The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-19 00:00:00

ELECTRICITY AND THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.

The thousands of 'holiday people who, after a day's
pleasure, or endeavour thereafter, at Greenwich or Rich-
mond, on Whit Monday last, returned by steamboat or
railway, vii Hungerford Suspension-bridge came unex-
pectedly unexpectedly upon an extraordinary and in-
teresting exhibition, not the less pleasurable that its en-
joyment made no further addition to their day's ex-
penses.
Two miniature suns—for so without hyperbole we
may characterise the electric lamps—one in each tower
—converged their intense rays on the centre of the
bridge, and effectually illuminated the whole of the in-
tervening space, feebly lighted in general by`about 100
gas lamps. The lights remained in continuous opera-
tion from nine o'clock p.m. till past midnight, to the
special wonderment of the curious, and the special satis-
faction of otherwise benighted passengers to or from the
South-Western terminus. Are the days of steam and
gas numbered ? Electricity is now evidently destined
to take the place of both. Of the applicability of the
electric force as a motive power, as a substitute for
steam in every branch of industry and enterprise, and as
a source of illumination for streets, public-buildings,
lighthouses, mines, railway-tunnels, bridges, diving-bells,
&c. some practical men of science have never doubted ;
but until recent discoveries had exhibited the economy of
" this wonderful power," by making its production eco-
nomically profitable, the man of business had not con-
templated its application to the daily purposes of life.
The inventions of Dr. Watson, the basis of the intended
operations of the Electric Power and Colour Com-
pany, it is said, have now removed the only obstacle to
the universal use of electricity, and to its immediate ap-
lication to locomotion, mechanical arrangements of all
kinds, navigation chemical decomposition, and illumi-
nation. For while, in ordinary galvanic instruments,
the outlay in the destruction of metals is altogether un-
reproductive, absolutely wasteful, every shilling's worth
of material used in Dr. Watson's batteries returns half-
a-crown in the shape of valuable pigments (which can
he sold pure and unadulterated at a lower price than the
adulterated articles in the market), bleaching powder,
and other commercial products readily saleable. We
are, indeed, informed that contracts can be at once en-
tered into for the profitable disposal of all that the com-
pany can produce in the shape of chromes and Prussian
blue, and that these contracts represent an actual de-
mand to the extent of 40,0001. per annum for the Rus-
sian market alone.

As regards the mechanical perfection with which the
illuminating process is applied, it is sufficient to advert
to the fact that the Great Northern Railway Terminus
at King's-cross, extending 500 yards in length, and
usually lighted up by 250 burners, was completely and
continuously illuminated by two electric lamps placed at
one extremity, for several hours, during which the gas-
lamps were extinguished. By this light alone the trains
entered and departed during the evening, and so intense
was the brilliancy that the smallest print might be read
with facility at the remote extremity opposite to the
source of light.
In the same manner as we have already mentioned,
two lamps, one in each tower of Hungerford Suspension-
bridge, lighted that thoroughfare for several entire even-
ings from nine p.m. till past midnight, completely
" paling the ineffectual fires" of nearly a hundred gas
lamps."
Several perfectly efficient motive power engines have
been constructed, and are now in existence, adapted to
be worked by electricity, but the cost of that power has
hitherto precluded their employment for any practical
purpose. The economical solution of the question being
attained, who can say that the wonderful inventions of
Watt will not be, to a vast extent, superseded by those
of Watson ?

The various other uses to which this new power can be
made subservient embrace the desulphurisation of coke
(of which about 600,0001. worth is consumed yearly by
railway -companies alone), telegraphing, electrotyping,
smelting, and the manufacture of steel.
With such extraordinary advantages and elements of
success—considering that, as regards only one applica-
tion of the electric power, that of illumination, no less
than 11,000,0001. sterling are now invested in supplying
gas to London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and the other
cities and towns of England, it may be that the Electric
Power and Colour Companies must, to their own en-
richment, speedily revolutionise the world of arts and
industry.