ELEGTRICITY FOR NOTHING.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2692, 12 October 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

ELEGTRICITY FOR NOTHING.

A strange—a very strange—story comes to us from Burinah, for which we must bold the Electrical Review, an American paper, responsible. According to the account received, Mr. Kouald H. King, an electrician, while on a prospecting and shooting expedition in theisland of Labuau is said to have discovered a mineral from which electricity can be obtaiued without apparatus of any kind whatever. The mineral is described as being iu the form of a black stone, of excessive hardness and very great specific gravity being nearly as heavy as platinum. A small block, in the shape of an irregular cube, measuring -I-," 1 . inches one way by 5'2 inches the other way, was brought away, and, on bricking it into the testing-rooin, a strong effect was noticed upon the galvanometer. At first it- was thought that tlm mineral was ordinary loadstone, but on tests being made,it was found that the force was more alcin to that of an clcctro-tnngnct, iuul that a strong current would (low when the mineral was connected iu a circuit, further experiments revealed tlist a dilfW-uiiuu of potential of 17 volts could be detected ill the extremities, the the internal resistance of the inaso being ■_'O ohms. The block appears to waste away very slightly, leaving a slight ;;rey powder upon the surface when connected up for some time. It is added that the electrical) mentioned now uses the block to light a couple of iucatidescent lamps in his laboratory.—lron.