withdrew the aether disturbance1 the electrons fell back into their natural rate of revolution1 and the original single line appeared in the spectrum4 ,i took no part in the original experiment which gave absolute proof of our existence1 but since then ,i have been present in a laboratory when the same experiment has been repeated4 ,this is not the only case in which we alter the positions of definite lines in the spectrum4 ,indeed1 we have given man some interesting information about the motions of distant stars--information which he could not have obtained in any other way4 ,we have sent wireless messages from distant stars1 indicating that they were approaching the earth1 while electrons aboard other stars have signalled that they are receding from the earth4 ,all this may seem mysterious to you1 and yet our actions in the matter are very simple4 ,indeed1 we do nothing but what ,i have told you of in the preceding chapters4 ,we send out definite wave-lengths in the manner described already4 ,but if we are on board a star which is travelling towards the earth1 our waves will naturally follow a little closer at each other's heels4 ,on the other hand1 if the star is receding from the earth1 the waves must be a little farther apart than they would be if the star were at rest4 ,you will understand that the electrons are revolving at the same speeds in both cases1 but the forward movement of the star crowds the waves together1 while a receding star stretches them out a little farther apart4 ,the result at the receiving end is that the crowded waves are just as though they had come from electrons revolving at a greater speed than is actually the case4 ,hence the line appears farther along the spectrum1 up the scale of frequencies1 than would have been the case had the star not been moving forward in the line of sight4 ,thus if the hydrogen lines1 of which ,i have spoken elsewhere1 should appear higher up the spectrum than usual1 then man knows that the star from which these waves are coming is approaching the earth4 ,it will be evident that when known lines in the spectrum are shifted down the scale 7towards the red end of the spectrum71 then the rate of the waves has been decreased1 and man knows that the star carrying these stimulating electrons is receding from him4 ,you will observe that we electrons perform no new duty in connection with this matter2 it is entirely the motion of the body carrying us that alters the positions of the lines4 ,but ,i must hasten on to tell you of some personal experiences4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,my ,x-,,ray ,,experiences ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,seventeen ,the present generation were all very much interested in the discovery of ,x-rays4 ,with the aid of a battery and an induction coil1 man causes an energetic electrical discharge to pass through a vacuum tube4 ,when the flying electrons strike upon a little metal target placed in their path1 they produce the well-known ,roentgen rays4 ,we have all become familiar with the great penetrating powers of these rays4 ,the electron may be left to tell its own story4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,my ,x-,,ray ,,experiences ,it was no surprise to us that we could produce what man calls ,x-rays1 but we were very much surprised at the use to which man put these splashes which we made in the aether4 ,a limited number of us had been producing ,x-rays on our own account for many ages1 but ,i shall tell you of that in a later chapter1 when you will hear how we made the world talk4 ,i must tell you of my own experiences in connection with these ,x-rays1 which ,i hear some men describe also as ,roentgen rays4 ,i found myself once more within a large vacuum tube1 and as soon as ,i felt a crowd of my fellows pushing me forward1 ,i was quite prepared to be shot across the tube1 as on previous occasions4 ,personally1 ,i was not prepared for what was to come4 ,just as we reached the centre of the tube we collided with a metal plate or target4 ,it was no joke to be pulled up so suddenly when travelling at a terrific speed4 ,i noticed at the time that our very sudden stoppage had a peculiar effect upon the aether4 ,of course we never bothered about a name for this disturbance2 it is man who requires to have names for everything4 ,he was quite right to call this aether disturbance ,x-rays1 for even now he does not know the real nature of these4 ,i have heard him describe them as thin pulses in the aether1 but there is something more4 ,i may as well confess that although we observed this aether disturbance arising from our sudden stoppage1 we paid little attention to it1 until it became apparent that