The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-06-18
DR., Burton's Heating Apparatus

DR.. W. LEIGH BURTON, of this city, as our
readers have long since been informed, is the
inventor of an electric heating apparatus,
which has attracted a good deal of atten-
ton in the scientific world, but which has
not yet been practically applied to any of
the purposes OF life. The inventor pro-
poses to apply it first to the heating of rail-
way passenger cars. A question with him
has been what sort of power would be best
to operate his apparatus, whether by the
axle Of the car or a magnetic machine. On
this point young Mr.. MAURY (son of the
COMMODORE, of this city, gentleman of
very high scientific attainmcnts, writes DR..
BURTON the following letter:
RICHMOND, VA, June IS, 1870.
DR.. W Leigh Burton, Richmond, Va:
"Dear Sir,-In reply to your inquiries Of
last week about the underground magnetic
electric machine, concerning which wrote
youfrom England, can best answer by say
Ing that in describing the magnets in Wash
ington with which you made some expert
ments you have Gas far as I can judge from
your description described the instrument
that L saw in Mr.. Wylde's mandatory in
England.
81 think you have overcome, by your
pretty and ingenious instrument, the 'cir.
cult changer the difficulty and expense OF
having large machines, or q number OF
small ones, for the purpose of generating q
sufficient amount of electricity to heat
number of heat-reservoirs, for you have
found (paradoXical rs it may seem at first
by it a means of increasing the thermal Ell
feet as many times as you wish without In
creasing the quantity Of the heating power
4. e., the electricity and the only limit
that can see to the number of reservoir
heated being the limit Of rapidity OF revo
luton of the barrel of the circuit changer
and the consequent wear of the circuit
making points, both Of which difficultie
can be obviated by increasing the numbe
of connecting points on the barrel for eacl
reservoir; thus, for instance, double TIT
number OF your points, and the barrel neet
to be reyolyed only half as fast as it was be
fore, because in one revolution each rcSer
yoir comes into circuit twice as often rs il
did before, and consequently also the weal
will be divided between two points instead
Of all being on one.
"The power Of loaded passenger ca,
running ut express speed is seven-horse
power. A ninety-pound magnet takes
one-horse power to work it. Therefore, in
applying your invention to heating cars
you can, aS you propose, easily derive the
working power for your instrument from
the axle of the car.
remain yours, very truly,
ON. +. MAURY, JR."
Bearing also on the point of obtaining
sufficient power from the axle Of u car tt
work magneto-electric machine, Professor
BARTLETT, Of West Point, says, under dat'
OF December /, 1859:
cit is very certain that Of two cars In al
other things equal, one having your appara
tus and the other not, that the latter mus
run the faster, and just by the difference o
velocity due to the power necessary to civ,
motion to your magnets.
"But you need not give yourself an!
trouble in this direction. There will al
ways be power enough in a properly-con
structed locomotive to give sufficient speee
to train and turn your apparatus Also"
The principles upon which DR.. BURTON
Invention lis founded are correct and solid
Sooner or later the invention must be sue
cessfully applied to hundred purposes o.
daily life. 1t will work great revolution
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