Scientific American Supplement, No. 417, December 29, 1883

Excerpt

In my presidential address, which I had the pleasure of reading before this society at our first meeting this year, I called attention, somewhat hurriedly, to the results of a few of my experiments on induction, and at the same time expressed a hope that at a future date I might be able to bring them more prominently before you. That date has now arrived, and my endeavor this evening will be to demonstrate to you by actual experiment some of what I consider the most important results obtained. My desire is that all present should see these results, and with that view I will try when practicable to use a mirror reflecting galvanometer instead of a telephone. All who have been accustomed to the use of reflecting galvanometers will readily understand the difficulty, on account of its delicacy, of doing so where no special arrangements are provided for its use; but perhaps with a little indulgence on your part and patience on mine the experiments may be brought to a successful issue.

[Illustration: VOLTA-ELECTRIC INDUCTION.]

Reliable records extending over hundreds of years show clearly with what energy and perseverance scientific men in every civilized part of the world have endeavored to wrest from nature the secret of what is termed her "phenomena of magnetism," and, as is invariably the case under similar circumstances, the results of the experiments and reasoning of some have far surpassed those of others in advancing our knowledge. For instance, the experimental philosophers in many branches of science were groping as it were in darkness until the brilliant light of Newton's genius illumined their path. Although, perhaps, I should not be justified in comparing Oersted with Newton, yet he also discovered what are termed "new" laws of nature, in a manner at once precise, profound, and amazing, and which opened a new field of research to many of the most distinguished philosophers of that time, who were soon engaged in experimenting in the same direction, and from whose investigations arose a new science, which was called "electro-dynamics." Oersted demonstrated from inductive reasoning that every conductor of electricity possessed all the known properties of a magnet while a current of electricity was passing through it. If you earnestly contemplate the important adjuncts to applied science which have sprung from that apparently simple fact, you will not fail to see the importance of the discovery; for it was while working in this new field of electro-magnetism that Sturgeon made the first electro-magnet, and Faraday many of his discoveries relating to induction.

Soon after the discovery by Oersted just referred to, Faraday, with the care and ability manifest in all his experiments, showed that when an intermittent current of electricity is passing along a wire it induces a current in any wire forming a complete circuit and placed parallel to it, and that if the two wires were made into two helices and placed parallel to each other the effect was more marked. This Faraday designated "Volta-electric induction," and it is with this kind of induction I wish to engage your attention this evening; for it is a phenomenon which presents some of the most interesting and important facts in electrical science.

Here are two flat spirals of silk-covered copper wire suspended separately, spider-web fashion, in wooden frames marked respectively A and B. The one marked A is so connected that reversals at any desired speed per minute from a battery of one or more cells can be passed through it. The one marked B is so connected to the galvanometer and a reverser as to show the deflection caused by the induced currents, which are momentary in duration, and in the galvanometer circuit all on the same side of zero, for as the battery current on making contact produces an induced current in the reverse direction to itself, but in the same direction on breaking the contact, of course the one would neutralize the other, and the galvanometer would not be affected; the galvanometer connections are therefore reversed with each reversal of the battery current, and by that means the induced currents are, as you perceive, all in the same direction and produce a steady deflection....