What is Electricity?

As the use of electricity becomes more general there is increased curiosity to learn what it is. It is considered a mysterious force, because in its normal condition it cannot be seen. The wire which conveys the current gives no manifestation of the energy which is passing through it. Just as the poet said: “We take no note of time save from its loss.” So with electricity, it must be measured as it flies. It is true however, that its laws are perfectly understood. Is it necessary that we should know what it is? We know that it is the attraction of the earth. It holds the atoms of the earth together and enables us to perform all of the operations which make up our daily life. It is, however, a mystery, but its laws are all well known, and if we violate them by jumping off a precipice should we consider the force of gravity necessarily dangerous? Steam is also something of a mystery. It has been familiar to us since the dawn of civilization, yet how many people know that it is transparent and therefore invisible until it comes in contract with the air.

source: The Sunday Journal
location: Logansport, Indiana