man was continuing to produce these rays for some special purpose4 ,he had discovered that we could shoot these rays right through many solid substances which were not transparent to light4 ,but ,i have not told you how man came to know that we could produce these penetrating rays4 ,on one occasion we were sending out these rays1 which1 by the way1 do not cause any sensation in man's visionary apparatus4 ,the room was in darkness4 ,some of the invisible rays fell upon a collection of small chemical crystals which were fixed on the surface of a screen4 ,our fellow-electrons1 who were attached to the atoms of the crystals1 were bestirred into action4 ,they could not reflect the ,x-rays1 but they set up regular trains of waves in the aether1 some of which came within the range that affects man's vision4 ,man knew that this chemical screen could not produce light on its own account1 and it became apparent that the vacuum tube must be sending some aether waves towards the chemical screen4 ,as the electrons on the screen produced an aether disturbance different from that which fell upon it1 man called this a fluorescent screen4 ,at first we took merely a passing interest in the experiments which man made with these ,x-rays of ours1 for it seemed to us as though man thought them only good enough for amusing his friends4 ,indeed1 we paid little heed to what he was doing1 until we observed that the rays were being used by surgeons4 ,we were interested at once1 for here we could serve man4 ,my first experience in this connection was quite interesting4 ,a young girl had got a needle into her hand while she was playing about1 and the surgeons were at a loss to know where the needle had lodged4 ,we lost no time in producing ,x-rays which could penetrate the flesh of the hand1 and reach the fluorescent screen on the other side4 ,the bones of the hand blocked the way of our rays1 but not so completely as the needle did4 ,hence we produced upon the screen a faint shadow of the flesh of the hand1 a much deeper image of the bones1 and a black shadow of the needle4 ,this enabled the surgeon to see where the needle was hiding4 ,sometimes we were called upon to produce rays for detecting bullets in the flesh1 or for showing the nature of a fractured bone4 ,we were never surprised to find that our call was to detect a coin in the throat of a child1 but in this connection a big surprise awaited some of us4 ,i was not one of the party1 but ,i have the information from some fellow-electrons4 ,illustration3 ,,how ,,electrons ,,produce ,x-,,ray ,,images ,the upper photograph shows the ,x-ray apparatus in use4 ,the operator is examining the bones of the lady's hand1 which she places between the ,x-ray tube and the fluorescent screen4 ,the rays pass through the flesh1 but are obstructed by the bones1 the rings1 and the bangle1 so that a shadowgraph or image is formed upon the screen1 which becomes luminous where the rays succeed in reaching it4 ,the actual examination is made in a dark room4 ,owing to the way ,x-ray photos are taken 7by contact7 the image is reversed in a photograph1 so that a left looks like a right hand4 ,a party of electrons were present within an ,x-ray tube at a large hospital1 when they were called upon to produce rays for examining the throat of a little girl4 ,they had become so used to this call that they did not doubt there would be a coin in the child's throat4 ,however1 they lost no time in producing the penetrating rays1 and you can imagine their surprise when they produced the image of a toy bicycle upon the screen4 ,it seemed ridiculous that such a toy could have entered a child's throat4 ,when we had shown the surgeons exactly where the toy was1 they set to work to remove it4 ,the electrons heard later that the operation was successful in every way4 ,every one was interested1 and we were proud4 ,i do not wish to appear boastful1 but ,i wonder how many operations owe their success to these rays which we produce for man4 ,it was natural that man should try if these searching rays could affect the chemicals upon a photographic plate1 and we soon proved that they could4 ,it made no difference to us whether man kept the plate sealed up in its light-proof envelope1 or whether he placed the plate within a wooden box4 ,these protecting covers offered no barrier to our rays4 ,we produced shadowgraphs of any objects placed between our tube and the photographic plate4 ,two of my early experiences may be of interest to you4 ,the first of these seemed to me a rather tame affair4 ,our ,x-ray tube appeared to be arranged for the amusement of fashionable folk4 ,one grand lady placed her hand behind the fluorescent screen1 whereupon we produced