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Sensors and Actuators Engineering System
Instrumentation 2nd Silva Solution Manual
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Chapter 2 Component Interconnection and Signal Conditioning

Solution 2.1

(a):
Voltage Output
Electrical Impedance =
Current Input
Force Output
Mechanical Impedance =
Velocity Input
(b): Both these impedances are frequency response functions (defined in the frequency
domain). Both define the resistance provided by the load against the driving force. High-
impedance devices need high levels of effort (voltage or force) to drive them (i.e., to pass
current through electrical impedances, or to cause movement of mechanical loads). Note that
voltage is an across-variable whereas force is a through-variable. Hence, there is an
inconsistency in the definitions of “impedance,” with respect to the force-current analogy.

(c): To avoid this inconsistency, we may use the force-voltage analogy, in which voltage and
force are termed “effort” variables and velocity and current are “flow” variables, as in the
“bond graph” nomenclature.
Note, however, that in order to use general relations for interconnecting basic
elements (in forming multicomponent devices or circuits), it is the across-variable and through-
variable nomenclature that is applicable. Specifically, when two elements are connected in
series, the through-variable is common and the across-variables add; when two elements are
connected in parallel, the across-variable is common and the through-variables add. Hence, it
is the through- and across-variable nomenclature that is natural with regard to component
interconnection. In this context we may define a generalized series element or generalized
impedance (to include electrical impedance or mechanical mobility) and a generalized parallel
element (to include electrical admittance or mechanical impedance).

(d): The input impedance has to be comparatively high for a measuring device that is
connected in parallel, to measure an across variable, whereas the input impedance has to be
quite low for a device that connected in series, to measures a through variable. This is
essential to reduce loading errors. The output impedance of a measuring device has to be
low in order to maintain a high sensitivity, and get acceptable signal levels for processing,
actuating or recording.
When cascading two devices, in order to reduce the “loading” of one device by the
other, and to maintain good frequency characteristics, the output impedance of the first
device (which provides the signal) has to be smaller in comparison to the input impedance of
the second device (which receives the signal). Otherwise, the signal will be distorted by the
second device (the load). If power transfer characteristics are important, however, one
impedance should be the complex conjugate of the other. Different matching criteria are
used depending on the applications.
14 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 14

Solution 2.2

1. Maximum power transfer

2. Power transfer at maximum efficiency

3. Reflection prevention in signal transmission

4. Loading reduction

Solution 2.3

When a measuring device is connected to a system, the conditions in the system itself will
change, as the measured signal flows through the measuring device. For example, in
electrical measurements, a current may pass through the measuring device, thereby altering the
voltages and currents in the original system. This is called “electrical loading,” and will
introduce an error, as the measurand itself is distorted. Similarly, in mechanical
measurements, due to the mass of the measuring device, the mechanical condition (forces,
motions) of the original system will change, thereby affecting the measurand and causing an
error. This is called mechanical loading.
 Zi 
Now consider the system shown in Figure P2.3. We have: v = K v
  i
 Zs + Zi 
o

 Zi  vo ( Zi / Zs )
For a voltage follower, K = 1 and Zo  Zi . Hence, vo =   vi , or = .
Z +Z v 1 + (Z / Z )
 s i  i i s

This relationship is sketched in Figure S2.3.

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

00 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
15 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 15

Figure S2.3: Non-dimensional curve of loading performance.

16 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 16

Some representative values of the curve are tabulated below.

Zi / Zs vo / vi
0.1 0.091
0.5 0.55
1 0.5
2 0.667
5 0.855
7 0.875
10 0.909

Note: Performance improves with the impedance ratio Zi / Zs .

Solution 2.4

Open-circuit voltage at the output port is (in the frequency domain)

 1 
 R2 +jC 
voc =   = veq (i)
 1 
 R1 + R2 + jL + 
 jC 
Note: Equivalent source veq is expressed here as a function of frequency. Its corresponding
time function veq (t) is obtained by using inverse Fourier transform. Alternatively, first
R + 1 
 2 sC 
replace j by the Laplace variable s: v (s) = v(s)
. Then obtain the
eq
 1 
R + R + sL +
1 2
sC
inverse Laplace transform, for a given v(s), using Laplace transform tables.
Now, in order to determine Zeq, note from Figure P2.4(b) that if the output port is
v
shorted, the resulting short circuit current iSC is given by: iSC = eq . Hence,
Zeq

veq voc
Z = = (ii)
eq isc isc
Since we know voc (or veq ) from equation (i) we only have to determine isc . Using the
actual circuit with shorted output, we see that there is no current through the parallel
1
impedance R2 + because the potential difference across it is zero. Thus,
j C
17 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 17

v
isc = (iii)
( R1 + jL)

Now substituting Equations (i) and (iii) in (ii) we have:

 1  
R +  R + jL
  2 jC 1 
Zeq =   
 1  
  R1 + R2 + jL + 
 jC  

Solution 2.5

Rl Rl / Rs
(a) Load power efficiency  = =
(Rl + Rs ) (Rl / Rs +1)
v 2R v2
(b) Load power p = s l
; Maximum load power (occurs at R =R ) p = s s

[Rl + Rs ]2
l l s max
4R

4Rl / Rs
➔ pl / pmax =
[Rl / Rs +1]2

We use the following MATLAB script (.m file) to generate the two curves:

% Efficiency and load power curves

lr=[]; eff=[]; pw=[]; % declare vectors
lr=0; eff=0; pw=0; %initialize variables
for i=1:100
a=0.1*i; %load resistance ratio
lr(end+1)=a; % store load resistance
eff(end+1)=a/(a+1); % efficiency
pw(end+1)=4*a/(a+1)^2; % load power
end
plot(lr,eff,'-',lr,pw,'-',lr,pw,'x')

The two curves are plotted in Figure S2.5.

It is seen that maximum efficiency does not correspond to maximum power. In

particular, the efficiency increases monotonically with the load resistance while the
maximum power occurs when Rl = Rs . Hence, a reasonable trade-off in matching the

resistances would be needed when both considerations are important.

18 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 18

Efficiency and Load Power Curves

1

0.9
0.8
Efficiency (fractional)

0.7 Load power/Max power

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Load Resistance/Source Resistance Ratio

Figure S2.5: Variation of efficiency and maximum power with load resistance.

Solution 2.6

Voltage is an across variable. In order to reduce loading effects, the resistance of a voltmeter
should be much larger than the output impedance of system or load impedance. Then, the
voltmeter will not draw a significant part of the signal current (and will not distort the
signal). Current is a through variable. The resistance of an ammeter should be much smaller
than the output impedance of system or load impedance. Then, the ammeter will not provide
a significant voltage drop (and will not distort the signal).
Voltmeter should be able to operate with a low current (due to its high resistance) and
associated low torque, in conventional electromagnetic deflection type meters. Low torque
means, a torsional spring having low stiffness has to be used to get an adequate meter
reading. This makes the meter slow, less robust, and more nonlinear, even though high
sensitivity is realized.
Ammeter should be able to carry a large current because of its low resistance. Hence
meter torque would be high in conventional designs. This can create thermal problems,
magnetic hysteresis, and other nonlinearities. The device can be made fast, robust, and
mechanically linear, however, while obtaining sufficient sensitivity.
Note: The torque is not a factor in modern digital multi-meters.

Solution 2.7

(a) The input impedance of the amplifier = 500 MΩ.

10
Estimated error = 100% = 2%
(500 +10)
(b) Impedance of the speaker = 4 Ω.
19 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 19

0.1
Estimated error = 100% = 2.4%
(4 + 0.1)

Solution 2.8

F1 F1
v = F ( f , f )  v = fo + fi (i)
fo fi
o 1 o i o

F2 F2
v = F (f , f )  v = fo + fi (ii)
fo fi
i 2 o i i

In terms of incremental variables about an operating point, we can define the input
impedance Zi and the output impedance Z o as
vi
Zi = with f o = 0 (iii)
fi

vo with f o = 0
Z = (iv)
fo with vo = 0
o

Note: fo = 0 corresponds to incremental open-circuit condition and vo = 0 corresponds to

incremental short-circuit condition.
F2
From (ii) with fo = 0 (i.e., open circuit at output) we get Z i= .
fi
Now using the open-circuit by subscript “oc” and the short-circuit by subscript “sc” we have:
From (i):
F
v = 1 f (v)
fi
o oc i oc

From (ii):
F
v = 2 f (vi)
i oc
fi
i oc

Note: v i is an independent increment, which does not depend on whether oc or sc condition

exists at the output. But f i will change depending on the output condition.
From (v) and (vi):
F F2
vo oc = 1 vi (vii)
f f
20 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 20

i i
From (i):
F1 F1
0= f + f (viii)
fo fi
o sc i sc

From (ii):
21 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 21

F2 F2
vi = fo + f (ix)
fo sc
fi i sc

Eliminating f i sc
from Equations(viii) and (ix) we get,
1
fo sc = v (x)
 F2 F1 F2 F1  i
 −  

 f o fo f i fi 
Substitute (vii) and (x) in (iv):

 F F2   F2 F1 F2 F1  F1 F2 F1 F1

Z = 1 −  = . −

 f f   f f f f  f f f f
o

 i i  o o i i  i o i o

One way to experimentally determine Zi and Zo (under static conditions) is to first

experimentally determine the two sets of operating curves given by vo = F1 ( fo , fi ) and

vi = F2 ( fo , fi ) under steady-state conditions. For example fo is kept constant and fi is

changed in increments to measure vo and vi once the steady state is reached. This will give
two curves fi versus vo and vi versus vi for a particular value of fo. Next fo is incremented and
another pair of curves is obtained. Once these two sets of curves are obtained for the
required range for fi and fo, the particular derivatives are determined from using the general
z  z z
method shown in Figure S2.8, for the case z = F(x,y) with:   and  .

x y y

z y+Δy

Δz

α
22 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 22

Figure S2.8: Computation of local slopes.

