thousands of miles, but can it be transformed at the distant place into
mechanical or any other required form of energy, nearly equal in amount
to what was supplied? Unfortunately, I must say that hitherto the
practical answer made to us by existing machines is, 'No;' there is
always a great waste due to the heat spoken of above. But, fortunately,
we have faith in the measurements, of which I have already spoken, in
the facts given us by Joule's experiments and formulated in ways we can
understand. And these facts tell us that in electric machines of the
future, and in their connecting wires, there will be little heating, and
therefore little loss. We shall, I believe, at no distant date, have
great central stations, possibly situated at the bottom of coal-pits
where enormous steam engines will drive enormous electric machines. We
shall have wires laid along every street, tapped into every house, as
gas-pipes are at present; we shall have the quantity of electricity used
in each house registered, as gas is at present, and it will be passed
through little electric machines to drive machinery, to produce
ventilation, to replace stoves and fires, to work apple-parers and
mangles and barbers' brushes, among other things, as well as to give
everybody an electric light."

It is possible, as Prof. Ayrton first showed in his Sheffield lecture,
that electrical energy can be transmitted through long distances by
means of small wires, and that the opinion that wires of enormous
thickness would be required is erroneous. The desideratum required was
good insulation. He also showed that, instead of a limiting efficiency
of 50 per cent., the only thing preventing our receiving the whole of
our power was the mechanical friction which occurs in the machines. He
showed, in fact, how to get rid of electrical friction. A machine at
Niagara receives mechanical power, and generates electricity. Call this
the generator. Let there be Wires to another electric machine in New