an image of the bones of her hand and very dark images of all the many rings upon her fingers4 ,several of the rings had enormous diamonds1 but it was after she had gone away that ,i overheard two gentlemen speaking about the rings4 ,one asked the other if he had observed the beautiful diamonds1 whereupon the other roared with laughter4 ,it seems that we proved them to be imitation diamonds1 for our rays could not penetrate them1 whereas they have no difficulty in passing through real diamonds4 ,we therefore produced black shadows of the imitation diamonds4 ,little did the grand lady know how we had exposed her sham jewels4 ,my second experience was a very curious one4 ,i learned that our tube was being carried to some distance4 ,after a while we were placed beside a peculiar-looking object1 which the men referred to as the mummy4 ,one of the men suggested that they should photograph its feet1 but before doing so they darkened the room and set us to work upon the fluorescent screen4 ,the owner of the mummy got rather nervous as to what we might disclose1 and as the force urging us into action was somewhat erratic at first1 we produced only a very indistinct image4 ,we were greatly amused at the nervous excitement of the owner2 he seemed to think our verdict was that there were no bones4 ,however1 the man with the apparatus soon got things into better condition1 and this enabled us to produce ,x-rays satisfactorily4 ,the result was that they secured some excellent photographs of the hidden bones of the mummy4 ,before telling you how we made the world talk1 ,i should like to give you a clear idea of our relationship to the atoms of matter4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,our ,,relationship ,,to ,,the ,,atoms ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,eighteen ,we have no doubt that an atom of matter is a miniature solar system of revolving electrons4 ,these electrons1 being negative particles of electricity1 would repel each other just as any two similarly electrified bodies do4 ,there must therefore be some equivalent of positive electricity1 but whether this exists in the form of a sphere or in separate particles we have no definite knowledge4 ,one atom differs from another in the number of electrons which go to make up the atom4 ,the electron explains how the atoms of matter are united to one another1 how different compound substances are formed1 and how chemical changes take place4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,our ,,relationship ,,to ,,the ,,atoms ,i am sorry that this part of my story must remain incomplete for the present4 ,i am not free to tell you all ,i know2 you must try and get behind the scenes on your own account4 ,one thing ,i am at liberty to tell you is that my fellow-electrons who are locked up within the atoms are not without hope that they may gain their freedom once more at some future time4 ,i know this first-hand1 for ,i have met some fellow-electrons who have escaped from within an atom1 but ,i shall delay telling you about these fellows till the succeeding chapter4 ,my object in mentioning this fact now is to give you confidence in what ,i am about to say regarding the nature of the atom4 ,on one occasion ,i overheard a conversation between two men who were discussing the construction of matter4 ,one remarked that the atoms were the bricks of the universe1 whereupon the other asked how the little bricks were cemented together4 ,i wish that man could have seen a lump of matter as we see it4 ,he would have been surprised to learn that the atoms never really touch each other4 ,they are always surging to and fro1 or vibrating1 and it is this motion which constitutes the temperature of the body which they compose4 ,it must be clear1 however1 that in a solid body one atom attracts another atom across the intervening atomic spaces4 ,this is another duty devolving upon us2 what we do1 really1 is to upset the electric balance between the different atoms1 and thus produce electrical attraction4 ,first of all1 perhaps1 ,i should explain that the different kinds of atoms are simply congregations of different numbers of electrons4 ,of course there is the other part1 of which ,i am forbidden to speak--the part which man vaguely describes as positive electricity4 ,however1 you may take it from me that while it is true that the main difference between an atom of gold and an atom of iron1 or of oxygen1 is in the number of electrons it contains1 there is a very important difference in the arrangement of the electrons4 ,you know that they form rings outside one another1 all of which revolve at enormous speeds4 ,the number of electrons in the different rings varies according