The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-30 00:00:00

ADELAIDE GALLERY.

COMBUSTION BY REFRACTED ARTIFICIAL
LIGHT.

Last evening Dr. Atkins delivered a lecture upon
the Boccius Light, which he illustrated by experi-
ments of great novelty and interest, with the Colos-
sal Burning Lens, lately brought into use in this In,;
stitution. The Learned Gentleman commenced by
stating that all bodies are divided into combustible
and incombustible, oxygen being the only supporter
of combustion, and the atmospheric air itself sup-
porting combustion only by means of the oxygen
which it contains. A change takes place, in the
oxygen by its combination with the burning bodies,
so that it becomes incapable of supporting respira-
tion or combustion, and affects vegetable colours,
which were before unaffected by it. All combustible
matters commonly burnt are composed of carbon and
hydrogen. The Lecturer separated.the oxygen and
hydrogen composing water, and burnt the latter ;
after which he produced water by the deflagration
of the two gases. In producing artificial light, un-
less solid matter is introduced into the flame, the
latter is but slightly luminous. He showed that the
flame of oxygen and hydrogen burnt together gives
little light, although possessing great heating power,
but when that flame is applied a piece of lime, the
light produced is very great. The object, therefore,
sought in the improved method of procuring arti-
ficial light, has been to bring the flame to act upon
solid matter, so that it becomes incandescent, in the
most convenient way to produce the greatest amount
of light, with the least consumption of materials. The
mode of illumination, now most familiarly known as
the Bude light, was first exhibited by the late Sir
Humphrey Davy, at the Royal Institution, and the
failure of its first application to the lighting of the
House of Commons, by Mr. Gurney, was occasioned
by the difficulty of regulating the amount of light
and procuring the necessary supply of oxygen. Gurney
and Boccius at the same time devised new kinds of
burners, to remove that defect. By. the contrivance
of the latter inventor, of which the lecturer gave a de-
tailed description, the supply of oxygen is rendered
unnecessary, and there is no smoke; the light being
obtained at one-fourth of the expense required for the
same amount of light as was produced on Mr. Gurney's
plan. For the better understanding of the experi-
ments which he was about to make with the Colossal
Burning Lens, it was necessary to explain that each
of the seven rays into which a pencil of solar light
may be divided by the prism, consists of three distinct
portions—an illuminating, a calorific, and a chemical
ray. External to the red ray is the greatest amount
of heating, or calorific rays ; and external to the violet,
the greatest amount of chemical rays. It had long
been doubted, and even denied, that artificial
light could transmit heat through ' glass and
cad transparent bodies—in other words, it was
.held that bodies diaphthermous to the rays of the
sun were not diaphthermous to those of artificial light.
It was shown, however, by Meloni, that glass allowed
a small quantity of heat .to accompany those rays,
but not so much in proportion as accompanied the
solar in their passage through the same material.
Now, the important point in the 'discovery- which Dr.
Atkins had made by means of the,-Cotaossel, Lens, was
that the heat of artificial light is refracted, reflected,
and transmitted by glass. It is reflected from a para-
bolic reflector to the lens, in pas.7ing through which it
is refracted, and then transmitted to, and concentrated
in, the focus on the other side. In this, the resem-
blance of the Drummond Light to that of the sun was
greater than was found in any other mode of artificial
illumination. His success in making the discovery
was to be attributed to the great powers of this une-
qualled lens. The history of the instrument was curious,
and not without interest. It is believed to be the same
that was originally constructed for the destruction of the
Emperor Maximilian, by concentrating the rays of the
sun upon his head as he passed in procession through
a city of the Netherlands, the thirteen provinces of
which became subject to the oppressive yoke
of Austria by Maximilian's marriage with
the heiress of Charles of Burgundy. The
design was discovered, and the constructor of the in-
strument was put to death. This occurred shortly
before the end of the fifteenth century, so that the
lens is about 350 years old. It was some time in the
oossession of the illustrious Lavoisier ; from whom
it passed into the hands of a Frenchman, who sold it
for a small sum to the founders of this institution.
Here some experiments were made with it by Mr.
Maugham, who succeeded in melting thine ounces -
of copper in its focus by the sun's rays. It was after-
wards laid aside as useless, or employed only to re-
present a revolving signal on the top of Mr. J. L.
Stephens' signal telegraph for railways. The pre-
sent talented proprietor of the Adelaide Gallery found
it amongst the lumber, and in testing its great powers
succeeded, on Monday last, for the first time, in
burning phosphorus in its focus by refracted artificial
light, thus determining an important and long dis-
puted question in natural philosophy. The Lec-
turer repeated the experiment last evening With
perfect success, and to the great satisfaction
of a crowded audience. The Colossal Lens is
three feet in diameter, and weighs three cwt.
Such another could not now be made in this country,
as the regulations of the Government would not allow
the necessary proportion of lead to be used in the
manufacture of the glass.

ALARMING FIRE AT CROYDON..--Wednesday infor-
mation was received at the chief station of the
Brigade Force in Watling-street, of a destructive fire
breaking out, about one o'clock in the morning, at
the Greyhound Inn, opposite the Town-hall, Croydon.
The first to raise the alarm was Mrs. Martin (wife of
the proprietor), who had retired to bed, and was
awoke by the smoke; but the exact spot of the fire,
could not be found until the inmates had effected an
escape, when, upon the police entering, they dis-
covered the flames burning fiercely in the cellars
under the counting-house. The alarm-bell in the
town being immediately rung, plenty of assistance
was soon on the spot, and, after some exertion, the
fire was prevented from extending further than the
cellars. It is supposed to have been occasioned by .a
spark falling from a candle into a heap of sawdust on the
previous day, while some coals were being unloaded
into the cellar. The amount of damage was reported
to be between 2001. and 3001.
SUPPOSED MURDER AT SALISRURY.—On Tuesday
morning man, named Samuel Bruton,
was
found a labouring
dead a t his
lodging,in a yard leading out
of Giant-street, under circumstances which lead to
the suspicion of his having Come by his death in a
violent manner. The unfortunate man lodged at the
house of a person named Greek, and on Tuesday
morning, about six o'clock, upon the latter being
called up by a Mr. Spreadbury, in whose employ he
was in the capacity of housekeeper and porter, the de-
ceased was found lying on the stairs quite dead, with
his neckcloth closely twisted round his neck as if he
had been strangled. A Coroner's inquest was held
upon the body in the course of the day, and several
witnesses were examined, from whose evidence it ap-
peared that a cry of murder had been heard to pro-
ceed from Greek's house on Monday night, and also
that Greek had frequently made use of several sus-
picious observations respecting the deceased. Greek
. was taken into custody immediately, and remains so
still, the Coroner's inquest having been adjourned for
the purpose of obtaining further evidence.
A biography of the late King of Prussia, Frederick
William 111., is announced by a Berlin. journal. It
is written by the Protestant Bishop, Dr. Eylert, who
during his late Majesty's life was at the. head of that
Church, and admitted to close intimacy with his So-
vereign. Dr. Eylert gives some details of the visit of
the Dukes of Orleans and Nemours•to Berlin, and
among others relates the following anecdote When
the French Princes came to take leave of the King,
the:Duke of Orleans several times made an attempt
to kiss his Majesty's hand, but Frederick William
would not admit him to pay this mark of homage.
The Duke then earnestly entreated him to accept it,
saying that the King of the French had expressly, on
his leaving Paris, commanded him to kiss the hand of
the Soverei4n who had, during twenty years, main-
taine l peace in France. Upon this, the King of
Prussia not only gave his hand to be kissed by the
Duke of Orleans, but, at the same time, embraced him
Cordially."