ELECTRIC LIGHT.
Shake a barometer in a dark room, and light will be produced in the empty part of it by the friction of the quicksilver electrifying the glass tube. Even the friction of air upon glass is attended by electricity, as has been found by blowing upon a dry plate of glass with a pair of bellows.
ELECTRIC LIGHT FROM BROWN PAPER.
Provide a piece of thick brown paper, thoroughly dry and warm; rub the paper briskly in a dark room, and there will dart forth flashes of electric light to the fingers, to a key, or to any other conductor that may be presented to it.
Heat a small portion of sulphate of quinine in a spoon over the flame of a lamp, and it will become luminous and highly electrical.
SUDDEN PRODUCTION OF LIGHT.
Take a piece of dry and warm wood into a dark room, suddenly rend it asunder, and a flash of light will be perceived. The same effect may likewise be produced by suddenly snapping asunder a stick of sealing-wax in the dark.
Or, break a Prince Rupert’s drop, and electrical light will pervade the whole, so that its form will be distinctly visible in the dark. The light will appear, even if the experiment be made under water.
ELECTRICITY OF THE CAT.
Place your left hand upon the throat of the cat, and, with the middle finger and the thumb, press slightly the bones of the animal’s shoulders; then, if the right hand be gently passed along the back, perceptible shocks of electricity will be felt in the left hand. Shocks may also be obtained by touching the tips of the ears after rubbing the back. If the colour of the cat be black, and the experiment be made in a dark room, the electric sparks may be very plainly seen.