Less than a century ago Benjamin Franklin devised the lightning rod, in order to prevent lightning from striking objects. The literature of that day abounds with instances of protests made, on the part of those who were as superstitions as the people in ancient times, who urged that it was impious to attempt to ward off Heaven's lightnings. It was argued that the lightning was one way in which the Creator manifested His displeasure, and exercised His power to strike the wicked.
When such writers as Pliny will gravely set forth an explanation of the causes of lightning, as follows in the paragraph below, we can understand why it inculcated superstitious fears in the people of ancient times. He says:
"Most men are ignorant of that secret, which, by close observation of the heavens, deep scholars and principal men of learning have found out,[p. 174] namely, that they are the fires of the uppermost planets, which, falling to the earth, are called lightning; but those especially which are seated in the middle, that is about Jupiter, perhaps because participating in the excessive cold and moisture from the upper circle of Saturn, and the immoderate heat of Mars, that is next beneath, by this means he discharges his superfluity, and therefore it is commonly said, 'That Jupiter shooteth and darteth lightning.' Therefore, like as out of a burning piece of wood a coal flieth forth with a crack, even so from a star is spit out, as it were, and voided forth this celestial fire, carrying with it presages of future things; so that the heavens showeth divine operations, even in these parcels and portions which are rejected and cast away as superfluous."
CHAPTER XVII[ToC]
POWER, AND VARIOUS OTHER ELECTRICAL MANIFESTATIONS
It would be difficult to mention any direction in human activity where electricity does not serve as an agent in some form or manner. Man has learned that the Creator gave this great power into the hands of man to use, and not to curse.
When the dynamo was first developed it did not appear possible that it could generate electricity, and then use that electricity in order to turn the dynamo in the opposite direction. It all seems so very natural to us now, that such a thing should practically follow; but man had to learn this.
Let us try to make the statement plain by a few simple illustrations. By carefully going over the chapter on the making of the dynamo, it will be evident that the basis of the generation of the current depends on the changing of the direction of the flow of an electric current.