23 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 23

Solution 2.9

(a)
We have: vi = Z c ii , vt = Z l it , vr = −Z c ir , vt = vi + vr , and it = ii + ir , where “i” denotes current
and the subscript “r” denotes “reflected.”
v v Z Z Z
Substitute: v = Z i = Z (i + i ) = Z ( i − r ) = l (v − v ) = l (v − (v − v )) = l (2v − v )
t l t l i r l i r i t i i t
Zc Zc Zc Zc Zc
Zl Zl 2Z l
➔ (1+ )v = 2 v ➔ v = v

(Zl + Z c )
t i t i
Zc Zc
2Z l
(b) We need vt = vi ➔ = 1 ➔ Zl = Z c
(Z l + Z c )

(c) Use a transformer with the required impedance ratio = (turns ratio)2

Solution 2.10
1  10 6
For the given system,  n = rad/s = 100 rad/s and   200 rad/s. Hence, we have
100
the frequency ratio r  2.0.

1 + 16 2 5
For r = 2.0 and Tf = 0.5 we have 0.5 = or,  = . Hence,
9 + 16 2 48

5
b = 2n m = 2 100100 N.s/m → b = 6.455103 N.s/m .
48

With this damping constant, for r  2, we will have Tf  0.5. Decreasing b will decrease
Tf in this frequency range.
To plot the Bode diagram using MATLAB, first note that:
2n = b / m = 6.455 103 /100 = 64.55 rad/s and n2 = 104 (rad/s)2

64.55s +10 4
The corresponding transmissibility function is T f = with s = j
s 2 + 64.55s +104
The following MATLAB script will plot the required Bode diagram:

% Plotting of transmissibility function

clear;
m=100.0;
k=1.0e6;
b=6.455e3;
sys=tf([b/m k/m],[1 b/m k/m]);
24 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 24

bode(sys);
25 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 25

The resulting Bode diagram is shown in Figure S2.10. A transmissibility magnitude of 0.5
corresponds to 20 log10 0.5 dB = -6.02 dB .
Note from the Bode magnitude curve in Figure S2.10.4 that at the frequency 200 rad/s the
transmissibility magnitude is less than -6 dB and it decreases continuously for higher
frequencies. This confirms that the designed system meets the design specification.

Bode Diagram
10

0
Magnitude (dB)

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50
0

-45
Phase (deg)

-90

-135
1 2 3 4
10 10 10 10
Frequency (rad/sec)

Figure S2.10: Transmissibility magnitude and phase curves of the designed system.

Solution 2.11

(a) Mechanical Loading

A motion variable that is being measured is modified due to forces (inertia, friction, etc.) of
the measuring device.

(b) Electrical Loading

The output voltage signal of the sensor is modified from the open circuit value due to the
current flowing through external circuitry (load).
Mechanical loading can be reduced by using noncontact sensors, reducing inertia and
friction, etc.
26 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 26

Electrical loading can be reduced by using a low-output-impedance sensor, high-

impedance load, impedance transformer, etc. Some typical values of the listed parameters are
given in the following table:

Parameter Ideal Value Typical Value

Input Impedance Infinity 1MΩ
Output Impedance Zero 50 Ω
Gain Infinity 106
Bandwidth Infinity 10 kHz

Solution 2.12

The differential signal from the secondary windings is amplified by the ac amplifier and is
supplied to the demodulator. A carrier signal is used by the demodulator to demodulate the
differential ac signal. The modulating signal that is extracted in this manner is proportional
to the machine displacement. This signal is filtered to remove high-frequency noise (and
perhaps the carrier component left by the demodulator), and then amplified and digitized (using
an ADC) to be fed into the machine control computer.
The compensating resistor Rc may be connected between the points A and B or A and
C, as shown in Figure S2.12.
AC
Excitation

Primary
Coil

Secondary
A Coils

C B
RC

Differential
Output

Figure S2.12: Null compensation for an LVDT.

27 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 27

Solution 2.13
(a)
Scanning
Logic
Control

Image Sensor

Capacitive- Computer
CCD or and Image
Monitored Light Coupled
CMOS ADC Acquisition
Object Amplifier
Matrix Hardware/
and Filter
Software

Process Drive
DAC
Action Drive Amplifier
Signal

Figure S2.13: Monitoring of an industrial process using image processing.

(b) Data rate = 488  380  8  30 bits/s = 44.5 Megabits/s

(c) Since hardware processors are faster, we prefer them for this level of high data rates
for real-time action. Also, they are cheaper when mass produced. Disadvantages include
limitations on algorithm complexity in image processing and memory size.

Solution 2.14

Since the open-loop gain K of an op-amp is very high (105 to 109) and the output voltage
cannot exceed the saturation voltage (which is of the order of 10 V) the input voltage
vi = vip − vin is of the order of a few V, which can be assumed zero (when compared with

the operating voltages) for most practical purposes. Hence, vip = vin . Next since the input
impedance Zi is very high (M), the current through the input leads has to be very small for
this very small vi under unsaturated conditions.

(a) The saturated output of the op-amp must be 14 V in this example. The ac noise (line
noise, ground loops, etc.) in the circuit can easily exceed the saturation input (on the
order of 10 V) of the op-amp, under open-loop conditions. Hence, vi = vip − vin can
28 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 28

oscillate between + and - values of the saturation input. This provides an output, which
switches between the +ve saturated output +vsat and the -ve saturated output -vsat of the
op-amp.
(b)
Case 1: vip = −1 V , vin = +0.5 V ➔ vi = vip − vin = −1− 0.5 V = −1.5 V

➔ vo = −1.5 5106 V = −1.5 5 V = −7.5 V

This is valid since the output is not saturated.

Case 2: vip = 0 , vin = 5 V ➔ vi = 0 − 5 V = −5 V

➔ vo = −5 5106 V = −25 V

➔ Op-amp is saturated ➔ The actual output would be vo = −14 V

Solution 2.15

(a) Offset Current (Typically in nA)

Bias currents are needed to operate the transistor elements in an op-amp IC. These currents
i+ and i- flow through the input leads of an op-amp. The offset current is the difference
i + − i − . Ideally, the offset current is zero.

(b) Offset Voltage (Typically in mV or less)

Due to internal circuitry (IC) in an op-amp, the output voltage might not be zero even when
the two inputs are maintained at the same potential (say, ground). This is known as the offset
voltage at output. Furthermore, due to unbalances in the internal circuitry, the potentials at
the two input leads of an op-amp will not be equal even when the output is zero. This
potential difference at the input leads is known as the input offset voltage. This is usually
modeled as a small voltage source connected to one of the input leads

(c) Unequal Gains (Can range over 105 to 109)

The open-loop gain of an op-amp with respect to the “+” input lead may be different from
that with respect to the “-” input lead. This is known as unequal gains.

(d) Slew Rate (Typically about 0.5 V/s)

When the input voltage is instantaneously changed, the op-amp output will not change
instantaneously. The maximum rate at which the output voltage can change (usually
expressed in V/s) is known as the slew rate of an op-amp.
Even though K and Zi are not precisely known and can vary with time and frequency,
their magnitudes are large. Hence, we can make the basic assumptions: equal potential at the
two input leads and zero current through the input leads, under unsaturated conditions. Then,
these parameters do not enter the output equations of an op-amp circuit.
29 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 29

Solution 2.16

(a)
A voltage follower is an amplifier having a unity voltage gain, a very high input impedance,
and a very low output impedance. A simple model for a voltage follower is obtained by
connecting the “-” lead of an op-amp to the output (feedback path) and using the “+” lead as
the input lead. Under unsaturated conditions we have vo = vi . It is known that the input
impedance of a voltage follower is much larger than that of the original op-amp (which itself
is quite large—megohm range) and the output impedance of a voltage follower is much
smaller than that of the original op-amp (which is also small). Hence, a voltage follower
functions primarily as an impedance transformer that provides the ability to acquire a voltage
from a high-impedance device, where the current is rather low (e.g., a high-impedance
sensor) and transmitting that voltage signal into a low-impedance device, without distorting
the acquired voltage.

(b)
Consider circuit in Figure P2.16. Since v B = 0 , we have v A = 0 .
v v
Hence, current summation at node A gives: i + o = 0
R Rf
Note: The current through an input lead of an op-amp has to be zero.
v Rf R
Hence, o = − and K v = − f ➔ This is an inverting amplifier.
vi R R

Solution 2.17
Slew rate: s = 2f b a (i)

where, a = output amplitude, fb = bandwidth (Hz).

k
The rise time Tr is inversely proportional to fb. Hence, f b = where, k = constant.
Tr
2ka
Substitution gives: s= (ii)
Tr

From (i): For constant s, bandwidth decreases as a is increased.

0.5
For a sine signal, substitute the given values in (i): f b = MHz = 31.8 kHz
2  2.5
y
Next, for a step input, use s = where, Δy = step size, = Δt rise time
t

y 2.5
Substitute numerical values: t = = s = 5 s .
s 0.5
30 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 30

Solution 2.18

(a) Common-mode voltage vcm = voltage common to the two input leads of a differential
amplifier = average of the two inputs.
Common-mode output voltage vocm = output voltage of the amplifier due to vcm (i.e.,
in the absence of any voltage differential at the input.)
v
(b) Common-mode gain = ocm
vcm
v K
(c) CMRR = K cm =

vocm common-mode gain

where, K = amplifier gain (i.e., differential gain or gain at the output for the inferential input).
1
Specifically: v = K (v − v ) + K  (v + v )
o ip in cm ip in
2
Typically CMRR  20,000 .