to the kind of atom4 ,it is quite correct for man to speak of the atoms containing certain definite numbers of electrons1 but ,i should like you to understand clearly that the exact number of electrons is not permanently fixed2 one or more electrons can slip off one atom and become attached to a neighbouring atom which happens to be capable of accepting it or them4 ,it is the interchange of these few detachable electrons that causes one atom to attract another4 ,in other words1 it is the differently charged atoms which attract each other1 just as man crowds a surplus of electrons on to one object and finds it attracted bodily towards another object having a deficiency of electrons4 ,it is this electrical attraction between the atoms which enables us to build up the particles1 or molecules1 of matter in such a variety of forms4 ,first of all1 we play the most important part within the atoms4 ,we have formed only a limited number of such atoms4 ,i am not free to tell you exactly how many1 for man has discovered only about eighty of these different congregations of electrons1 each kind of which he calls an element4 ,the way in which we have coupled these different elementary atoms together must appear remarkable to all thinking men2 there seems to be no end to the possible variety of combinations4 ,in one case we unite an atom of chlorine to an atom of sodium and thereby produce a molecule of common salt4 ,in another case we unite an atom of oxygen to two atoms of hydrogen1 and the resulting combination is an invisible molecule of ordinary water4 ,it has always seemed to me very strange how some men have difficulty in regard to these combinations4 ,i have heard a man ask how two different gases1 hydrogen and oxygen1 when united1 should form a liquid1 and not a gas4 ,i wish you could see things as we see them4 ,the atoms are neither gaseous1 liquid1 nor solid2 they are little worlds of revolving electrons4 ,i have spoken of the attraction between atoms1 and again between molecules1 in forming a solid body4 ,it will be clear that there is less of this cohesive force in the case of a liquid1 whereas it is absent entirely in the case of a gas4 ,in this case the molecules have become so far separated from one another that they cease to attract each other1 and if left free they will soon part company1 and spread themselves broadcast over the face of the earth4 ,whether a substance passes into a solid1 a liquid1 or a gaseous state1 the atoms remain constant1 but their vibratory motion is altered very considerably4 ,however1 ,i was about to tell you that we electrons can make some very interesting combinations of atoms4 ,those ,i have mentioned so far are of a very simple nature1 but we have built up individual molecules containing hundreds of atoms4 ,we link about a hundred atoms together and produce a molecule of what man calls alum1 and we require to unite about a thousand atoms together to make one molecule of albumen 7the white of an egg74 ,when man speaks of a chemical change having taken place in a substance1 it is simply the electrons who have made a friendly interchange of detachable electrons1 thereby causing a different assemblage of the same atoms4 ,during these changes we never alter the nature of the atom4 ,that little world of revolving electrons known as an atom of gold1 remains always an atom of gold4 ,but you must not run away with the idea that the atoms will never change4 ,indeed1 man has discovered that the atoms are not eternal1 as ,i shall explain in the following chapter4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,how ,,we ,,made ,,the ,,world ,,talk ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,nineteen ,the discovery of radium is within the memory of all4 ,many exaggerated statements went abroad at the outset1 but the real facts are full of interest1 and they have shed much new light on many subjects4 ,three different kinds of radiation were found to be emitted by radium4 ,at first man could not tell what these were1 so he named them after the first three letters of the ,greek alphabet--,alpha1 ,beta1 and ,gamma1 rays4 ,the electron tells the interesting story of these rays1 and relates the experiences of some fellow-electrons who escaped from within a radium atom4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,how ,,we ,,made ,,the ,,world ,,talk ,we electrons were amused at the stir which we unconsciously caused throughout the civilised world4 ,we had done nothing different from what we had been doing for ages1 but a few men had been taking note of what we were about1 and when the phenomena to which ,i refer became known to the world1 many wild rumours were circulated4 ,one of these rumours was