The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-07-18
THE DAILY UNION.
NEW AND INTERESTING INVENTION.

Il
NEW AND INTERESTING INVENTION.
\ We promised, a few days since, more partcu-
lar description Of the magnec-eectrlcal machine
which has been invented by DR.. Charles c. Page,
of the Patent Office. II is now in our power TO
comply with our engagement and wishes, by laying
the following communication before our readers.
We assure our correspondent that he does US no
more than justice in appreciating the deep interest
we take in the progress of the sciences and the arts
Our columns are always open to such researches.
We shall make arrangements, in few days. for
awaiting ourselves of the advantages which the Pat
en Office throws open and of detailing all the in
ventions, as they SUCCESSFULLY admitted to pat
ent Few, indeed, have lately succeeded in passing
the critical examination of the three judges APP
pointed by act of Congress, viz: the Secretary of
State, the Solicitor of the Treasury, and the Com
missioner of the Patent Office.
We understand that Dr. Page does not permit his
| talent to be hid in napkin, but that his enter
prisng and scientific mind is still at work on new
discoveries. He is carrying out new invention,
which he holds to be of star greater interest and
|
his impression is, that he has ''overcome the long
existing difficulties in the way of the application of
magnetism as moving power, and is ready to APP
ply it at once to locomotives" &c Dr. p. is clerk
in the Patent Office and cannot, therefore, take out
patent for it. For this reason, he is compelled to
throw himself upon the discretion of Congress for
relief and hence it is more important that his in
vention should be brought more fully to the notice
of the public. We shall avail ourselves Of the po-
lite invitation we have received; and hope, in the
course of the next week, to witness the operation
Of his new invention. We shall, of course, report
progress.
| For the Union.
DIR. PAGES MAGNETIC Ell CTRICAL MA
CHINE.
The first available machine of this description,
founded upon important discovery of Faraday,
was made by Mr.. Saxton, now connected with the
United States coast survey. After Faraday's dis
covery that magnetism, under certain conditions,
was capable of developing electricity, many at
tempts were made to obtain mechanical con-
trivance, by which the amount of electricity might
be increased, and applied to various purposes with
convenience. The ingenuity of Mr.. Saxton sur
passed them all; and Saxton's machine has been al
most universally adopted (unt recently as the
means of exhibiting the magnetic-elecirc current.
ment since Saxon's invention, except those made
by DR.. Page. The first advance was 10 convert two
opposing currents of electricity into one continu-
Gus current, by the introduction of his pole charger
| The second improvement consisted in the use of
straight armaures, in place of the original curved
| armatures; and the use of two more magnets in
stead of single magnet, formerly, giving to the
machine far greater power than had been before OBJ
| tanned These improvements were made in 1888.
BY their introduction, the machine was at once rem
fully verified the prediction made by Or. Page in
Silliman's Journal in 1888, that the magnetic ma
chine would eventually supersede the galvanic bate
ry. In the old form of the machine, as there were
| opposing currents in each half revolution of the ar
mature, no definite chemical results could be OBJ
tanned, without losing just half the power Of the ma
chine, by emitting the current of one-halfin each
revolutions; which was enough to render the instru-
| ment inappcable for the practical purposes to
which the galvanic battery was applied. The las,
| improvement of DR.. Page, in this machine, we are
not yet at liberty to mention; but will take an oppor-
tunity to do SO as his rights can be in some
way secured. He has been for several years one
of the examiners in the Patent Office; and, according
to the law, cannot obtain patent for any invention.
The general principle the machine is as follows:
/ Two powerful magnets are mounted in a strong
frame; and between the four poles of these magnets,
large coils of wire, surrounding bars of iron, are
made to revolve rapidly, by means of crank, null
tipying and pulley-whees. As the bars of iron
volve they become alternately charged during each
revolution, with opposite magnetsms; and 1t is the
charging with magnetism and the discharge of the
| same before passing into opposite state, that OPP
crates upon and sets free the natural electricity OF
the coils of wire surrounding the bars. The cleo
tricty, thus developed, being in opposite directions
in each half revolution, is turned into one channel
by the pole charger and led off at pleasure precise
" it would be from the poles of galvanic bate
ry. Electricians characterize the electrical current
as of two orders, vizthe current of quantity and
the current of intensity The current of quantity
has great power to magnetic or produce electro
magnets, and also to ignite platinum wires, but has
j no power to produce decompostions give shocks.
The current ofintensity has the power of decompo-
sing water and other substances, Of furnishing
/ shocks, and Of passing through considerable space
in the air, or in racuo. This latter order of cur
rent has hitherto been produced by the magnetic
electrical machine, hut the current has always been
wanting in quantity; which property most de-
sirable to enable to apply it to the production of
i magnetism, in its turn. very powerful machine,
constructed by DR.. Page about two years and half
since, furnishes shock which would instantly kill
stout man, and projects brilliant spark, through
one inch space in the air. In instance, the pow
er of this machine having been reduced to one-enth
its full value, man receiving the shock was pros
tIated upon the floor. With all this extraordinary
power as current of Intensity, there was not suf-
power Of more than thirty pounds. BY the last i'm
provement of Dr. Pages machine, the most desira-
Bile property Of quantity has been attained to i'm
mense amount. In fact, the whole character Of the
current seems to be converted from an intensity to
j quantity current The intensity machine, Just al
luded to- consists Of ten elements, while the new ma
chine consists of only two; and yet it does not give
any shock appreciable by ordinary means, but has
an extraordinary power of magnetzing-giving to
an electromagnetic the power of sustaining one thou
sand pounds This property was Just that desired
to render the machine available for operating the
telegraph, and it has proved amply sufficient for the
; purpose. On Christmas last, it tried, in
!, oonncxion with Morse's telegraph, through the
line between this place and Baltimore, and was
found TO transmit through this great length Of con-
Quoting circuit sufficient quantity Of electricity to
charge an electro magnet and operate the telegraph
The success complete; and as soon as the tele
graph shall come into general use, we doubt not but
this machine will be substituted for the galvanlc
| A Jay. mfr 10