When A is closed and B is open, the flying capacitor C gets charged to the differential
voltage vi1 − vi2 and hence the common-mode voltage does not enter. When A is open and

B is closed, the capacitor voltage, which does not contain the common-mode signal, is
applied to the differential amplifier.

Solution 2.19

The textbook definition of stability relates to the dynamic model (linear or nonlinear) of a
system and hence to its natural response. In particular, in a linear system, if at least one pole
(eigenvalue) has a positive real part, the natural response of the system will diverge, and the
system is unstable.
Instrumentation stability is linked to the drift associated with change in parameters of
the instrument or change in the environmental conditions.
Change in output
Temperature drift =
Change in temperature
assuming that the other conditions and the input are maintained constant.
Change in output
Long term drift =
Duration
31 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 31

assuming that the other conditions and input are the same.

Ways to Reduce Drift: Regulate the power supply; Use feedback; Keep the environment
uniform; Use compensating elements and circuitry; Recalibrate the device before
each use.
32 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 32

Solution 2.20

DC High -
Power Frequency
Supply Oscillator

Low- DC
Filter Voltage Modulator Demodulator Pass
Follower Amplifier
Filter
Input
Output
Transformer
Coupling

Input Output
Section Section

Figure S2.20: An isolation amplifier.

Solution 2.21

Possible causes:
1. Faulty cellphone charger and it not having a ground lead and pin
2. Faulty laptop charger and it not having a ground lead and pin

Faulty Cellphone Charger: Due to a short-circuit, the high voltage (110-240 VAC) will
leak into its cable and reach the cellphone. If the cellphone is not properly
grounded/isolated, the voltage will form a path through the user’s body. According to the
burns, this path has to include the chest and the ears (possibly through the
headphone cable).

Faulty laptop Charger: Due to a short, the high voltage (110-240 VAC) will leak from the
charger into the DC cable segment that is connected to the laptop. If the laptop is not
properly grounded/isolated, the voltage will form a path through the user’s body.
According to the burns, this path has to include the chest and the ears (possibly through
the headphone cable).

On the one hand, the newspaper report indicated that there were inexpensive and non-
compliant cellphone chargers in the market. However, since the power consumption of
the cellphone charger is relatively low and since the electricity path through the body
included the ears (Note: The headphones were connected to the laptop, not to the
cellphone) the other possibilities of fault need to be investigated as well. Typically,
however, the laptop chargers (particularly those provided by reputed laptop
28 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 28

manufacturers) are subjected to rigorous standards, inspection, and quality control (so
are cellphone chargers from reputed manufacturers).

Solution 2.22

Passive filters are circuits made of passive elements, which do not require an external power
supply to operate. These circuits allow through those signal components in a certain frequency
range and block off the remaining frequency components.

Advantages and disadvantages of passive filters: See disadvantages and advantages of active
filters.

The voltage follower is an impedance transformer. It reduces loading problems by providing

a very high input impedance and very low output impedance. Furthermore, it does not change
the voltage gain.

Solution 2.23

Applications:

(a) Anti-aliasing filters in digital signal processing

(b) To remove dc components in ac signals
(c) As tracking filters
(d) To remove line noise in signals.

ki (zi s +1)
Each single-pole stage will have a transfer function of the form: Gi (s) =
( pi s +1)
Hence, the cascaded filter will have the transfer function:

(  zi s +1 )
G( s ) = ΠG ( s ) = Π k , where ““ denotes the product operation.
(  pi s +1)
i i

1
Note that the poles are at − and these are all real; there are no complex poles. Hence,
 pi
there cannot be resonant peaks.

Solution 2.24
29 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 29

It provides the flattest magnitude over the pass band among all filters of the same order
(same pole count).
Also, we prefer a very sharp cutoff (i.e., steep roll-up and roll-down).
30 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 30

Solution 2.25
(a)
Op-amp properties: 1. Voltages at input leads are equal; 2. Currents through input leads = 0
Op-amp property: vB = vP = vo (i)

(vi −v A ) (vA −vB ) (v A −vP )

Current Balance at Node A: = + (ii)
Zc Zc R
(v A −vB ) vB
Current Balance at Node B: = (iii)
Zc R
1
Note: Z c = = impedance of capacitor
Cs
(vi −vA ) vo (vA −vo ) vA 1
Substitute (i) and (iii) in (ii): = + = → v = (1+ )v (iv)
i A
Zc R R R τs

(vA −vo ) vo 1
Substitute (i) in (iii): = → v A = (1+ )vo (v)

Zc R τs
Note: τ = RC = time constant
vo (s) 2
Substitute (iv) in (v): G(s) = =
vi (s + 1) 2
This is a 2nd order transfer function ➔ 2-pole filter
(b)
− 2 2
With s = j in G(s), we have G( j ) =
(1+  j )
=2= 2
Filter magnitude G( j ) =
(1 +  2 2 )

The magnitude of the filter transfer function is sketched in Figure S2.25. This represents a
high-pass filter.
(c)
1
When,   : G( j )   2  2

1 =2 =2
When,   : G( j )  2 2 = 1
  
1
Hence, we may use  c = as the cutoff frequency.


Note: G( j ) → 1 as  →  For small : Roll-up slope of G( j )

 31 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 31

curve is 40 dB/decade.
30 SENSORS
COMPONENT
AND ACTUATORS
INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 30

Magnitude
G( j )
(Log)
40 dB/decade

0 dB

Frequency 
(Log)
Figure S2.25: Filter transfer function magnitude.

Solution 2.26

Strain Gauge for force Sensing: Low-frequency noise due to ambient temperature
fluctuations. These may be compensated for (using abridge circuit) and also through
high-pass filtering
Wearable Ambulatory Monitoring (WAM): In human mobility monitoring (e.g., in
telehealth applications) a popular WAM sensor is a combined accelerometer and
gyroscope. Both sensors will be affected by bias, removal of which would need high-
pass filtering). High-frequency artifacts may be generated in the sensed signal due to
muscle tremor and low-frequency artifacts may be formed due to respiration. These
may be removed using band-pass filtering.
Microphone (Robotic Voice Commands): A band-pass filter for the human vocal range
(80Hz to 1100Hz).
AC-powered Tachometer for Speed Sensing: Line noise (60 Hz) may be removed using a
notch filter.

Solution 2.27

(a)
The main signal component appears sinusoidal with frequency ~ 1 rad/s (period ~ 6.3 s).
From the figure it is not clear whether there is a superimposed sinusoidal signal of high
frequency and/or high-frequency noise, even though some oscillations are observed in the
noise.
31 SENSORS AND ACTUATORS
COMPONENT INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 31

(b)
We use the following MATLAB command to obtain the four-pole Butterworth low-pass
filter with cut-off frequency at 2.0 rad/s:
>> [b,a]=butter(4,2.0,'s')
b =
0 0 0 0 16.0000
a =
1.0000 5.2263 13.6569 20.9050 16.0000

Then, we use the following MATLAB commands to filter the data signal using this filter, and
plot the result shown in Figure S2.27(a):
>>y1=lsim(b,a,u,t);
>> plot(t,y1,'-')

(a) Low-pass Filtered Signal with Cut-off 2.0 rad/s

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2
Signal (V)

-0.2

-0.4

-0.6

-0.8

-1
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)
-3
x 10 (b) Filtered Signal with Pass-band [9.9,10.1] rad/s
5

1
Signal (V)

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)
32 COMPONENT
SENSORS INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING
AND ACTUATORS 32

(c) Filtered Signal with Pass-band [9.0,11.0] rad/s

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05
Signal (V)

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15

-0.2
-0.25
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)

(d) Filtered Signal with Pass-band [8.0,12.0] rad/s

0.25

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05
Signal (V)

-0.05

-0.1

-0.15

-0.2
-0.25
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (s)

Figure S2.27: Filtered signals. (a) Low-pass at 2.0 rad/s; (b) Band-pass over [9.9,
10.1]; (c) Band-pass over [9.0, 11.0]; (d) Band-pass over [8.0, 12.0].

It is seen that the filtered signal has a frequency of 1.0 rad/s with the correct amplitude (1.0)
and negligible phase shift. Initially some signal distortion is seen due to the transient nature
of the output. However, the steady-state value is reached in half a period of the signal.

(c)
Band-pass filtering for the three cases are obtained using the following MATLAB
commands:
>> Wn=[9.9,10.1];
>> [b2,a2] = butter(4,Wn,'bandpass','s');
>> y2=lsim(b2,a2,u,t);
>> plot(t,y2,'-')
33 SENSORS AND ACTUATORS
COMPONENT INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING 33

>> Wn=[9.0,11.0];
>> [b2,a2] = butter(4,Wn,'bandpass','s');
>> y2=lsim(b2,a2,u,t);
>> plot(t,y2,'-')

>> Wn=[8.0,12.0];
>> [b2,a2] = butter(4,Wn,'bandpass','s');
>> y2=lsim(b2,a2,u,t);
>> plot(t,y2,'-')

The results are shown in Figures S2.27 (b)-(d). The very narrow pass-band produced a
filtered result that took a rather long time to reach the steady state of amplitude 0.2 (i.e., the
filter had a larger time constant). When the pass-band was increased, the steady state was
reached quicker (i.e., smaller filter time constant). However, the amplitude distortion of the
filtered signal was noticeable as a result.

Solution 2.28

If a characteristic of a signal “B” is changed with respect to time, depending on some

characteristic parameter of another signal “A,” this process is termed modulation. The
modulating signal (or data signal) is the signal A. The carrier signal is the signal B. The output
signal of the modulation process is the modulated signal. The process of recovering the data
signal (A) from the modulated signal is known as demodulation.