to the effect that steam-engines and their expensive furnaces were to disappear very quickly4 ,if the two last words had been omitted--,i should not say that the prophecy is untrue1 but man has a long way to travel yet before reaching that goal4 ,my fellows within the atoms have sufficient energy to supply all mankind with power if he could but unlock even a small fraction of it4 ,another statement was that this newly discovered substance1 radium1 could cure some diseases which man had believed to be incurable4 ,all ,i shall say about this is that the statement was an exaggerated one4 ,then it was said that radium disproved much of man's scientific knowledge1 but instead of that being so1 we electrons have greatly extended man's knowledge by our radio-active actions4 ,if any man believed the atoms of matter to be eternal1 we certainly disproved that4 ,here1 in radium1 man could see atoms going to pieces4 ,i have questioned a fellow-electron who escaped from a radium atom as to what upset their equilibrium1 but ,i find that he does not know1 or he pretends not to know4 ,all he has told me is that he was flung off suddenly from within the atom with great energy1 for he had been revolving at a tremendous speed4 ,in his sudden flight he passed some newly formed helium atoms1 which contained many of those electrons who had been his co-partners in the former radium atom4 ,being an electron1 he was travelling at a far greater speed than these flying atoms of matter1 but he assures me that these helium atoms were going faster than atoms can travel under any other circumstances4 ,another thing that this escaped electron told me was that when he and his fellow-electrons made a sudden start on leaving the atom of radium they caused a proper splash in the surrounding aether1 just such as we electrons produce when we are suddenly stopped in an ,x-ray tube4 ,man observed these rays proceeding from radium1 but1 not knowing the cause of them1 he called them gamma rays4 ,we can1 of course1 produce radiographs when these rays fall upon photographic plates4 ,indeed1 some of my fellow-electrons1 when escaping from radium1 have produced rays sufficient to penetrate a six-inch boulder and affect a photographic plate lying beneath the boulder4 ,in time man recognised these rays as ,x-rays4 ,man did not find only these rays--he discovered that electrons were escaping1 but before he had recognised what we were1 he had named us beta rays4 ,these fast-flying electrons have had experiences which never fall to electrons except when escaping from an atom4 ,their velocity is so great that they can be shot right through a sheet of aluminium foil4 ,if these escaped electrons are allowed to settle on any object1 they will necessarily cause an overcrowding1 or1 in other words1 the object will become negatively electrified4 ,the one thing that puzzled man most was to find out what the helium atoms were4 ,he had named them alpha rays1 but as he found he could not get them to penetrate even a thin sheet of paper1 he was confident that they must be atoms of matter4 ,it was only when he had gathered sufficient to examine the spectrum that he found these to be helium atoms4 ,i think what really made the world talk was the fact that electrons were escaping from what had been supposed to be an eternal habitation4 ,in other words1 this material radium was actually going to pieces4 ,that is to say1 gradually1 as far as man is concerned1 for1 looking at it from our point of view1 the word gradual seems out of place entirely4 ,the breaking up of an atom is really of the nature of an explosion4 ,it is a continual bombardment that is proceeding in radium4 ,why man is apt to think of it as a gradual effect is that there is such an enormous number of atoms in a tiny speck of radium1 that even the incessant series of explosions will take a very long time to break down the whole of the small particle4 ,electrons differ in their opinions as to whether man will succeed in drawing upon this internal energy of the atom4 ,my own difficulty is that1 having been a roaming electron at all times1 ,i have no idea regarding the cause of the atomic explosions4 ,i have remarked already that the electrons locked up within the atoms possess more energy than man could ever use4 ,if all these electrons were deprived of their energy1 the atoms of matter would cease to exist1 and man1 where would he be8 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,conclusion ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,chapter ,,twenty ,not many of us have realised the true importance of electrons in the ,creator's plans4 ,in the following short chapter the electron is made to sum up a few of the wonders