The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1851-09-27
From the Providence journal.
Scientific lntoliigenee.


Mr. Paine, Of Worcester, exhibited his much
talked-of Atmospheric Light" at our recen
fair. He did not arrive with i until the SECOND
day Of the show. He Immediately put up hi,
apparatus, and on the evening OF the same da,
had it burning for a short time, though, as he
told US. his apparatus not in good working
order, owing To some leakage. On the follow.
ing evening, having repaired the defect, il war
again burning for an hour or more. The light
was unexceptionabe as to its quantity and
quality, though the flame was bat small Ga
the following day, Saturday he returned Ia
Worcester, leaving a notice appended to the APP
paratus II L il would DO burning a!ain on Mon
day evening" bat it Was not on account Of the
. sickness of Mr. Paine" as we were informed
On the following morning the apparatus was
packed up and removed. So much for Mr.. Paine
and his atmospheric Light" in this city. But
this is not ALL On the first evening of the exhi-
bition Of the light a very young man was seen
standing before it, and examining the apparatus
very closely, and Mr.. Paine too, If we may judge
from the questions which we heard him put, AS
We happened to be standing by. But it was
enough. He had it ALL He left the hall for the
laboratory of the Franklin Society, and com
menced his experiments. In very short time
they were crowned with entire success.
On Monday it was whispered about that an
(" opposition Pane's Light" was to be shown at
the fair; but the apparatus, hastily prepared, was
not sufficient for public exhibition and it was
postponed The following day one was made
of sufficient power, and on the last evening OF
the exhibition, though Mr. Paine's light had
ceased 10 burn in Providence, one was shown
and explained, not only fully equaIling il in bril-
liancy, but produced by the same means and by
a similar apparatus, and upon principles knopn
and published several years since in scientific
works
The exhibition and explanation was made by
Mr. Robert A. Fisher, of this city, who is still
young, a mere boy, but ofgreat promise. After
having set the light to burning, he commenced
the explanation by reading from the Annual
of Scientific Discovery for 1850. the follow
ing extract, commencing on the l9lst page
The article is headed ''New mode of Illumina-
ton"
"At the meeting of the Institute of Civil En-
gneers in London, on April II, l849, Mr.. c. b
Mansfield read paper 'on an application of
certain Liquid Hydro Cartoons to arlifi al illu-
minaton' The system proposed consists in
conductir stream of almost any gc or even
of atm pheric air, through reservoir charged
with benzole Cor liquid hydro-carbon produced
from coal or tar) or some other equally volatile
hydrocarbon: the gas or air being thus con-
Quoted like common gas TO the burners 1t was
stated that this system is applicable on any
scale, from the dimensions of town gas works,
to the compass of a table lamp. In an appara-
tus exhibited small gas-holder filled by a pair
Of bellows, supplied common air through pipes.
The gases formed by passing steam over red
hot coke, would answer well for this purpose,
and it would depend on local circumstances,
whether this mode of generating the current
would be preferable to the expenditure of the
mechanical force necessary for driving atmos-
pheric air through the pipes. BY decomposipg
water with the voltaic battery, nap'halizing the
hydrogen with benzole, and burning it with the
acid of the equivalently freed oxygen, a simple
light of intense power may be obtained. y
Though this liquid does not require to be
heated above the average temperature of the
air, vet it is liable to be cooled by ts own evap-
grafton, 80 as to require an artificial supply of
warmth which is obtained by causing small jet
of the flame of the gas itself to play upon the
reservoir, and by simple continuance the tenn
perature is made selfregulating. SO that it never
rises above or falls below proper degree If
air is used as the vehicle for the
vapor, the jet holes in the burner must be
slightly larger than those for coal A
gallon of benzole of the requisite purity will
cost IS cents, and to this must be added the
expense of the air current and the interest on
the original outlay, which at the most would
raise the cost to about 80 cents for the con-
sumption Of gallon of benzole. One ounce of
the liquid will give light equal to four wax
candles for an hour; or one gallon for about
1919 hours. 1t is inferred that a gallon of this
Il - -. 4
gas"
From another article from the Chemical Ga
zett," reprinted on the same page, we have the
in relation to "Benzole and its uses !"
"The facility with which the vapor of benzoe
is taken up and retained by the air at its ordi-
nary temperature, has been taken advantage of
in an apparatus for illumination with great sue
cess. In this a stream of it is made to pass
through reservoir Of volatile hydro-carbon,
and afterwards conducted to burners at which,
being ignited like coal gas, il yields light of
extreme brilliancy and Wilderness The proper
ty possessed by alcohol of burning with an
almost lightess flame, so opposite to that of the
highly carbonized benzole, renders it easy, by
adjusting a mixture of the volatile oil
with the spirit, to obtain fluid which sha II BE-
readily vaporlsed and shall yield a fame of any
required degree of whteness."
Mr.. Fisher then went on to explain his APP
paratus, which was In every respect similar to
Mr. Paine's, and which consisted of a small
yasometer filled with atmospheric air, and kept
constantly supplied by conducting pump.
From the gasometer the air was conducted to
series Of six tin canisters, Of the capacity of a
pint, arranged around central one little larger
than the others. In the first six canisters was
5enrole, alcohol and mater, sufficient to Gil them
about one quarter full. The mixture was made
without reference to the quantity of each ingre-
iient, but in such proportion as by experiment
was found to afford the best light 1t was found
hat about one part benzole, one part alcohol,
ind half part Of water formed the most suita-
Die MIXTURE The air was then made to pass
through each of these canisters,
md by the arrangement of the connecting tubes
n very minute bubbles, through the contained
mixture. From the last of the series it passed
TO the central one, which was empty, and served
~ an ~ chamber, by which more steady
light could be obtained, and any PARTICLES of the
mixture passing over were arrested. From this
chamber tube arose couple of feet in
height, at the top of which were the burners.
Thus, the whole operation consisted in pass
ing a stream Of air through these small reser-
vors of the volatile bydro-carbon benzole, in
Il Il Al r