(a) Amplitude Modulation (AM)

The carrier is a periodic signal (typically a sine wave). The amplitude of the carrier signal is
varied in proportion to the magnitude of the data signal. Specifically, the carrier signal is
multiplied by the data signal. In one form of AM, the carried signal is added again to the
resulting product signal. The AM technique is used in radio transmission and in sensing (e.g.,
differential transformer). The sign of the data signal is represented by a 180 phase change
in the carrier signal.

(b) Frequency Modulation (FM)

The carrier is typically a sine wave signal. The frequency of the carrier signal is varied in
proportion to the magnitude of the data signal. This process is commonly used in radio
transmission and data storage. Sign of the data signal is represented by changing the carrier
phase angle by 180.

(c) Phase Modulation (PM)

The carrier signal is typically a sine wave. The phase angle of the carrier signal is varied in
proportion to the magnitude of the data signal. Used in signal transmission. Sign of the data
signal is represented by positive or negative phase change in the carrier.

(d) Pulse-width Modulation (PWM)

34 COMPONENT
SENSORS INTERCONNECTION AND SIGNAL CONDITIONING
AND ACTUATORS 34

The carrier is a pulse signal. The pulse width of the carrier is changed in proportion to the
magnitude of the data signal. Both the spacing between the pulses (pulse period) and the
pulse amplitude are kept constant. Used in dc motor speed control, other control applications,
and digital-to-analog conversion (DAC). Sign of data is accounted for by using both +ve and
-ve pulses.

(e) Pulse-Frequency Modulation (PFM)

The carrier is a pulse signal. The frequency of the pulses is changed in proportion to the
magnitude of the data signal. Pulse width and pulse amplitude are maintained constant (and
the pulse period is varied). Used in dc motor speed control. Sign of data is accounted for by
using both +ve and -ve pulses.

(f) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

Carrier signal is a pulse sequence. The value of the data signal at a given time instant is
represented in the binary form and this value is represented in the carrier (of by equally
spaced pulses) using the fact that the presence of a pulse can be used to represent binary 0.
Then for a given word size, say n bits, a maximum of n pulses have to be transmitted. The
sign of the data word may be represented by an additional bit, known as the sign bit (using,
say 1 to represent “+” and 0 to represent “-”). Separation between one data word and the
next may be detected through “framing” a data word using “start bits” and “end bits.” Used
in digital communication.

Solution 2.29

Intentional AM
• Radio broadcast
AM will improve signal communication with reduced distortion by noise and
transmission loss. It will also facilitate making several broadcasts
simultaneously in the same geographic area (due to the frequency-shifting
property of AM)
• Signal conditioning
AM enables us to exploit advantages of ac signal conditioning hardware
(improved stability, reduced drift, etc.). Also, the AM process will improve
the signal level and noise immunity as a result of the use of the original signal
(to be conditioned) to modulate a high-frequency, high-power carrier signal.

Natural AM
• Any device that uses the transformer action (primary winding and secondary
winding with the primary coil being excited by an AC; e.g., linear variable
differential transducer or LVDT, ac tachometer).
• A rotating machine with a fault; e.g., a gearbox with a fault on a tooth, a turbine
rotor with eccentricity or damaged blade.

Yes. In the first device AM provides the advantages of ac signal conditioning, and
improves noise immunity and signal level.
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
 OF FATHER AND SON.—BRINGING OUT BODIES.—BURIAL OF THE
DEAD.

XXXIX.

IRON AND IRON MINES.

IRON AND ITS VALUE.—ITS ABUNDANCE, AND WHERE IT IS FOUND.—A
MOUNTAIN OF IRON.—IRON MOUNTAIN AND PILOT KNOB.—THE
AUTHOR’S VISIT.—CHASED BY GUERRILLAS.—A NARROW ESCAPE.—
THE ANTIQUITY OF IRON.—ITS VALUE IN MANIPULATION.—IRON
AS MONEY.—INCONVENIENCE OF USING IT.—FIRST IRON WORKS
IN AMERICA.—DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IRON AND OTHER MINES.—
DIRECT AND REVERSE WORKINGS.—A PICTURESQUE SCENE. 590

XL.

EXILES IN SIBERIA.
TOILING IN A SIBERIAN MINE.—A DARING ESCAPE.—HOW IT WAS
PLANNED.—TUNNELLING TO LIBERTY.—DISARMING GUARDS.—
WORKING IN THE DARK AND WITHOUT FRESH AIR.—A
MURDEROUS ATTEMPT.—CUSTOMS OF THE SIBERIAN PEASANTRY.—
CARE FOR THE EXILE.—A SURPRISE.—A NARROW ESCAPE FROM
DEATH.—LIVING IN A MOUNTAIN GLEN.—HUNTING IN THE ALTAI
MOUNTAINS.—KILLED BY AN ARGAL.—SEPARATION AND
DEPARTURE.—HOW TO OBTAIN PASSPORTS.—SAFE ARRIVAL AT
HOME. 599

XLI.

LEAD MINES OF IOWA.

BLUFFS AT DUBUQUE, IOWA.—THE LEAD MINES.—HOW LEAD IS
FOUND THERE.—INDIAN DISCOVERIES.—HOW THE SECRET
BECAME KNOWN.—STORY OF THE SIX INDIANS.—FOLLOWING
THEIR TRACKS.—AN INDIAN TRAITOR.—AN EXPLORER’S
ADVENTURE.—THE INDIAN GUIDE AND THE GREAT SPIRIT.—
MURDER OF TWO EXPLORERS.—USES OF ABANDONED SHAFTS AND
CAVES.—AN EDITOR’S DISCOVERY.—AN UNDERGROUND BANQUET.
—UPS AND DOWNS OF A LEAD MINER.—DEATH OR A FORTUNE.—A
DANGEROUS BLOW.—A MINUTE OF GREAT PERIL. 613

XLII.
MINING IN THE BLACK HILLS. THE WONDERFUL MINE UNDER LAKE SUPERIOR.
FIRST REPORTS OF GOLD IN THE BLACK HILLS.—DISCOVERY OF
PLACER DEPOSITS.—THEIR EXTENT AND RICHNESS.—DEADWOOD
AND RAPID CREEK.—SAD FATE OF AN EARLY EXPLORING PARTY.—
VALUABLE QUARTZ VEINS.—MODE OF REACHING THE COUNTRY.—
OTHER RESOURCES OF THE BLACK HILLS REGION.—BRILLIANT
PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE.—A REMARKABLE MINE UNDER LAKE
SUPERIOR.—CURIOSITIES OF SILVER ISLET.—WORKING UNDER
DIFFICULTIES.—ORES OF UNEXAMPLED RICHNESS.—MINING
ADVENTURES UNDER THE LAKE.—NEW ROUTE TO THE CENTER OF
THE EARTH. 622

XLIII.

CALIFORNIA AND HER TERRESTRIAL TREASURES.

WONDERS OF THE PACIFIC COAST.—CALIFORNIA IN 1835.—CAUSE OF
HER RAPID PROGRESS.—THE HONEST MINER OF THE OLDEN TIME.
—FATE OF THE FORTY NINERS.—EFFORTS OF A NOVICE.—RUSHES
TO NEW PLACERS.—CHANGE FROM PLACER TO QUARTZ MINING.—
GRASS VALLEY.—EXTENT OF THE GOLD-BEARING RIDGE.—
AMALGAMATING PROCESSES.—SPECULATIONS IN MINING STOCKS.
—HOW A SHARP NEW YORKER WAS SOLD.—A LUCKY HIT.—COPPER
MINES IN CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA.—NEW ALMADEN AND ITS
QUICKSILVER.—BENEFITS OF AN EARTHQUAKE. 633

XLIV.

RAPID TRANSIT.
RAPID TRANSIT IN NEW YORK.—THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
SCHEMES.—ELEVATED RAILWAY LINES.—THE WEST SIDE RAILWAY.
—TRAVELLING ON LAMP POSTS.—ADVANTAGES OF A SECOND
STORY ROAD.—ADVENTURES WITH THIEVES.—PERILS OF THE
MODERN STREET CAR.—ARTISTIC PACKING OF PASSENGERS.—THE
PNEUMATIC RAILWAY.—VANDERBILT’S SCHEME.—AN
UNCOMFORTABLE JOURNEY.—SHOT FROM A GUN. 644

XLV.

THE TUNNELS, AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN LONDON.

DESCRIPTION OF THE LONDON HARBORS.—THE CATHARINE DOCK.— 662
ENORMOUS STORE-HOUSES.—HOW THE TUNNEL WAS BUILT.—
 PLAN OF THE FRENCH ENGINEER, ISAMBERT BRUNEL.—HOW THE
WORK WAS CHECKED BY A BREAK IN THE BED OF THE THAMES.—
SIX LIVES LOST.—REMARKABLE RESCUE OF THE SON OF MR.
BRUNEL.—ENORMOUS LABOR AND STRUGGLE AGAINST THE
ELEMENTS.—TRIUMPH AT LAST.—THE MOST REMARKABLE
RAILROAD IN THE WORLD.—LONDON CROSSED UNDERGROUND BY
A SERIES OF TUNNELS.—HOW LIGHT AND AIR IS PRODUCED.—THE
NEWEST IMPROVEMENTS OF THE ROAD.—THE CARS PASSING
UNDER THE DWELLING OF THE DEAD.

XLVI.