which it has related1 in order to focus our attention upon the grand place which the electrons occupy in the universe4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,conclusion ,from what ,i have told you of myself and my fellow-electrons1 it must be apparent that we are of tremendous importance to man4 ,i have told you something of the part we played in building up this world--how we not only form the atoms of matter1 but also hold these bricks of the universe together4 ,i have given you a rough sketch of the composition of these bricks4 ,you must have realised also that without us the whole universe would be in darkness4 ,there would be no light1 no heat1 and consequently no life4 ,indeed1 there could be no material existence without us4 ,where would man be if we failed to perform our mission8 ,he could not exist if we even neglected a few of our duties4 ,not only do we form the atoms of which his body is composed1 also holding these together1 but we produce all those chemical changes within his body which are absolutely necessary to maintain life4 ,his very thoughts are dependent upon our activities4 ,i have told you how we send man's messages across the earth1 and how we transmit power from place to place4 ,also how we have enabled man to gain knowledge of the distant stars1 and to examine the bones of his living body4 ,if man could cross-examine me or any of my fellows1 ,i expect the first question would be--,what are you electrons made of8 ,but man must find this out for himself4 ,the ,creator has placed man in a world full of activity1 and it is of intense interest to man to discover the meaning of all that lies around him4 ,that is why ,i have been bound over by my fellows to tell you only so much of our history as man has discovered4 ,but ,i am disclosing no secret when ,i admit that our very existence as electrons is dependent upon the aether4 ,if ,i can find another scribe to write a revised biography for me a few hundred years hence1 ,i shall have a much more interesting tale to tell1 for many of our doings1 of which man knows nothing at present1 will be secrets no longer by that time4 ,,appendix ,,the ,,scribe',s ,,note ,,on ,,appendix ,as explained by the author in ,chapter ,i41 this appendix has been added for the sake of those readers who may wish further details than have been given in the electron's story4 ,it is only necessary to give a brief notice of the more important particulars1 as the author has written recently upon this subject in a popular form4#a ,footnote #a3 ,scientific ,ideas of ,to-day4 ,by ,chas4 ,r4 ,gibson1 ,f4,r4,s4,e4 7,london3 ,seeley ,co41 ,ltd4 ,five shillings net47 ,,appendix ,it was known two thousand years ago that when a piece of amber was rubbed with a woollen cloth1 the amber would attract light objects towards it4 ,amber was considered to be unique in this respect4 ,about the year #afjj1 one of ,queen ,elizabeth's physicians1 ,dr4 ,william ,gilbert1 inquired into this attractive property of amber4 ,he found that many other substances possessed the same property4 ,indeed it is common to all substances in some degree4 ,we say the amber or other object is electrified4 ,it was observed by the early experimenters that there were two kinds of electrification4 ,to one of these they gave the name positive electricity1 and to the other negative electricity4 ,every electrified object will attract an object which is not electrified1 and two objects which are oppositely electrified will attract one another also4 ,but two objects which are similarly electrified will repel each other4 ,man got tired of rubbing objects by hand1 so he fitted up simple machines in which glass cylinders or plates were rubbed against leather cushions4 ,the electricity was then collected by little metal points supported on an insulated metal sphere4 ,the experiment of attempting to store electricity in a glass vessel filled with water was made at the ,university of ,leyden 7,netherlands74 ,the water was replaced later by a coating of tin-foil on the inner surface1 while a similar metallic coating on the outside took the place of the experimenter's hand4 ,these jars are called ,leyden jars1 after the place in which the discovery was made4 ,about #agij1 ,professor ,galvani1 of ,italy1 observed that the legs of a freshly killed frog twitched at each discharge of an electrical machine4 ,later he found that the same twitching occurred when he connected certain parts with a piece of copper and zinc4 ,he believed this to be due to animal electricity secreted within the frog4 ,professor ,volta1 also of ,italy1 proved that ,galvani's idea was wrong1 and that the electricity resided in the metals rather than in the frog4 ,he