Electric chair

“ The apparatus consists of a stationary engine, an alternating dynamo capable of generating a current at a pressure of 2000 volts, a “death-chair” with adjustable head-rest, binding straps and adjustable electrodes devised by E.F. Davis, the state electrician of New York. The voltmeter, ammeter and switch-board controlling the current are located in the execution-room; the dynamo-room is communicated with by electric signals. Before each execution the entire apparatus is thoroughly tested. When everything is in readiness the criminal is brought in and seats himself in the death-chair. ”

“ A wheel chair? A man in a wheel chair? A ... now what in hell kind of a so-called lawyer was this? There was no man in the more or less wheel chair out there; only hardware, piled and assembled in a very roughly human shape. At the top were two lenses, eye-like except for being in a vertical line, mounted in a rounded, metallic container with a speaker and, presumably, sound receivers. Under that was a big, square, torso-sized, faintly humming black box. This rested on a—uh—conveyance, not unlike a wheel chair. Under the box was an electric motor and a reel of black wire. ”

“ Electric lamp, by Dorothea Warren. Man sitting in armchair reading book called Electricity; a boy at his feet; standing at left, with arm resting on man's chair, is a figure with body of zigzag lines and light bulb nose. ”

“ When she is isolated from the common reservoir of electric or magnetic power, either by being seated upon a chair without her feet touching the floor or when placing them upon the chair of a person in front of her, the phenomena do not take place. They also cease when she is made to sit down on her own hands. A waxed floor, a piece of oiled silk, a plate of glass under her feet or on the chair, all have the effect of antagonizing and destroying for the time the electro-dynamic property of her body. ”

“ He invented many of the tricks performed with electric apparatus by his successors at the present day—not such comparatively simple ones as ‘spirit-rapping’ hammers and drums which answer questions; but clever mysteries like the iron chest which a child can lift, yet which defies the strength of a man, and the crystal cash-box. These are things which might puzzle even scientific electricians who are not in the secret. ”

“ These straps are adjusted across the head, chest, abdomen, both fore and upper arms and the ankles. They are not bound too tightly, but left taut in order to allow for the expansion of the body. The electro connections are at the head and the inside of the right calf, the trousers being cut from the knee downward, so that a contact can be made with the bare flesh. Just back of the chair is a large closet, which conceals all of the electrical apparatus necessary to throw on or off the current at the will of the Electrician, by whose hand the condemned man is sent to eternity. ”

“ Many of the troubles on a modern car are apt to be in connection with the electrical equipment—battery, lights, magneto, timer, self-starter, etc. Sooner or later, a boy who takes an interest, is apt to become more or less familiar with the principle of all these things, especially if his nerves and brain are not deadened by forced application. At any rate, this boy soon did. This led to an interest in other electrical things—the ringing of bells and buzzers about the house, and the installation of an electric motor which would run the sewing machine, or a grindstone, or a little lathe. ”

“ Electricity has rapidly found its way into the home for domestic purposes, eliminating at its entrance a host of cares of the household.
So recently, as to seem almost yesterday, the genius of man’s brain coupled electricity with mechanical devices for the comfort and efficiency of the home.
Although a number of attempts have been made to build appliances for use in the home that would utilize electricity, the real beginning of the present almost universal use of electrical appliances seems to have been in the manufacture of the electric iron. ”

“ On an electric railroad an identical current propels the train, directs it by telegraph, operates its signals, provides it with light and heat, while it stands ready to give constant verbal communication with any station on the line, if this be desired.
In the home electricity has equal versatility, at once promoting healthfulness, refinement and safety. Its tiny button expels the hazardous match as it lights a lamp which sends forth no baleful fumes. An electric fan brings fresh air into the house—in summer as a grateful breeze. ”

“ When they pass along a damp wall, it is best to fix a board and loosely staple them. In no case allow more than one wire to lie under the same staple, and do not let the staples touch one another. In many cases, electric bells have been an incessant annoyance and complete failure, through driving the staples tight up to the wires, and several wires to the same staple,—this must not be done on any account. A number of wires may be twisted into a cable, and run through a short piece of gutta-percha tube, and fastened with ordinary gas hooks where it is an advantage to do so. ”

“ To begin with, you all know that a piece of machinery is usually made to work by revolving a wheel which is part of the machine, either by means of a steam-engine or by water-power, or, as a sewing-machine, by foot-power. Now, when we work a piece of machinery by electricity we do just the same thing by using, instead of the steam-engine or water or foot power, an electric-engine called an "electromotor," which operates in the same way—namely, by turning the wheel of the machine it is applied to. ”

“ She has every kind of electric thing she has ever heard of, I do believe.”
“The electrician was there to-day as I told you, arranging wires in the kitchen.”
“I was trying to count up as I was lying here, all the things in the house that go by electricity. Of course there’s the door bell to begin with. Then there are all the lighting switches—the one in the vestibule and all the regular ones in the halls and rooms and a lot of them in the different closets, so that she never will have to struggle around in the dark for anything she is hunting for.” ”

“ The cushion should of course be well smeared with amalgam. From this, as well as from the glass-plate machine, the “positive” electricity can be drawn off and stored in a Leyden jar, and then discharged by the “discharging rod,” which is represented on the cut. It may have one or two handles, and one knob is placed outside the jar, the other near the ball surmounting it. The glass being a non-conductor saves the operator, and some long sparks and loud reports may be obtained.
Fig. 213.—Cylinder machine.
The Electric Machine is always assumed to give off positive electricity. ”