DUNGEONS.
LIFE IN THEM.—ANCIENT DUNGEONS.—THE PRISON OF ST. PAUL.—
THE DUCAL PALACE.—“SOTTO PIOMBI.”—THE POZZI.—SHUT UP IN
THE DARK CELLS.—A NIGHT OF HORROR.—A GUIDE’S BLUNDER.—
DUNGEONS OF ST. PETERSBURG.—PETER THE GREAT TORTURING
HIS SON.—A PRINCESS DROWNED IN PRISON. 675

XLVII.

ANIMALS UNDER GROUND.

HORSES IN MINES.—EFFECT OF AN EVEN TEMPERATURE ON HORSES
AND MULES.—EFFECT OF DEPRIVATION OF LIGHT.—WALKING IN
DARKNESS.—RATS IN MINES.—A MONKEY IN A SILVER MINE.—THE
CONSTERNATION HE CREATED.—WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE.
—HIS UNHAPPY FATE.—A MONKEY AT SEA.—HIS PRANKS.—
DEMOCRATIC HABITS.—HOW HE LOST HIS LIFE.—HIS LAST
PERFORMANCE.—DOGS IN MINES, AND THE EFFECT OF
UNDERGROUND CONFINEMENT.—JOY AT REACHING DAYLIGHT
AGAIN.—TWO DOGS AT SEA, AND WHAT THEY DID.—A DOG
SAILOR, AND WHAT HE DID.—HIS UNHAPPY END. 686

XLVIII.

OUT OF PRISON.
WONDERFUL ESCAPE FROM A FRENCH PRISON.—PLANS OF ESCAPE.—A
LONG LABOR.—TUNNELLING THROUGH A WALL.—INGENUITY OF A
SAILOR.—LUCKY ACCIDENTS.—DISCOURAGING EVENTS.—HOW
SUCCESS WAS ATTAINED.—ELUDING THE GUARDS.—REACHING A
PLACE OF SAFETY. 695
 XLIX.

THE GAMBLING HELLS OF GERMANY.

THE FOUR GREAT SPAS.—DESCRIPTION OF BADEN, HOMBURG,
WIESBADEN, AND EMS.—ROULETTE AND ROUGE-ET-NOIR.—
SPLENDOR OF THE SALOONS.—THE PERSONS WHO FREQUENT
THEM.—PROFITS AND PECULIARITIES OF THE DIRECTION.—THE
PHILOSOPHY OF GAMBLING.—WHY PLAYERS LOSE.—STRANGE
SUPERSTITIONS OF BETTORS.—THE INVALIDS.—DROLL SCENES AT
THE PUMP-ROOM.—THE MAN WITH A SNAKE IN HIS STOMACH.—
THE ROBUST HYPOCHONDRIAC. 705

L.

GAMING AND GAMESTERS ABROAD.

FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC SUMMER RESORTS.—THE ADVANTAGE OF
THE FORMER.—MYSTERIOUS CHARACTERS.—A TRIO OF
CELEBRATED GAMESTERS.—THEIR EXTRAORDINARY HISTORY.—
TRAGIC FATE OF A YOUNG RUSSIAN OFFICER.—TEMPTATION,
DESPAIR, AND SUICIDE OF A BEAUTIFUL ENGLISH GIRL.—A LUCKY
BANKER’S CLERK.—A HUNGARIAN HANGING HIMSELF FOR A
WARNING.—ECCENTRICITIES OF CROUPIERS.—A CALM-BLOODED
HOLLANDER.—THE SKELETON IN THE CLOSET.—ROSE-STREWN
ROADS TO RUIN. 721

LI.

SUBTERRANEAN DWELLINGS.
THE EARLIEST HABITATIONS.—UNDERGROUND HOUSES.—A
DWELLING ON THE AMERICAN PLAINS.—HOW AN EARTH HOUSE IS
MADE.—RESULT OF A NIGHT IN IT.—ARCTIC DWELLINGS.—A
MANSION IN KAMCHATKA.—ITS ADVANTAGES AND
DISADVANTAGES.—A CHIMNEY AND DOORWAY IN COMMON.—THE
AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE.—A LIVE DOG IN A STEW-KETTLE.—THE
STORY OF GAMOOT.—HOW HE ENTERTAINED HIS FRIENDS.—FISH
OIL PUNCH AND A CANDLE BREAKFAST.—HOW HE LEARNED
ENGLISH.—NEW MODE OF BOXING THE COMPASS.—GAMOOT’S
MELANCHOLY FATE. 736

LII.
 BRIGANDAGE AS A FINE ART.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY IN MODERN TIMES.—THE OLD WORLD AND THE
NEW CONTRASTED.—HABITS OF RUSSIAN ROBBERS.—PIOUS
THIEVES.—PRAYERS FOR SUCCESS.—ROAD AGENTS.—CRUELTIES
OF ITALIAN BRIGANDS.—TORTURE AND RANSOM OF PRISONERS.—
SPANISH BRIGANDS.—ADVENTURE ON A SPANISH ROAD.—AN
AMERICAN PRINCE AND AN ENGLISH DUCHESS.—AN EXCITING
RACE.—A DUCHESS IN UNDRESS. 746

LIII.

MINERAL RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

COLONIAL EXHIBITS AT THE PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL.—
WONDERFUL MINERAL WEALTH OF THE ANTIPODES.—CURIOUS
FEATURES OF THE GOLD FIELDS.—HOW A PARTY OF
CALIFORNIANS WERE DECEIVED.—DISCOVERIES OF GOLD AND
HOW THEY WERE MADE.—TROUBLES WITH THE MINERS.—AN
INSURRECTION AND ITS RESULT.—FIELD OF THE AUSTRALIAN
MINES.—COAL, IRON, AND OTHER MINERALS.—THE RESOURCES OF
NEW ZEALAND.—ITS GOLD YIELD.—GEOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES.—
AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER WEALTH.—VICISSITUDES OF MINING
LIFE.—PLANS FOR ENCOURAGING IMMIGRATION. 755

LIV.

UNDERGROUND IN SAN FRANCISCO.

CHINESE OPIUM DENS.—PISCO.—EXPERIMENTS IN LIQUORS.—
SATURDAY NIGHT AMONG THE CHINESE.—COCOMONGO.—
MURDERER’S ALLEY.—CHINESE MUSIC.—THE THEATRE.—BETEL
AND ITS USE.—THE BARBARY COAST.—CHEAP LODGING-HOUSES.—
A DYING VICTIM.—A DEN OF THIEVES.—“THE SHRIMP.”—UNDER
THE STREET.—A REPULSIVE SPECTACLE.—OPIUM SMOKING.—ITS
EFFECTS.—SAMSHOO.—ITS PREPARATION AND QUALITIES.—
INTRODUCTION TO AN OPIUM DEN.—THE OCCUPANTS.—
EXPERIMENT ON A SMOKER.—HOW TO SMOKE.—TRYING THE
DRUG.—MESCAL.—GOING HOME.—TRYING A SEWER.—A
COUNTRYMAN’S DRINK. 768

LV.

GOLD AND ITS USES.

ITS ANTIQUITY.—WORSHIP OF GOLD.—ANCIENT GOLD MINES.—KING
SOLOMON.—GOLD IN AMERICA.—STORY OF A HUNTER.—THE
SHEPHERD AND THE CHILD.—HOW PIZARRO EUCHRED THE
PERUVIAN KING.—SUTTER’S FORT AND SAW-MILL.—MARSHALL’S
DISCOVERY IN THE MILL RACE.—ROMANCE AND REALITY.—
SPREADING THE NEWS.—NAVIGATION UNDER DISADVANTAGES.—
THE GOLD EXCITEMENT.—THE PAN AND ROCKER.—THE AUTHOR AS
A GOLD MINER.—HOW HE WORKED THE ROCKER.—HARRY AND HIS
TIN DIPPER.—DISAPPOINTMENT AND DINNER.—VICISSITUDES OF
GOLD MINING. 785

LVI.

GOLD MINING.
VARIOUS WAYS OF MINING GOLD.—SLUICING AND HYDRAULIC
MINING.—ACCIDENT TO A MINER.—A NARROW ESCAPE.—POWER
OF WATER IN HYDRAULIC MINING.—EFFECT ON RIVERS AND BAYS.
—A SCENE OF DESOLATION.—QUARTZ MINING.—QUICKSILVER AND
ITS AMALGAM.—STOCK OPERATIONS.—THE MARIPOSA MINES.—
THE AUTHOR’S VISIT.—HAYWARD’S MINE.—MANIPULATION OF
MARIPOSA.—FUNNY STORY OF A SEA CAPTAIN.—HOW HE
SUPERINTENDED A MINE.—HIS MANAGEMENT OF A MILL.—
ACCIDENTS ON PURPOSE, AND HASTY FLIGHT. 802

LVII.

COPPER AND COPPER MINES.

ANTIQUITY OF COPPER.—USE OF IT AMONG THE ANCIENTS.—OLDEST
COINS.—THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES.—COPPER MINES OF
ENGLAND AND OTHER COUNTRIES.—NATIVE COPPER.—HOW IT IS
WORKED.—OVERTHROWING A MASS.—A LUMP WEIGHING EIGHT
HUNDRED TONS.—MALACHITE. 817

LVIII.

THE CATACOMBS OF ROME.

THEIR AGE AND EXTENT.—THE SEVEN HILLS HONEYCOMBED.—HOW 829
THE CATACOMBS WERE MADE.—THEIR USES.—THE CHRISTIAN
MARTYRS.—IMMENSE BURIAL VAULTS.— MILLIONS OF PERSONS
BURIED.—RESORTS OF ROBBERS.—STRANGE ADVENTURES.—
VISITING THE CHURCH OF THE CAPUCHINS.—FANCY OF AN
 IRREVERENT AMERICAN.—DOWN THE CATACOMBS.—STORY OF
THE GUIDE.—STRANGE EXPERIENCE OF TWO AMERICANS.