showed that when two pieces of dissimilar metal were put in contact with one another1 there was a slight transference of electricity between them4 ,he constructed a pile of copper and zinc discs1 with a moist cloth between each pair or couple1 and by connecting wires from the top copper disc to the lowest zinc disc he was able to show that an appreciable current of electricity was produced4 ,later he placed a piece of copper and a piece of zinc in a vessel containing acidulated water1 whereupon he found that a steady current of electricity was obtained4 ,this was the invention of electric batteries4 ,the phenomena of magnetism were known to the ancients1 but it was not until the nineteenth century that we found any real connection between electricity and magnetism4 ,in #ahai1 a ,danish philosopher1 ,hans ,christian ,oersted1 discovered that an electric current passing in a wire affected a magnet in its neighbourhood4 ,if the magnet was supported on a pivot1 after the manner of a compass needle1 it would turn round and take up a position at right angles to the wire carrying the electric current4 ,the molecular theory of magnetism presumes that every molecule of iron is a tiny magnet1 having a north and south pole4 ,in a piece of unmagnetised iron1 these tiny magnets are all lying so that they neutralise one another4 ,when they are turned round so that their north poles are all lying in one direction1 then the iron is said to be magnetised4 ,the electron theory of magnetism does not do away with the older molecular theory just referred to4 ,the electron theory goes a step farther1 and tells us that these molecules are magnets because of a steady motion of electrons around the atoms of iron4 ,it was discovered in #ahbe that when an electric current was sent through an insulated wire wound around a piece of soft iron1 the iron became a magnet2 when the current was stopped the magnetism disappeared4 ,such magnets are called electro-magnets4 ,if a piece of hard steel is treated in the same way it becomes a permanent magnet4 ,it was this intimate connection between electricity and magnetism1 or1 in other words1 the invention of these electro-magnets1 which brought us electric bells1 telegraphs1 telephones1 dynamos1 and electric motors4 ,it should be noted that while iron is attracted by either pole of a magnet1 there is such a thing as magnetic repulsion4 ,this1 however1 takes place only between two magnets1 and then only between like poles4 99 99 99 99 99 ,some ,german physicists made a number of electrical experiments with vacuum tubes4 ,when ,sir ,william ,crookes 7,england7 was experimenting with similar vacuum tubes he suggested that matter was in a radiant state during the electric discharge within the tubes4 ,in #ahhj1 ,h4 ,a4 ,lorentz1 of ,amsterdam1 declared that light was due to the motion of small particles revolving around the atoms of matter4 ,professor ,zeeman1 of ,holland1 produced experimental proof of ,lorentz's theory4 ,he showed that the revolving particles were influenced by a powerful magnetic field1 in the manner explained in the electron's story4 ,this discovery was made in #ahif1 or sixteen years after ,lorentz's declaration4 ,it was ,dr4 ,johnstone ,stoney1 of ,dublin ,university 7,ireland71 who christened these particles electrons4 ,the ,x-rays were observed for the first time by ,professor ,roentgen1 of ,germany1 in #ahie4 ,the screens used for viewing the luminous effects produced by the ,x-rays are coated with very fine crystals of barium platinocyanide4 ,these screens were in use for another purpose previous to the discovery of ,x-rays4 ,we know now that chemical affinity is merely electrical attraction between the atoms of matter4 ,the spectroscope consists of a glass prism1 or series of prisms1 mounted between two metal tubes4 ,one tube is provided at one end with a vertical slit1 through which the light that is to be examined is passed4 ,at the other end of the tube is a lens1 so that the beam of light from the slit emerges through the lens as a pencil of parallel rays4 ,the pencil of light then falls upon the glass prism1 striking it at an angle4 ,in passing through the prism1 the light is bent round so that it enters the second tube1 which is simply a small telescope4 ,the prism separates the aether waves according to their wave-lengths1 and produces the well-known coloured spectrum1 which is magnified by the telescope4 ,the reason for the bending of the different waves is explained in the electron's story4 ,,index ,absorption of light1 #adh ,aether1 the1 #bd ,aether waves1 #if1 #aca1 #acc1 #acg1 #adf1 #adh1 #afc ,alpha rays from radium1 #aij ,alternating electric current1 #aba ,amber electrified1 #cb1 #cd