Why does this experiment work best in very cold weather?
Because the air is then very dry, and does not convey away the electricity as fast as it is excited; if the air, on the contrary, were moist, the electricity would be conducted off nearly as fast as it was excited by friction, and its effects would not therefore be so manifest.
With what velocity is electricity transmitted through good conductors?
With a velocity so great that the most rapid motion produced by art appears to be actual rest when compared to it. Some authorities have estimated that electricity will pass through copper wire at the rate of two hundred and eighty-eight thousand miles in a second of time—a velocity greater than that of light.
What agents are undoubtedly the most active in producing and exciting electricity in the operations of nature?
The light and the sun’s rays.
Do some animals have the power of exciting electricity within themselves?
There are certain animals which are gifted with the extraordinary power of producing electrical phenomena by an effort of muscular or nervous energy. Among these the electrical eel and the torpedo are most remarkable.
How powerful a charge of electricity can the electrical eel send forth when in full vigor?
Sufficient to knock down a man or stun a horse.