MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY.
By Frederick Griggs
MAGNETISM and electricity are two of the greatest forces in the universe, yet, like life, we do not know what they are. We can watch food through all the various changes, that it undergoes, physical and chemical, and follow it until it reaches the point where it becomes life, and there we are forced to stop. We can not find life or discover what it is. So in nature we can see all the physical and chemical changes which produce electricity; but here our search for knowledge must stop, for we can not tell what it is. There can be little doubt, however, that it is very closely related and is analogous to life. God certainly has some wise reasons for not revealing these secrets of life to man. They must be closely related to the tree of life, of which God deprived man when he fell. The difference between magnetism and electricity is not clearly understood, but that they are closely related is shown by the fact that a magnet will make a current of electricity, and electricity will produce a magnet. However, while we may not know what electricity and magnetism actually are, yet there are very many interesting and valuable studies which may be made of them. At any toy store or good bookstore a magnet may be purchased, costing from one cent upward according to the size. Magnets are of two shapes—the bar and the horseshoe. One of the poles or ends of the magnet will be marked + and is called positive. The other is marked — and is called negative. What magnetism is, I have said, is unknown; but this much is true that it is a manifestation of the power of God in which the power or force seems to organize itself in an object in such a way that at one end the force is exactly opposite in its workings from that of the other end. Not only so, but in each particle, or molecule, of the object the force is arranged in exactly the same way, as can be found by breaking the object. For instance, if the magnet be broken, it will be found that in each piece there is a positive and a negative end, and it makes no difference how small the pieces are either. So that if a magnet be broken into a thousand pieces, each piece in turn becomes a magnet. Why is this so? I can answer when you tell me what life is, and why it manifests itself as it does. The only reason that can be given is that God has chosen to manifest His power in this manner. The most striking feature or law of the magnet, perhaps, is that when two magnets are put together, the — and the + ends will attract and hold to each other, while the like ends will repel rather than attract. Not only may many of the objects on the earth be made into magnets, but the earth itself has been discovered to be one huge magnet with the negative pole at the north and the positive at the south. These magnetic poles of the earth do not correspond exactly with the geographical poles or ends of the axis of the earth. The north magnetic or negative pole is north and east of Boothia Bay. As a result of this the magnetic needle of the compass does not in most places point directly north. Accordingly surveyors are obliged to make an allowance for this variation of the compass from the lines running direct from the north to the south axis of the earth. East of a line running through Wilmington, N. C., Charlottesville, Va., and Pittsburg, Pa., the needle turns from the true north toward the west. West of it, it turns toward the east. This variation can be seen by any one traveling north or south on a town or section line road. Every few miles the road will jog on an east and west road for a few rods. With a good magnet and a piece of steel—a knitting-needle for instance—any child can make a compass. Rub the needle in one direction over the ends of the magnet until it becomes charged with magnetism, or is magnetized. It may be determined when it is magnetized by the fact that it will lift pins, needles, or anything of steel that is not too heavy. Then thrust it through a cork so that the needle will balance. Support this with a silk thread attached to the cork in a place where it will not be disturbed by air currents, and you have a compass. Now when the needle is suspended, it will be noted that it assumes a north and south position; and when turned from this position, will always return. Find and mark, before magnetizing the needle, the exact point at which it balances. When placed in the cork after being magnetized, it will be found that one end tips downward. This variation from the horizontal position gradually increases as one goes northward, until it comes to a vertical position at a point near Boothia Bay—the north magnetic pole. This is the negative pole of the earth, but it is the positive pole of the needle that is attracted to it for the reasons of which I have spoken. Another interesting experiment along the line of electricity may be suggested. Procure some piths such as may be found in an elder or corn stalk, and thoroughly dry them. Make two small balls about the size of a pea, and suspend them about an inch apart by fine silk threads eight or ten inches long. Fasten the upper end to a wooden support by means of a drop of sealing-wax. Now rub a stick of sealing-wax briskly on the sleeve or a piece of dry flannel for a few moments, and then bring the wax near the balls. The wax will affect the balls. Notice the distance at which it influences them. What happens after they have clung a short time to the wax? After they have left the wax, rub it again and then bring it near the balls. Now it repels them where before it attracted them. Why? The answer has already been given. Now rub a glass rod or tube, and bring it near to the balls. How do they act? Alternate the wax and the glass, and draw conclusions from the results. Now rub a gutta-percha comb or penholder. Do the balls behave as they do with the sealing-wax? Experiment with the glass, the wax, and the comb, and bits of paper or cotton. Bring them near the magnetic needle. Do they attract or repel either end? Rubbing the glass and wax is producing electricity by friction. When the pith balls flew to them, they remained until they were charged. Then because of the law that like repels like, they fell away from the rod or wax. The silk thread prevents the electricity from escaping into the air very rapidly if the air is dry. The electricity received from the wax is called negative. And that from the glass positive. Rub both the glass and the wax, and bring them close to one of the pith balls on opposite sides, and notice the results. Why does the ball do as it does? There is no end of interesting experiments which can be performed with magnetism, and with far less trouble than is usually considered necessary in performing such experiments; but the experiments are not to be performed simply because they are interesting, but rather because they manifest to us a new phase of God's power. I can not conceive of one's studying magnetism and electricity, and not having a reverential feeling awakened as he thus beholds the presence of the power of God. It is this continual presence that keeps the universe in existence: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, it is high, I can not attain unto it.” FREDERICK GRIGGS.