to #cg1 #bja ,artificial light1 #adj1 #adb ,atoms breaking up1 #ahh1 #aij ,atoms co-operating with electrons1 #ajh1 #abc ,atom's internal energy1 #ahg1 #aia ,atoms of matter1 #eb1 #ed1 #gh1 #abh1 #ahj1 #ahd ,attraction between atoms1 #ahj ,attraction1 electrical1 #ce1 #bjb ,attraction1 magnetic1 #gh1 #bje ,aurora1 #acb ,automatic telegraph transmitter1 #ia ,battery1 electric1 #gj1 #bjc ,beginning of the world1 #ec ,beta rays from radium1 #ahi ,birth of the moon1 #eb1 #ed ,bricks of the universe1 #ahj1 #aie ,chemical affinity1 #bjf ,chemical combinations1 #ef1 #ahb ,chemistry of the stars1 #eb1 #ee1 #add1 #aec ,chlorine atoms1 #ef1 #ahb ,cloud formation1 #ef ,circuit1 earth1 #gb ,coherer1 tube1 #ih ,cohesive force1 #ahc ,colour1 #acf ,compass needle1 #gg ,complete electric circuit1 #ga ,conductors1 #cg1 #fh ,connecting link between aether and matter1 #aah1 #abg ,corpuscles1 #ff ,crookes1 ,sir ,william1 #bje ,current of electricity1 #fh ,dark lines in spectrum1 #aed ,detachable electrons1 #gh1 #aha ,detecting imitation diamonds1 #agd ,direct electric current1 #aba ,discharge of electricity1 #db ,discharge through a vacuum1 #fj ,discovery of electrons1 #afj1 #bjf ,discovery of ,x-rays1 #afi ,dynamo1 #aaf1 #aah ,earth circuit1 #gb ,electrical discharge1 #db ,electricity1 positive1 #bc1 #cb1 #ci1 #eb1 #ahj ,electricity1 negative1 #bc1 #cb1 #ci ,electric battery1 #gj ,electric current1 #fh1 #gj ,electric motor1 #aaf1 #abb ,electric shock1 #dg ,electrified objects1 #cg1 #ch1 #bja ,electro-magnets1 #gf1 #ha1 #hc1 #aah1 #bje ,electrodes1 #fa ,electrocution1 #di ,electron as a go-between1 #aah ,electron1 derivation of the word1 #bc ,electron1 discovery of1 #afj1 #bjf ,electrons1 #be1 #cb1 #ff1 #gh1 #ach1 #afb1 #aie ,energy transmission through the aether1 #gc1 #aba ,energy within the atom1 #ahg1 #aia ,field1 magnetic1 #fh1 #gf1 #aah ,fluorescent screen1 #afi1 #bjf ,galvani's discovery1 #bjb ,gamma rays from radium1 #ahi ,gilbert's discovery1 #bja ,glass1 electrified1 #cg1 #ch ,glass prism1 #adg1 #aeb ,glow-lamp1 electric1 #adj1 #ada ,glow-worm1 #adb ,heat1 radiant1 #abf1 #aca1 #acc1 #adb ,helium atoms1 #ahh1 #aij ,hydrogen atoms1 #ee1 #ahb ,insulators 7non-conductors71 #cg1 #dg ,iron atoms1 #gg ,iron wires discarded1 #hh ,lamp1 electric1 #adj ,leyden jar1 #db1 #bjb ,light1 #bc1 #fj1 #fd1 #acc ,light absorbed1 #adh ,light1 artificial1 #adj1 #adb ,light1 reflected1 #adh ,lightning1 #db1 #dh ,lines in the spectrum1 #aeb1 #aed1 #afj1 #afb ,lorentz's declaration1 #bjf ,magnetic attraction1 #gh1 #bje ,magnetic field1 #fh1 #gf1 #aah ,magnetic repulsion1 #bje ,magnetism1 #gc1 #gf1 #bjc1 #bjd ,magnetism and electricity1 #gc ,magnets1 electro-1 #gf1 #ha1 #hc1 #bje ,magnets1 permanent1 #hc ,mariner's compass1 #gg ,matter1 #eb1 #ed ,metal electrified1 #cg1 #ch ,molecules of matter1 #aha1 #ahc ,moon's birth1 #eb1 #ed ,morse telegraph1 #hh ,motion in line of sight1 #afb ,motor1 electric1 #aaf1 #abb ,negative electricity1 #bc1 #cb1 #ci ,oersted's discovery1 #bjd ,oxygen atoms1 #ahb ,permanent magnets1 #hb ,positive electricity1 #bc1 #cb1 #ci1 #eb1 #ahj ,prism of glass1 #adg1 #aeb ,radiant heat1 #aca1 #acc1 #adb ,radiant matter1 #fc1 #bje ,radium1 #ahh ,rainbow1 #adg ,rays from radium1 #ahi1 #aij ,reflection of light1 #adh ,repulsion1 electrical1 #bjb ,repulsion1 magnetic1 #bje ,roentgen rays1 #afg ,roentgen's discovery1 #afh1 #bjf ,sea1 cause of saltness1 #ef ,shock1 electric1 #dg ,silk1 electrified1 #ch ,sodium atoms1 #ef1 #ahb ,spark1 electric1 #dd ,spectroscope1 #aeb1 #aed1 #bjg ,spectrum1 #add1 #adg1 #aeb1 #aed ,speed of electrons in conductor1 #gj ,stars approaching the earth1 #afb ,stars1 constituents of the1 #eb1 #ee1 #adf ,stoney1 ,dr4 ,johnstone1 #bjf ,sun1 constituents of the1 #aed ,sun's heat1 #abh1 #aca ,telegraph signals1 #ij ,telegraphy1 wireless1 #ie ,telephone1 #aji ,telephony1 wireless1 #aaj ,temperature1 #ahj ,tramway1 electric1 #aag1 #aah1 #abb ,transparent substances1 #adi ,vacuum tubes1 #fj1 #fa1 #acb1 #bje ,velocity of electrons1 #gj ,volta's discovery1 #bjc ,waves in the aether1 #if1 #acc1 #acg1 #adf1 #adh1 #afc ,wireless messages from the stars1 #afb ,wireless telegraphy1 #ie ,wireless telephony1 #aaj ,x-rays1 #aff1 #bjf ,x-rays from radium1 #ahi ,x-ray photography1 #agc ,zeeman proves existence of electrons1 #afa1 #bjf ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,,co4 ,edinburgh ,london 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,note ,the following changes have been made to the original text3 ,page xi3 always necessary1 ,how changed to always necessary4 ,how ,page #bje3 vacuum tubes1 ,when changed to vacuum tubes4 ,when ,page #bad3 ,negative electricity1 #bc1 #cb1 #i changed to ,negative electricity1 #bc1 #cb1 #ci