“ In booth No. 56 you will find a piano played by electricity. Its keys are moving, but no hands strike them. There is no ghost at work here. A little strip of iron has been placed upon the under side of each key and a small electro-magnet is placed under that. It is only necessary that wires should run from these electro-magnets to two dry-battery cells and to push buttons, and a person far away may play the piano. In reality, however, it is not a person but a roll of punctured paper that opens and closes the electric circuits to these various magnets underneath the keys. ”

“ As to the appliances, the commission said: "All that would be essential would be a chair with a head and foot-rest, in which the condemned could be seated in a semi-reclining position; one electrode would be connected with the headrest, and the other with the foot-rest, which would consist of a metal plate." The current of electricity might be supplied from the wires used for street-lighting, or from an independent plant at the place of execution. The most effective machines for the purpose are those known as "alternating machines."
Mound-Builders' Units of Measure.—Mr. ”

“ Remember that electricity, magic as it is, can burn as well as any flame, so don’t let your curtains blow against a red hot electric radiator and then blame it on the electricity which after all is your servant if you make it so by right treatment.
Always ask your salesman to what the device purchased should be attached. Some things are designed for the ordinary lamp socket, and others need different connections.
Many electric appliances have the pilot light to tell you whether your electric current is on or off. Yet it is wise to be your own pilot and remember what you are doing. ”

“ The manner in which friction is performed also alters the kind of electricity. Equal lengths of black and white ribbon applied longitudinally to one another, and drawn between the finger and thumb so as to rub their surfaces together, become electric. When separated the white ribbon is found to have acquired positive electricity, and the black negative; but if the whole length of the black ribbon be drawn across the breadth of the white, the black will be positively and the white negatively electric when separated. ”

“ I noticed chairs and divans on wheels and asked MacNair for an explanation, and he replied:
"These chairs are moved by electricity, supplied by storage batteries just under the seats. You apply the power by pressing a button on the arm by your side, and guide them with your feet. You will often find them in use, particularly in large places like Orbitello, where travelers coming in fatigued, and people on business with the various departments, having many places to go, need some easy means of locomotion. ”

“ It has happened, not once, but I think twenty times, that a man has brought to us an instrument of great ingenuity for sale; we have taken him to a cupboard, and brought out some dusty old models, and said, ‘That is your invention, and there is wheel for wheel generally.’ Nevertheless he has, in fact, invented it. The ideas of several men are set in motion by exactly the same circumstances. One invention was brought for purchase to the Electric Telegraph Company ”

“ Friction between a non-electric and an electric per se, will produce electrical fire; not by creating, but collecting it: for it is equally diffused in our walls, floors, earth, and the whole mass of common matter. Thus the whirling glass globe, during its friction against the cushion, draws fire from the cushion, the cushion is supplied from the frame of the machine, that from the floor on which it stands. Cut off the communication by thick glass or wax placed under the cushion, and no fire can be produced, because it cannot be collected. ”

“ Among such applications, and following closely the electric lighting, came the electric railway. A substitute for the slow animal, horse, and for the dangerous, noisy steam horse and its lumbering locomotive and train, was hailed with delight. Inventors came forward with adaptations of all the old systems they could think of for the purpose, and with many new ones. One plan was to adapt the storage battery—that silent chemical monster which carries its own power and its own machine—and place one on each car to actuate a motor connected to the driving wheels. ”

“ The machine gets charged after a few turns of the handle, and the operator feels that, as the charging progresses, it gets harder to turn the handle. In large machines the manual work becomes so heavy that it is convenient to use an electric motor for working the machine. ”

“ In case this all-electric machine has a blow out, and to protect the clothes from burning on the shoe there is simple provision to guard against this and all ills. The shoe by a button works back and forth if necessary, and taken altogether it is a beautiful mechanism. ”

“ THE ELECTRIC ELEVATOR
At the time the Eiffel Tower elevators were under consideration, water under pressure was, from a practical standpoint, the only agent capable of fulfilling the power and control requirements of this particularly severe service. Steam, as previously mentioned, had already been found wanting in several respects. Electricity, on the other hand, seemed to hold promise for almost every field of human endeavor. By 1888 the electric motor had behind it a 10- or 15-year history of active development. ”

“ Wires were then run from the lamp socket through the cork and wood disks and the whole painted with melted paraffin to close all apertures and keep out moisture. Good rubber-covered electric-light wire will do nicely for the wiring outside the house, although, if it can be obtained, a piece of lead-covered paired wire is preferable. These wires must be only long enough to reach inside the house, where they may be joined to the ordinary sort of wire used in electric-bell work for connecting with push button and battery. ”

“ In mechanical appliances the new world has seemed to complete the inventions begun in the old world. Such was the case with the recording telegraph, the telephone, and the electric light. But in another class of inventions America did little or nothing. It was Europe that supplied the artificial generators of electricity. The voltaic pile, the thermo-electric pile, the Daniell and Grove batteries, and the dynamo machine were creations of the old world ”

“ After plying for hire for a few weeks they were taken off the streets and have not yet reappeared.
The electric cab that is to be an all-round success has not yet been invented, but experience is being bought, and it will be strange if we have to wait long for it. But that it will ever supersede entirely the horse-drawn hansom is far from being likely, for while you meet hundreds of people who have had one ride in an electric cab, you come across very few who have had two. ”

“ It simplifies the household because it takes out of it a cumbersome, unwieldy machine long since become antiquated. It is possible to arrange a series of mechanical contrivances operated by electricity that will enable a person to open any window or door in his house without rising from his chair, but it is as a rule easier to open a window without such assistance than it is to keep the batteries in running order. ”