LIX.

THE PARISIAN RAG-PICKERS.

THEIR NUMBER AND EQUIPMENT.—THEIR KEEN-SIGHTEDNESS AND
SKILL.—THE PLEASURE OF THE BOTTLE.—SEEKING COMFORT
UNDER DIFFICULTIES.—UNWHOLESOME MAGAZINES.—WHERE AND
HOW THE CHIFFONNIERS LIVE.—DISMAL AND NOISOME ABODES.—
A SOUP LOTTERY.—QUAINT SCENES IN CHEAP BOOK-SHOPS.—
TASTING ROAST CAT AND STEWED PUPPY.—ROMANCE IN DIRT-
HEAPS.—A HIDEOUS HAG ONCE A FAMOUS BEAUTY.—PENITENCE
AND REFORMATION THROUGH FIRE. 844

LX.

BRIGANDAGE AND PIRACY.

RELATIONS OF THE STEAM ENGINE TO HONESTY.—PIRACY AND
STEAMSHIPS.—HOW THE SLAVE TRADE WAS BROKEN UP.—STORIES
OF BRIGANDS.—EXPLOITS OF SPANISH ROBBERS.—“ROAD
AGENTS” IN CALIFORNIA.—AN ADVENTURE WITH HIGHWAYMEN.—
AN ARMED STAGE COACH.—THE HAUNTS OF THE ROBBERS.—
STORY OF A PLUNDERED PASSENGER.—“PUT UP YOUR HANDS.”—
AN EXCITING INCIDENT.—BROAD-HORNS AND KEEL BOATS.—MIKE
FINK AND THE CLERGYMAN.—PIRACY ON THE MISSISSIPPI.—A
FIGHT WITH RIVER PIRATES.—A CAPTAIN AND CREW MURDERED.—
VISIT TO A ROBBER’S CAVE. 853

LXI.

BURIED TREASURES.
CAPTAIN KIDD.—HIS HISTORY.—HOW HE MADE HIS FORTUNE.—HIS
MELANCHOLY FATE.—JOINT STOCK IN THE ADVENTURE GALLEY.—
SEARCHING FOR TREASURES.—STORIES OF THE SEA-COAST.—
TRADITIONS.—ADVENTURES OF A TREASURE-HUNTER.—BILL
SANBORN, AND WHAT HE DID.—JIM FOLLETT’S DOG.—A PRACTICAL
JOKER.—A MESSAGE FROM THE SANDS OF THE SEA.—BILL
SANBORN’S DREAM.—FINDING THE CHEST.—A SUPERNATURAL
VISITOR. 866

LXII.
 OPERATIONS AT HELLGATE.
HELLGATE AND SANDY HOOK.—ENTRANCES TO NEW YORK HARBOR.—
THE HELLEGAT AND ITS MEANING.—STORIES OF THE OLD
VOYAGERS.—EDITORIAL JOKES.—MAILLEFERT’S OPERATIONS.—
DEEPENING THE CHANNEL.—GENERAL NEWTON.—THE AUTHOR ON
AN EXCURSION.—BLOWING UP COENTIES’ REEF.—HOW IT IS
DONE.—AN ACCIDENT WITH NITRO-GLYCERINE.—THE AUTHOR’S
NARROW ESCAPE.—DIVER’S EXPERIENCE.—ASTONISHING THE
FISHES.—RECEPTION AT HALLETT’S POINT.—GOING UNDER THE
REEF.—THE MEN AT WORK.—AN INUNDATION.—HOW THE REEF IS
TO BE REMOVED.—SURVEYING IN THE WATER.—A GRAND
EXPLOSION. 882

LXIII.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND.

THE STONE AGE.—PICTURE OF ADAM AND EVE.—HOW EVE CUT THE
APPLE.—MINERS OF ANCIENT TIMES.—DISCOVERY OF STONE
IMPLEMENTS.—THE INVENTION OF FIRE.—HOW GOLD WAS FOUND.
—COPPER AND BRONZE.—THE BRONZE AGE.—IRON AND ITS USES.
—MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.—
QUICKSILVER IN SPAIN AND CALIFORNIA.—THE WEALTH OF
NEVADA.—ROMANTIC STORY OF THE COMSTOCK LODE.—MINERAL
FUTURE OF AMERICA. 898

LXIV.

DIAMOND AND OTHER SWINDLES.

THE GREAT DIAMOND SWINDLE OF 1872.—HOW IT WAS ORGANIZED.
—MAGNIFICENT PLANS OF THE SWINDLERS.—PLANTING A
DIAMOND FIELD.—HOW THE FRAUD WAS EXPOSED.—A NEAT
SWINDLE ATTEMPTED IN SAPPHIRES.—HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED.
—A MYTHICAL COPPER MINE.—FATE OF THE SWINDLER. 905

LXV.

PERQUISITES.
CURIOSITIES OF COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS.—PAYING 917
COMMISSIONS IN EUROPE.—FUNNY EXPERIENCES.—SPREAD OF
THE CUSTOM IN AMERICA.—HOW CONTRACTS ARE OBTAINED AND
 PAID FOR.—COMMISSIONS TO TRADESMEN AND OTHERS.—
CURIOUS FEATURES OF THE PIANO TRADE.

LXVI.

THE WIELICZKA SALT MINES.

THE GREAT WIELICZKA SALT MINES, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.—
THEIR HISTORY.—EXTENT AND PRODUCT.—DESCENT INTO AND
EXPLORATION OF THEM.—WHAT IS TO BE SEEN.—MINERS AT
WORK BLINDFOLDED.—WONDERFUL CHAMBERS.—GLOOM
CONVERTED INTO SPLENDOR.—BANQUETS IN THE BOWELS OF THE
EARTH.—THE INFERNAL LAKE.—HUMAN DEMONS.—AWFUL
APPARITIONS.—EXTRAORDINARY NARRATIVES. 930

LXVII.

EXPLOSIONS IN MINES.
THICKNESS OF COAL SEAMS.—STUPIDITY OF A TURKISH MINING
SUPERINTENDENT.—THE RESULT.—BLASTING IN MINES.—HOW IT
IS DONE.—TERRIBLE ACCIDENTS.—MINES ON FIRE.—SCENES OF
DEVASTATION.—EFFECT OF SUBTERRANEAN FIRE.—EXPLOSIONS
OF FIRE-DAMP.—HORRIBLE ACCIDENTS.—STORIES OF SURVIVORS.
—LOSS OF LIFE.—SCENE IN A WELSH MINE.—EXPLOSIONS IN
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN MINES.—MODES OF RELIEF.—STORY OF
TWO BROTHERS.—HOW THEY WERE SAVED.—THE SAFETY-LAMP.—
ITS CONSTRUCTION.—THE FIRE-WALLS OF CHINA.—THE PENITENT
AND CANNONEER. 948

LXVIII.

MYSTERIES OF THE GRAND JURY.

SITTING ON A GRAND JURY.—HOW IT IS COMPOSED.—PECULIARITIES
OF MODERN JUSTICE.—HOW TO SELECT BLOCKHEADS.—A
DISHONEST BAGGAGE-MAN.—CHARITY AND MERCY.—AN
AFFECTING INCIDENT.—SAVING A YOUTHFUL OFFENDER.—A
GENEROUS WOMAN.—CURIOUS PHASES OF HUMAN NATURE.—CELT
AND AFRICAN.—STORIES OF THE DETECTIVES.—A GARRULOUS
IRISH WOMAN.—FAMILY TROUBLES.—THE HORSE AND CART
STORY.—HOW A PRETTY WOMAN CAPTURED THE JURY. 960

LXIX.
 BORROWING AND BORROWERS.
HOW THE BUSINESS IS PROSECUTED IN NEW YORK.—THE NUMBER OF
BORROWERS.—THEIR DIVISIONS AND SUBDIVISIONS.—HOW THEY
OPERATE.—THE STORIES THEY TELL.—THEIR ENERGY.—ABILITY TO
READ CHARACTER.—SUFFERINGS OF THEIR VICTIMS.—FRAUDS
UPON HORACE GREELEY.—DEVICES TO AVOID THESE SWINDLERS.
—ANNUAL AMOUNT OF THEIR SWINDLES.—HOW A MAN CUTS HIS
EYE TEETH. 979

LXX.

AMONG THE DETECTIVES.

DETECTIVE LIFE.—CURIOSITIES OF LIFE IN A GREAT CITY.—NOT
KNOWING YOUR NEIGHBORS.—PECULIAR ACQUAINTANCES.—
ROBBERY OF A DRY GOODS STORE.—INGENIOUS DETECTION OF
THE CRIME.—LOVE AND JUSTICE.—A SURPRISING DENOUEMENT. 991

LXXI.

WAR AND PRISON ADVENTURES.

EXPERIENCES OF AN ARMY CORRESPONDENT.—RUNNING THE
BATTERIES OF VICKSBURG.—EXCITING SCENES.—PERILOUS
SITUATION AND HAIR-BREADTH ESCAPE.—SHOT, SHELL, STEAM,
FIRE, AND WATER.—TWO YEARS AS A CAPTIVE.—TUNNELLING.—
ITS MODE, MANAGEMENT, AND MISHAPS.—TOILING FOR FREEDOM
UNDER GROUND.—BOLD AND PROSPEROUS EFFORTS FOR LIBERTY.
—LIFE IN A DUNGEON.—PERISHING BY INCHES.—DEATH ON EVERY
HAND.—SUBTERRANEAN SEEKING FOR THE LIGHT.—SELF-
DELIVERANCE AT LAST. 999
 ILLUSTRATIONS.

