The Daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1845-1850, 1850-08-27
The Electric Light. Mr. Paine's Discovery
Corroberated by Experiment

MEssRs EDiToRs-I have passed HYDROGEN
through turpenine and found il to acon;ra
high Illuminating properties. You know there
Is an old experiment of the philosophical
cantlie' made by generating hydrogen under
stratum of turpentine; bHt thinking the
newly generated or nascent hydrogen m;obt
have the power of decomposing or absorbing
the turpeniine, led the hydrogen from the
generating bottle by bent tube dipping un-
der the iurpenine in a separate bottle. The
light was very brilliant; in intensity, I thought,
between The Drummond light and the solar
lamp spirit gas light looked dingy along
side OF it-as ordinary lights appear by the
lime light The taking Of daguerreotype by
it would have been very easy.
next directed my attention to ascertain the
quantity of tnrpentine used along with
known quantity OF hydrogen. first accu-
raely measured portion of turpentine, and
then passed the gas from 80 ounces of zinc
through it, burning the gas at the Jet all the
time. then again measured The turpentine,
and found ii not perceptibly less than before.
Now, in this case the hydrogen could not have
been changed into carburretted hydrogen, for
coal gas contains from four TO five times as
much carbon as hydrogen, and pure carbur-
rered hydrogen has six times as much car
bon as hydrogen; and as 80 ounces of zinc,
by solution, liberate one ounce or twelve Gu
bic feet OF hydrogen, therefore from four to
six ounces of turpeniine should have been
used up, surprising ii to beall carbon, but tur-
pentine is composed of 20 atoms of carbon.
to Is atoms of hydrogen and consequently
only one seventh of lis carbon can be taken
up by the hydrogen or in other words, az
ounces of turpeniine will be required to car
buret one ounce of hydrogen. Yet still
thinking that some portion of the turpentine
might be evaporated, cooled the bottle with
the turpentne, and placed the whole appara-
tus in a cold bath, and tried the experiment
over again, but the light was the same. /
then heated the turpentine TO 100 degrees,
and then passed the hydrogen through
it, but the light was the same. / then took
|
" three pints of cold water and three-quarters
of pint of turpentne, and let the pipe from
the hydrogen generator run quite 10 the Dot
tom of the water-the light appearing the
same, or a little better. have used the same
! rot or r1r7v,r,ti--e-i..-a these experiments
having had brilliant light for about three
hours and the turpentine, though frequently
, poured from one bottle 10 another, is not a tea
spoonful less than before began the first ex.
pertinent.
have now announced to you the simple
facts of the matter, the rationale leave to the
scientific world. The next step, after ascer-
tanning that hydrogen can be used for ilIumi-
nation, is, whether the light is according to its
weight or its bulk, as compared with the coal
gas-that is whether 200 cubic feet of this
catalyzed hydrogen will go as far for light as
200 feet of coal gas,or whether it will require
200 feet-one pound Of the hydrogen to do
the work Of 26 feet-one pound of coal gas.
Very truly yours, &c.
GEORGE MATHIoT.
Washington, July 9Th, 1850.
The Scientific American, remarks upon the
above as follows:
All the certificates and letters published by
MIR. Paine's friends have no value at all in
comparison with this of Mr.. Mathiot.
MIR. Mathioi is Electro Metalurgist attached
to the U. S. Coast Survey; he possesses a
vast amount Of practical scientific knowledge.
The light was seen by the scientific gentle
men attached to the survey.