Similarly
we can make a Widnes fog by sulphureted hydrogen, chlorine, sulphuric
acid, and a little steam. Probably the steam assists the clearing when
gases have to be dealt with. It may be possible to clear the air of
tunnels by simply discharging electricity into the air--the
electricity being supplied by Holtz machines, driven say by small
turbines--a very handy form of power, difficult to get out of order.
Or possibly some hydro-electric arrangement might be devised for the
locomotive steam to do the work. I even hope to make some impression
on a London fog, discharging from lightning conductors or captive
balloons carrying flames, but it is premature to say anything about
this matter yet. I have, however, cleared a room of smoke very quickly
with a small hand machine.
It will naturally strike you how closely allied these phenomena must
be to the fact of popular science that "thunder clears the air." Ozone
is undoubtedly generated by the flashes, and may have a beneficial
effect, but the dust-coagulating and dust-expelling power of the
electricity has a much more rapid effect, though it may not act till
the cloud is discharged.
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