1. Phases of Underground Life, Frontispiece

2. Austin, Nevada; A Western Mining Town, 34
3. Impressions of Plants found in Coal, 40
Discovery of Anthracite Coal in
4. Pennsylvania, 40
Wire Railway at the Harewood Coal Mine,
5. British Columbia, 51
6. Entrance to a Coal Mine, 54
7. Interior of a Coal Mine, 54
8. Descending a Shaft, 68
9. Sections of an English Coal Mine, 74
10. Discovery of Silver in Peru, 82
11. Interior of a Silver Mine, 82
Entrance to a Silver Mine of Central
12. America, 88
13. Indian Silver Miners at Work, 88
14. One Method of Washing for Silver, 95
15. Another Method of Washing for Silver, 95
16. New York Speculators at the Mines, 108
17. Demonstrating the Value of a Silver Mine, 108
18. Pearl Diving in the East Indies, 130
Discovery of Loaves of Bread Baked 1800
19. Years Ago, 167
20. Bodies of Pompeians Cast in the Ashes, 173
Railroad from Naples to the Summit of Mt.
21. Vesuvius, 187
22. Descent of Vesuvius, 188
23. Searching for Relics, 193
The Gate of Herculaneum and Street of
24. Tombs, 197
25. The Crater of Vesuvius, 198
26. Bay of Naples, 206
27. Naples Wagon, 206
28. Nero’s Gymnasium, 214
Dr. and Mrs. Schliemann the Excavators at
29. Mycenæ (Greece), 221
The Explorations at Mycenæ—the Treasury
30. of Atreus (entrance), 224
31. Battle of the Warriors, 263
32. The Philadelphia Bank Robbery, 268
33. Australian Natives Burning their Dead, 278
34. An Indian Burial Place, 278
35. The Tombs of the Kings at Thebes, 289
36. Hall in the Tombs of Assasseef, 289
37. Pumping Well on Oil Creek, 334
38. The Grand Hotel, 356
39. Place De La Bastille, 362
40. The Bastille, 362
41. Destruction of the Bastille, 371
42. Working a Diamond Claim, 376
43. River Washing—Cradling for Diamonds, 376
44. Celebrated Diamonds of the World, 382
45. The Orloff Diamond, 382
46. Star of the South, 382
47. The Nassac, 382
48. The Cumberland, 382
49. The Sancy, 382
50. Star of the South—rough, 382
51. The Dresden, 382
52. The Regent Diamond, 382
53. The Kohinoor—recut, 382
54. Australian Brilliant, 382
55. The Eugenie, 382
56. Regent—side view, 382
57. The Hope, 382
58. The Florentine, 382
59. The Shah, 382
60. The Diamond Fields of South Africa, 391
61. Grand Avenue of the Champs Elysées, 407
62. Ball at Mabille, 415
63. East River Bridge, 426
64. Inundation of a Mine, 439
65. Falling in of a Mine, 444
66. View of Mammoth Cave, 474
67. Stalagmites in the Cave, 474
68. Execution of a Chinese Criminal, 488
69. Eastern Entrance to Hoosac Tunnel, 500
70. Western Entrance to Hoosac Tunnel, 500
71. Work at the Heading, 506
Boring machine used in Mount Cenis
72. Tunnel, 518
73. Side View of Boring Machine, 518
74. Place De La Concorde, 527
75. The Madeleine Church, 530
76. Subterranean Paris, 536
77. The Great Sewer, 536
78. Quicksilver Mines of New Almaden, 554
79. Blasting in the Quicksilver Mines, 554
80. Burning of a Coolie Ship, 568
81. Coolies Planning a Mutiny, 577
82. Mutiny on the Lower Deck, 577
The Avondale Disaster—Removing Bodies
83. from the Mine, 586
84. Interior of an Iron Mine, 594
 Section of the Broadway Underground
85. Railway, 644
Tunneling Broadway for the Underground
86. Railway, 652
87. Interior of Pneumatic Passenger Car, 655
88. Portal of the Broadway Tunnel, 655
The Bomb Ferry—Travel in the 30th
89. Century, 661
The Public Highway—Travel in the 30th
90. Century, 661
Underground Rail Road Station, Aldgate
91. London, 671
92. Conversationshaus at Baden, 708
93. Concert in the Gardens at Baden, 708
94. Gambling Saloon at Baden, 722
95. Esquimaux Dwellings, 739
96. Robbery of the Diligence, 750
97. Drinking Pisco in a San Francisco Saloon, 769
Jas. W. Marshall, the Discoverer of Gold in
98. California, 790
99. Sutter’s Mills where Gold was Discovered, 790
100. Emigrant Train of Gold Hunters in 1849, 794
101. Chinese Gold Mining in California, 794
102. Gold Washing in the California Mines, 798
103. Miners Prospecting, 804
104. Miners Around their Camp-fire, 810
105. Ground Sluicing, 814
106. Hydraulic Mining, 814
107. A Copper Mine of the Lake Superior Region, 824
108. Interior of a Copper Mine, 821
109. Drilling in a Copper Mine, 824
110. Catacombs of Rome—The Three Brothers, 832
111. Vaulted Chapel in the Catacombs, 840
112. Lost in the Catacombs, 840
113. Pirates of the Mississippi, 862
114. View of Hellgate from Negro Point, 885
115. General View of Works at Hallett’s Point, 885
116. View of Shaft from the Dam, 892
117. The Shaft, Showing Headings, 892
118. Dream of a Diamond Swindler, 911
119. Descending the Shaft—Wieliczka Salt Mines, 932
120. Chapel in the Wieliczka Salt Mines, 932
121. Getting out Salt, 936
122. Illustration of the Infernal Lake, 936
123. Explosion of Fire Damp, 952
124. Our Quarters in Libby Prison, 1008
125. Tail Piece, 1016
UNDERGROUND.
 I.
BELOW THE SURFACE.

DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE.—WHAT THE WORLD BELIEVES.—MUNGO PARK IN

AFRICA.—WHY THE NATIVES PITIED HIM.—EXTENT OF UNDERGROUND LIFE.
—DISTRIBUTION OF THE EARTH’S WEALTH.—VALUE OF MINES.—THEIR
EXTENT AND IMPORTANCE.—COAL AND IRON.—MYSTERIES OF MINES.—
EXPERIENCE WITH A NOVICE.—CHANGES OF SEASONS TO A MINER.—
DANGERS IN MINES.—LIFE IN CAVERNS.—UNDERGROUND IN METAPHOR.—
SOCIAL MINING.—OBJECT OF THIS VOLUME.

