A COURSE OF EXPERIMENTS, IN that curious and entertaining Branch of NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, called ELECTRICITY; Accompanied with explanatory LECTURES: IN which ELECTRICITY and LIGHTNING, will be proved to be the same Thing.
BY EBENEZER KINNERSLEY, M. A.
Professor of ENGLISH and ORATORY, in the COLLEGE and ACADEMY of PHILADELPHIA.
Printed by A. ARMBRUSTER, MDCCLXIV.
As the Knowledge of Nature tends to enlarge the human Mind, and give us more noble, more grand and exalted Ideas of the AUTHOR of NATURE; it is presumed that this Course of Experiments will meet with Encouragement, as a rational and commendable Entertainment.
The Works of the LORD are great, and sought out of all them that have Pleasure therein.
LECTURE I.
I. OF Electricity in general, with some Account of its Discovery.
II. Experiments, showing that Electricity, when produced by the Friction of Glass, is not created by that Friction.
III. That it is not extracted out of the Substance of the Glass.
IV. That it is not collected out of the circumambient Air. But,
V. That the excited Glass receives it from the Rubber, and other conducting Matter communicating with the Earth; the Whole terraqueous Globe, with every Thing thereon, containing naturally a certain Quantity of it.
VI. That even our Bodies contain enough of it to set a House on Fire.
VII. That it is not the same with culinary Fire.
VIII. That it has, when in a State of Rest, no sensible Heat.
IX. That, when it darts thro' the Air from our Body to another, it will produce Heat by its violent Motion. The two last Propositions will be proved by a very accurate Thermometer of a new Construction.
[Page 4]X. That it will subsist in WATER as well as in any other Matter; the greatest Quantity thereof being not sufficient to quench the smallest Spark of it.
XI. That Sparks of it may be seen and felt rising out of cold Water, or even a Piece of Ice, which will kindle up a burning Flame.
XII. That it is an extremely subtile Matter; as appears by its passing with the greatest Readiness through so dense a Body as Metal.
XIII. That it takes no perceptible Time in passing through large Portions of Space.
XIV. That Glass and Sealing-Wax, as well as several other Substances, when excited by Friction, produce quite contrary Effects; one encreasing, the other diminishing the natural Quantity of Electricity in whatever Body is electrised thereby; which will be shown by several Experiments made with a Globe of each.
XV. That seperate Bodies having different Quantities of it in Proportion to their respective Magnitudes, mutually attract each other; and the greater the Difference, the stronger the Attraction.
XVI. That suspended Bodies in Contact, upon having their natural Quantity either encreased, or diminished, mutually recede from each other.
XVII. That Bodies thus seperated, will immediately come again into Contact, if the [Page 5] Air surrounding them be made to have [...] the same Degree of Electricity that they have.
XVIII. That Bodies containing just the natural Quantity, will recede from each other, if the Air wherein they are suspended, be made to have either more or less than that Quantity.
XIX. That different Quantities of it in seperate Bodies, may be reduced to an Equality by Means of Metal in Form of a slender sharp Point, at a greater Distance than in any other Form.
XX. A Shower of electrised Sand, rising again as fast as it falls.
XXI. An Artificial Spider, animated by Electricity so as to act like a live one.
XXII. A Representation of the Sensitive Plant.
XXIII. A new Property discovered in electrised Points; by means of which will be exhibited an electrical Horse-Race.
XXIV. Eight musical Bells rung by an electrised Phial of Water.
XXV. A Battery of eleven Guns, discharged by Fire issuing out of a Person's Finger.
LECTURE II.
I. A Description and Explanation of the famous Leyden Experiment, which is the Foundation of most of the principal Discoveries that have been since made in Electricity.
II. An empty Bottle performing the Leyden Experiment, without having any non-electric Matter communicating with its inner Surface.
III. The amazing Force of Electricity in pasing through a Number of Bodies at the same Instant.
IV. A diverting Eperiment, which cannot well be comprehended but by those who try it.
V. Electrised Money, which few Persons will take when offered to them.
VI. Electricity shown to be the same with Lightning.
VII. A bright Flash of real Lightning, darting from a Cloud in a painted Thunder-Storm.
[Page 7]VIII. The Cause and Effects of Lightning explained.
IX. The Force of a small Quantity of it making a fair Hole through a Quire of Paper.
X. An Animal killed by it instantaneously.
XI. Metal melted by it on Glass, and some of the Metal incorporated with the Substance of the Glass.
XII. A Wire heated by it so as to become red and burning hot.
XIII. An Experiment showing why Thunder Clouds float lower in the Air than other Clouds; and why Eminences are most frequently struck by Lightning.
XIV. Why Lightning darts through the Air in a crooked Direction.
XV. Why it is more frequent in Summer than Winter.
XVI. An Experiment showing how Houses, Ships, &c. may be secured from being damaged by Lightning.
XVII. What Part, in a House not so secured, is safest to be in, during a Thunder-Gust, [Page 8] in Case the House should be struck with Lightning.
XVIII. The Endeavouring to guard against Lightning, in the Manner proposed, shown to be not chargeable with Presumption, nor inconsistent with any of the Principles, either of natural or revealed Religion.
XIX. A curious Machine put in Motion by Lightning, and playing various Tunes on eight musical Bells.
XX. A Battery of eleven Guns discharged by Lightning, after it has darted through ten Feet of Water.