Weekly national intelligencer., 1851-05-17
COST OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC POWER
TO THE EDITORS.

| COST OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC POWER.
TO THE EDITORS
GEHrIEMxS should not wish you, nor would be-
willing for myself to be held strictly responsible for the
that the of power in my electromagnetic engines
Is hundred times less than in those heretofore essay
ed II may, investigation, be found to be SO or l0l, or
80 times less and should regard signal triumph
had reduced the ten five times nay, even one
half The Southern Press of the 9th instant in COMMENT
ing upon the recently made in your paper undeT
Misrepresentation Of certain important facts and principles
relating this subject In the first pace the writer states
that "here has been doubt for twelve fifteen years
among scientific haany amount Of power could be
erted by electromagnetic" and that the difficulty has
been that the great render unavailable for
use And he further says that this viz. the cos the
only important item in the case" have frequently heard
Of science remark that the power could be increased by
the multiplication Of small engines and theoretically this
might be well enough but with those really scientific in the
matter Of the great difficulty has been upon
this very point the cost being subordinate question By
cost msanahe acua Of znc consumed produce
given power. 10 s tho question isnosyst settled whsshss
make electromagnetic engine say Of thousand
horse power GuaLab amy COST feel quite certain that
be shown that this power costs three lines much
the dearest engines woud be introduced immedi
a,ey, provided that the the only difficulty. The
editor Of the Southern Press himself said my abors-
tory several years since that If would show single horse
power costing twice much power he would raise
the forthwith 60 with the enterprise upon large
SCALE As to the increase Of power by the multiplication Of
small engines, the difficulties occurring the prac
tcal mind amount to an absolute prohibition. Imsgne
power Of thousand horses be made up Of
thousand engines Of one-horse power It has long been
known that the miniature electromagnetic engines give
far greater ratio Of power than large This true Of
oil the plans hitherto adopted with the exception Of that
which am applying the power and thus far the larger
engines the greater the economy Of power Ihave already
been able concentrate wevehorse power upon engine
containing only single magnet and believe that battery
three times the size would give about hundred horse
power theoretically should do 30, but allowing for inn
perfect insulation and loss by induction, will be content
with eghty-horse power. Il has been fully demonstrated
that the sxial force, that force mpepg my magnet,
the square Of the quantity Of galvanc current
Next to the cost Of the power The Southern Press
says has been heretofore about dollars day per horse
power BY elecomsgnetism The horse power in Jacobs
engine cost wenfour dollars per day, and he had made
horse power instead Of half horse power would have
him somewhere about eighty dollars per day The best
authority present upon this subject Mr. Joule, whose in
vesga.ions have been confirmed by Mr. Hunt Mr. scoresby
and Oersted Mr. Joue consumes foryve pounds Of zinc
onehorse power for twenty hours which, the high
price for znc would be four dollars and half and at the
minimum price, about dollar and quarter per day for
magnetic horse power. But Mr.. Joules experiments
conducted upon small SCALE and had be made his expert
with engine Of actual haborse power he would
have somewhere Jacobs engine. The rule
generally received Is that BY Mr.. Hunt who about year
snce before the Society Of Arts in London, the
cuson after having quoted Mr. Joue Scoresby. and Ger
sed that electromagnetic power costs hundred and fifty
times much steam The horsepower for steam has
fixed cost 1t varies from two cents day up to ten cents
an hour in some locomotive engines If Mr. Hunts con-
cluon based upon miniature experiment with cleo
engine of the ordinary kind compared with
the consumption Of coal in the Cornish engines-the
cheapest in the wodhs le for larger engines ought to
have been at least thousand times the cost Of electro
magnetic power over steam, instead of hundred and fifty
times From my experiments, do not think my horse
power cost twenty cents per days and n order to
have this question fairly settled, have invited scientific
commission Of the best scientific talent Of the country
anime and report, which they will do after the close Of
the Cincinnati Convention.
do not allow double friction from the Of the loco
motive engine as the Press states The friction of the car
the power and above the usual estimate required
keep it in motion, due to the friction Of the engines them
selves. When the engines uncoupled from the drivers
the almost easily any other car, though the
friction Of both engines and greater from the
Of The work. than necessary.
In conclusion, must express my full confidence in being
able introduce electromagnetic power for certain purposes
soon shall have the of building good engines
and suitable batteries have the vanity to be grstied with
my progress in this subject and hope the friends Of pro-
gress will be liberal in constituting my statements full de-
scpion Of the engine will be published long, and show
for itself wherein the advantage lies
CHARLES G. PAGE.
WAsHIxeroS, NAYS 1851