In these days of fast presses, cheap books and newspapers,

lightning telegraphs, and other disseminators of intelligence, there
may be those who doubt the correctness of the adage which says,
“One half the world does not know how the other half lives.” Human
nature is inquisitive. We are constantly seeking information
regarding the affairs of others, and we generally manage in some
way to obtain what we seek. We store our minds with useful and
useless knowledge of the manners and customs of people in other
lands, and of the private lives and histories of our near neighbors.
Very often the material we thus lay aside in our mental store-houses
does not particularly concern us, but, like Mrs. Toodles, in her
purchase of a door-plate bearing the name of Thompson with a p,
we think it will be handy to have at some future day, and so we keep
it. With a fair devotion to inquiries, and a well-cultivated memory, a
life of threescore and ten years ought, at this day, to acquaint its
possessor with a general knowledge of the how and why of the
existence of at least half the inhabitants of the globe.
But it may be set down as an axiom,
VARIED TASTES
that one half the world does not live as the
other half does. People’s tastes differ, and there are very few who
would wish to live exactly like others, especially if those to whom the
choice is offered are richer than the others. There are many who
would not change places with their wealthy neighbors, and it is more
than probable that their wealthy neighbors would not change places
with them. The majority of sailors are not happy when on shore, but
are constantly sighing for a wet sheet and a flowing sea, while the
majority of landsmen have no desire for such hydropathic
experience. When Mungo Park travelled in Africa, the natives
expressed great pity for him because he had lost his color; they
constantly mourned over the unhappy lot of the white man, and
would have been quite unwilling to change complexions with him.
Mungo received their sympathy with a countenance becomingly
solemn, but the chances are more than even that what they
regarded as a misfortune was by him considered a blessing. “Give
me a bed of ice and a pillow of snow,” said a moribund Laplander in
Italy, “and I shall die happy.” A refrigerating couch of this kind would
be comfortless in the extreme to a countryman of Pauline Borghese.
A comparatively small portion of the human race lives, or would
wish to live, beneath the surface of the globe. Most of us rarely go
there voluntarily, and our first visits of any important duration are
made after we have shuffled off this mortal coil and invoked the aid
of the sexton. Then we are carried there without protest, and the
earth is filled above us in sufficient depth to guard us against
ordinary intrusions. We may be certain that none of our friends will
come in living flesh to join us, and when death brings them to our
side their slumbers will be as long and peaceful as our own. The
earth, beneath its surface, is regarded by many, as the dwelling-
place of Death, to be contemplated with a shudder, and to be visited
only when life has left us.
But have they ever considered how much of life there is which the
light of day does not reveal? The plants in our gardens have their
roots in the rich soil prepared for their sustenance; remove those
roots, and the plants fall and die. The trees of the forest spread their
branches and unfold their leaves to sun and storm, but there are
other branches spread below which sometimes extend more widely
than those above. Through these lower limbs, hidden from the light
of the sun and sheltered from the peltings of the pitiless storm, life
comes to the trunk and to the upper branches. Lay bare these lower
branches, and tear them from the earth, and the tree soon withers
and perishes. The grass carpets the meadow, the flowers adorn the
hill-sides, wheat and corn grow in the fields, the trees spread their
shading limbs and drop their fruits in their season, and without these
the world would be desolate. But all have their existence
underground, and they cling as tenaciously to the bosom of Mother
Earth as the men who walk among or upon them cling to that
mysterious element which we call life.
A great portion of the wealth of the
WEALTH UNDERGROUND.
globe lies beneath its surface. Gold and
silver form the circulating medium of all civilized and many savage
people. Their possession is wealth, as the lack of them is poverty;
their coming brings happiness, and their departure leaves misery.
From the earth they are taken, and in their pursuit men undergo
many privations and suffer many hardships. The diamond that
sparkles on delicate fingers has been washed from the
accumulations which many centuries had piled above it. Iron,
copper, tin, and other metals are sought by the light of the miner’s
lamp, far away from the rays of the sun, and sometimes in long
tunnels pushed beneath the ever-restless ocean. Ages and ages ago
the hand of Nature deposited beds of coal in every quarter of the
globe, and to-day they afford light and heat to millions of the human
race. Down, down, hundreds and thousands of feet below the
surface of the earth these coal-beds are spread, sometimes over
areas many miles in extent, and promising a supply of fuel for many
centuries to come. Thousands of men find profitable employment in
these mines; and but for their labors, those of us who live above the
surface would often suffer the pangs of cold.
As the coal burns brightly in our grates
VALUE OF COAL AND
and fills our rooms with heat, do we think
IRON.
of the many centuries it has been awaiting
our use, and of the toil that has placed it in our control? As we look
at the great network of railways, spreading over our continent,
bringing north and south, east and west, nearer together,
annihilating time and space (and sometimes annihilating people), do
we think that but for the mines of coal and iron our country to-day
would be little better than it was half a century ago, and much of its
area, now rich in commercial and agricultural prosperity, would be
little else than a wilderness? To coal and iron the world owes much
of its present advancement, and both these substances come from
beneath the surface of the earth.
The most valuable minerals, and those which employ the greatest
amount of capital, are of comparatively recent exploitation. Iron has
done more good to the world than gold, and is many times more
valuable; but gold was known and used long before iron was
discovered. Coal is more valuable than copper, and gold, and
diamonds; the world could go on without these last, as other
minerals could take their places, but nothing now known could take
the place of coal. From many parts of the globe the forest primeval
has been removed, and countries that a few hundred years ago
were thickly wooded are now almost denuded of timber. Should the
working of coal mines cease to-day, there would speedily ensue a
scarcity of fuel, and, if prolonged, this scarcity would result in much
suffering and death. The exploitation of coal is one of the great
interests of the British Isles, and is of no inconsiderable importance
in the United States. More than two thirds of the mining enterprise
of the world is devoted to it; yet this substance, possessing no
beauty, and to a casual observer devoid of all merit, is included
among the most recently discovered minerals. “Time’s noblest
offspring is its last.”
To most people the underground life of
FUNNY EXPERIENCE OF A
the miner is a mystery. Comparatively few NOVICE.
of those who walk the earth to-day have
ever been farther within it than to the bottom of a cellar; and in
many localities even this experience has been denied to the
inhabitants, for the reason that no cellars are found there. If an
enumeration were made to-day of all persons in the United States
who have ever been underground more than fifty feet from the
surface, and more than one hour at a time, the number would be
found surprisingly small. I once accompanied a gentleman from
Boston in a descent into a mine a hundred feet in depth, and having
a single gallery about eighty feet long, leading from the foot of the
shaft. It was an old story to me, but a new one to my Boston friend,
who clung to the rope of our bucket as convulsively as a drowning
man would clutch a life buoy. When we reached the bottom, and
crept along the low gallery, his heart beat violently, and he several
times wished himself safe above ground. When we finished our
exploration, and returned to the upper air, I asked him what he
thought of the mine.
“Most wonderful thing I ever saw,” he replied. “I never knew much
about mines, and didn’t suppose they were so deep. Wonderful,
certainly.”
“What would you think,” I asked, “if I should take you into a mine
twenty times as deep as this, and having miles of galleries
underground, where you could walk a whole day without going
through all of them?”
His face assumed the most puzzled expression I ever saw on a
human being, and he was speechless for a full minute. When he
regained his voice, he said,—
“You might tell me of such a mine, and I should be obliged to
believe you, though I can hardly conceive one could be made so
large. But as for taking me into such a place, you could never do it
without tying me and carrying me there. Catch me in such a place as
that, never.”
I told him the story of the boy who went from home for the first
time in his life to accompany his father to a grist-mill, about three
miles away. When the boy returned, he was thoughtful for a long
time, and finally remarked that he never supposed the world was so
large.
The miner’s life is one of vicissitudes and dangers. He is shut out
from the light of day, and depends upon his lamp or candle, instead
of the sun and moon. Shut up in the earth, all is night to him; and
whether the sun shines or is obscured by clouds, whether the moon
is in the heavens, surrounded by twinkling stars, or the whole dome
above is wrapped in darkness, makes little difference to him. All is
night, and without his artificial light, all is blackest darkness. The
changes that follow the earth’s daily revolutions are unknown to the
miner as he performs his work, and if he remained continually
below, the seasons might come and go without his knowledge.
Summer’s heat and winter’s frost do not reach him; there is for him
but one season—the season that has endured for millions of years,
and may endure for millions of years to come. The temperature of
the surrounding earth, unless varied by that of the air driven to him
by the machinery of his mine, or by the heat of his lamp, is the
temperature in which he performs his labors. Day and night, spring
and autumn, new moon and full moon, may come and go, but they
extend not their influence to the depths of the mine.
There are dangers from falls of rock and
earth, which may cause immediate death, DANGERS
UNDERGROUND.
or enclose their victims in a living tomb.
There are dangers from water, which may enter suddenly, flood the
mine, and drown all who cannot reach the opening in time to
escape. There are dangers from the atmosphere, which may become
foul, and leave him who breathes it lying dead, far away from those
who would gladly assist him, but would lose their lives should they
go to his rescue. His light grows dim, and warns him of his peril; as
he starts for a place of safety the light goes out, and in blackest
darkness he falls and dies, unless speedily rescued. There are
dangers from fire, where the atmosphere becomes charged with
inflammable gas; it is lighted by an accident, and an explosion
follows, in which dozens and sometimes hundreds of men are killed.
There are dangers from fire outside the mine, as in the horrible
affair of Avondale. There are dangers from the breaking of ropes,
and the derangement of machinery, from the carelessness of those
whose duty it is to exercise the utmost caution, and from other
causes to be hereafter enumerated. And yet with all these perils
there is no lack of men ready to meet them, as there is no lack of
men ready to meet the perils and dangers of all branches of
industry. Laborers can always be found for any honest employment,
and too often for employment quite outside the bounds of honesty.
The earliest life underground was in
caves of natural formation. All over the EARLY LIFE
UNDERGROUND.
globe there are caverns where men have
lived, sometimes under concealment, sometimes for sanitary
reasons, and sometimes because they saved the labor of
constructing houses. Some of these caverns are of great dimensions,
and could furnish shelter for thousands of men, while others are
adapted to the wants of only a few persons. Many caverns and caves
are not available as dwelling-places, but are visited only from
motives of curiosity on the part of travellers, or from a desire for
gain on the part of those who seek whatever may be valuable. Many
caves have histories romantic or tragic, and some of them combine
romance and tragedy in about equal proportions. Tales of love and
war, of fidelity and treachery, and of all the contending passions and
experiences of human nature, can be found in the histories of these
excavations which have been made by no mortal hands.
Metaphorically, there is a great deal of underground life above the
surface of the earth. Men devote time, and patience, and study to
the acquisition of wealth by measures that are as far removed from
the light of honesty as the tunnel the miner drives beneath the
mountain is removed from the light of the sun. One builds a
reputation which another burrows beneath and destroys, as the
engineers at Hell Gate undertook to destroy the rocky reef which
sunk the ships of many a navigator, from the days of Hendrick
Hudson to Gen. Newton. Hope springs eternal in the human breast,
but it is not always hope for better things.
Dishonest men hope for wealth, they
care not how obtained, and in its pursuit MINING IN METAPHOR.
they frequently imitate the labors of the miner. Shafts are sunk and
tunnels are driven; the pick, the drill, and the powder-blast perform
their work; operations are silently and secretly conducted, and all
unknown to the outer world; dangers of falls of earth, of floods of
water, of choke-damp, and fire-damp, are unheeded, and by and by
the prize may be obtained. A great city, in its moral or immoral life,
is cut and seamed with subterranean excavations more extensive
than those of the richest coal-fields of England or Belgium. Wall
Street is a mining centre greater than the whole of Pennsylvania,
and to one who knows it intimately it reveals daily more shafts and
tunnels than can be found in Nevada or Colorado. The career of a
politician is not unlike that of the miner, though it is frequently much
more difficult to follow. The miner may be tracked and found, but
there is many a politician whose devious windings would baffle the
keenest detective that ever lived.

To describe underground life in its many phases is the object of

this volume. The experience of the miner is full of adventures of an
exciting character; so exciting, indeed, that there is no occasion to
use fiction in place of fact. The hardships, the difficulties, and the
dangers that surround him who labors beneath the earth’s surface
might form the basis of a story more interesting than the most
skilfully constructed romance ever printed. It is an old adage, that
Truth is stranger than Fiction: the experience of the miner affords
better illustrations of the correctness of this adage than does that of
any other laborer. Especially is this the case if we consider
Underground Life in its metaphoric as well as in its literal sense, and
note the devious and hidden ways in which many of our fellow-men
pass the greater part of their existence.

AUSTIN, NEVADA, SIX THOUSAND FEET ABOVE THE SEA. THE METROPOLIS OF
THE REESE RIVER DISTRICT. SILVER FIRST DISCOVERED AT THIS POINT IN JULY,
1862.