The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1850-09-24

Iectro-Magnetism as a Motive Power

rnE IMPORTANT QUEsTIoN Settled
Professor Page, in the lectures which
he is now delivering before the Smiths
,onlan Institution, states that there is
no longer any doubt of the application
of this power as substitute for steam.
lie exhibited the most imposing expert
ments ever witnessed in this branch of
science. An immense bar Of iron, weigh /
ing one hundred and sixty pounds, was
made to spring up by magnetic action,
and to move rapidly up and down, dan
cling like feather IN the air, without
any visible support. The force opera
ting upon this bar he stated TO average |
three hundred pounds through ten inch
es of its motion. lie said he could
raise this bar one hundred feet as readily
as through ten inches, and he expected
no difficulty IN doing the same with o
bar weighing one ton, or a hundred
tons. lie could make pile driver, or
forge hammer, with great simplicity,
and could make an engine with a stroke
of six, twelve, twenty, or any number of
feet.
The most beautiful experiment we ev-
er witnessed, was the loud sound aud
brilliant flash from the galvanic spark
when produced near a certain point in
this great magnet. Each snap was as
loud as a pistol report, aud when he
produced the same spark at IA little dis
tance from this point, it made no noise
at all. This recent discovery he stated
to have practical bearing upon the
construction of an electro magnetic en-
gne.- Truly, a great power is here; and
where is the limit of 2
lie then exhibited his engine of be-
tween four and five horse power, opera.
Ted by battery contained within space
Of three cubic feet. 1t looked very un.
like a magnetic machine. 1t was a re.
ciprocation engine of two feet stroke
and the whole engine aud battery weigh
ed about one ton. When the power wa,
: thrown on by the motion of the lever
the engine started off magnihcently, ma
king one hundred and fourteen stroke
per minute though, when it drove
circular saw ten inches in diameter, saw
lug up boards an inch and quartz
, thick into aths, the engine made but a
bout eighty strokes per minute. Their
was grea, anxiety on the part of tn
: spectators to obtain specimens of thcs,
laths, TO preserve astrophies Of this grea
mechanical triumph.
: The force operating upon his magnet
ic cylinder throughout the whole motion
of two feet. was stated 10 be six hun
! dred pounds when the engine was mo
wing very slowly, but he had not beer
able to ascertain what the force wa
| when the engine was running at wor
king speed, though it was considerable
f less. The most important and interest
ing point, however, is the expense of tn
power. Professor Page stated that h
, had reduced the cost SO far, that it wa
less than steam under many and mos
conditions, though not so low as tn,
cheapest steam engines.-Wilh all tn,
imperections of the engine, the con
sumption of three pounds of zinc pc
dav would produce one horse power
The larger his engines, CONTRARY Il
what has been known before, the great
er the economy. Professor Page wa
himself surprised at the result. Their
were yet practical difficulties to be over
come the battery had yet 10 be improv
ed and it remained yet to try the ex
pertinent on a grander scale, TO make
power of one hundred horse power, o
more.
Truly the age is fraught with won
ders aud we can now look forward will
certainty to the time when coal will bt
put to better uses than to burn, scale
and destroy.