Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1849-1856, 1850-03-21


who are curious on the subjec, of The inven.
tion, by which il is said ,hs. lgh, and heat
can be produced in large quantities by The
decomposition Of water, are referred TO the
fol owing communication of Mr.. Payne on
the suhjc I, To The "Scicniil,c American" 10
" hic., he makes some statements that may
reLder the matter clearer to them than the
previous reports have made il. We do
not pretend to understand the whole Of his
account, but it vi be seen that Mr. Payne
C aims 10 have male an important discovery,
as we'll os To have invented an apparatus.
The discovery that ee, trlcily is material,
ponderable and subject to the laws Of grav-
ilalion. is an imporian, step towards UNDER
Standing the nature Of IN rgent that h-s
baiilsd scientific men for years.
THE Electric LioHr, &c.
During the winer of isl4-5. the late
Col. Domfurj, Of the Ordinance Depart
ment, and myself were engaged in soms
experim' n,s. having for their object tho
precipitation Of sllex (n solution) by the
action Of electricity 1t being expected 'has
glass So formed would he very dense, md
consequently possess h sh refractory pow.
er. Du'ne the course Of experiments l
became satisfied ,ha, so long as the whole
body Of ~ a,er around the poles remained
conductive or dlflusive medium, tho action
If the passing currents would be limited.
and the results desired una'iainable. With
this view of the subjsc, sought for sCme
method by Which The atoms Of wafer in
contact with the poles. could be cfleciually
barred from communication with any con-
ductye substance, aud yet init Of con.
,inual supply Of The water to be decompos.
ed.
Believing in the doctrine Of impondera.
hiluy ani mmateraity of,he electric fluid,
al efforts 10 accomplish the desired resul.
failed, and the experiment was about to DO
Abandoned, when doubt as 10 tle truth Of
tie ho"ks, on The question Of the nstura Of
electricity, arose in my mind. aud on the
faint hope held fu,,h, The experiments were
renewed, and The r suits ~ rc than real zed
the most sanguine expectation f0f not on
ly was the insulation of the wafer perfect,
aud lie decomposition rapid, hut the elec-
,ric fluid was found 10 be susceptible Of as-
cumu alton ami condensation 10 an unIimi,-
ed deglee. The ease anI rapidity with
which the water was resolved into IFS COM
ponen, gases, naturally suggested the idea
of appl ,ins the discovery to some practical
use, and tfat Of Ugh, was selected, as the
must simple and inexpensive in its applica-
tion. Eu, on the very threshold Of tho
experiment an apparently insurmountabls
obstacle was met in the inability TO separate
the gases. After a number Of serious sx-
plosons. the en,rcaies of my family con-
PEELED me To dcsjst.
Although the practical experiments wers
abandoned, the mental action on the sub
ject VAS no., and during some time in the
t'll Of 1858. | concluded that the law
which demanded an aqueous communica-
ton between the poes, or that the positive
and negative poles should both enter one
body of water, was not correct . cOnclu-
sion which very simple experiment de:id-
ed to lie correct. One pole w.s inserted
into Pla Of water in the corner Of Q
lar-e room, and the other pole in another
! q sS III the opposite corner, and an elec.
iTic Il communication made between. All
the water IN one g'ass was d, composed,
aud hydrogen on y ob!ainel. AK the wa
'cr vas decomposeI ia the other AMI oxy.
yea only obtained The resu, was known.
The Experiment was considered fully sue
cess!ul, aud a small electro magnetic sp-
parasus, aving i's hclices KEEP, in motion
Ivy clock work put in operation at my dwei.
ling, an vas found capable Of supplying
three burners with an abundance Of the
gases. 1t VAS at this period Of the eS-
pertinent. tina, issued the circula, an
non' cling the discovery, and with j, an in
vltailon 10 the CT liens Of this place to call
aud examine for themselves.
lu the spring Of lsi9, a ligh, house was
erected on on emincnce, near this city, and
the experiment tried on II large scale for
several months, at the light house, brsides
lighing OF a store in the city. tho results
BENG entirely successful in both places, and
fully lus,iDinA the assertions II ade in the
! civcua- of announcement. And here I
wish il TO he understood, that this must not
be considered mere statement Of mine,
hu, the history Of the fact is fami lar to all
whose appreciation Of The discovery was
sufiiricn, To prompt them to visi, my tower
or dwelling. Tn, experiments a, the lieh.
house continued until September, when an
expulsion occurred which cas-, momen,a-
~ damp upon the brieh, prospects OF the
discovery. This explosion was not due
as in,ima,ed hy Carhurcied Hydrogen"
to the explosive nature of The gases, bu, TO
an entirely different cau.e--cne peculiar 10
tie construction and action of the in.,,u.
ment under consideration. That s,ate oy