New-York tribune., 1872-09-10
THE NEW LIGHT AT THE FAIR.


ue IL during the Annual Fair. This will give our citizens
practical test OF its value and availability for general
use This light has been exhibited for some time pat 10
the public through the good offices Of the Department OF
Publc Parks, at tho intersection OF TwentyfourthSr
with Broadway and Fifhave. Crowds OF curious people
have nightly assembled in front OF tho Fifth Avenue oV
and along the line OF Madison-squaro to enjoy the
spendor Of illumination produced by three oil these
lights two Of which shine the sidewalk and one IN the
open space, around which at this point the Orons
OF traffic whirls and eddes almost as eagerly
by night as by day Nothing could be more satSiacVoly
than the brilancy Of this scene and we are very sure
that none of our readers during the past three
weeks found themselves moving out from It's rauAco
into the dusk and gloom Of the ordinary gast woriu
around without feeling OF regret that IL shouu Oc 81
easy private enterprise to make snow OF tho 0O
mon street at point and so hard ior the pupc SOL
vice TO make tho itself even decenty Vspe s' al
other points As exhibited at the Madisonsquare open
ing there is certainly no comparison between INC eI
fcency of the new light and that of the old But wth
acticl neone results are not and from the nature Of
the case cannot be- tho only thing to be considered
in examining the availability of new Improvement
We all know that 1t is possible on certain OF the Dest
built and best appointed English railways to make
speed with express trains Of mile minute vi course
we should all like to make good speed on our own
roads question of outlay and income cOmpelS
us to content ourselves with lower rate of ocootion
al least in the present condition Of American rail-
ways. And in like manner while we all OF ls recognize
the beauty and desirabeness OF making our streets as
this now gas makes the neghborhood OF Madsonsquare
and Fifth-ave., as bright by night as they are by
day, we are obliged to ask also whether thiS
can be done without greatly increasing the
cost of the illumination. If this new oxy-hydric hgh
for example Is found require outlay, OF 70 or
80 per cent the existing it may still perhaps Do
desirable to it in our thOroughfares ana puDnc
places it will be clearly mpracucaDle 10 Introduce
i extensively into homes and places OF amusement
In the case of the city, every serious increase In the
power of illumination by night brings with 1t eorreia
tive decrease in the cost Of inspecting ana protecting
the city il might be found cheaper the end to use the
costlier process But in the Of any given private
citizen an addition of 25 80 per cent TO his yearly gas
bills might more than cOunter-baance any advantage
j he would derive from the more effective hght
/ ing of his house. And in the case OF
| our places of public amusement, such difference
might draw too largely the line OF profits to make 1t
worth while TO incur the greater expense. These and
othet practical considerations in tho debate between inc
old gasights and the could not well be seted Dy
the most gorgeous display in the public squares Ihe
! managers Of the Fair Of the American Institute nave
done we'll then in making arrangements to enable us to
decide the matter leisure and fairly during their
present season They have introduced the 0xyHydrio
Light into tho Rink building, and 1t will there bo sub
rntted 20 not only OF vision but of supervision
We shall able to make up our minds as to the eompar
atve merits OF the old process and the new in respest
not only illuminating power but OF manageaDleness
OF whoesOmeness and Of expense. 1t Is one tng 10 Dc
satisfied that particular kind Of light can be safely and
OF DOORS and another TO be sat
sfed also that it can be safely and advantageousy
used within four walls When the ordinary carbureted
hydrogen gas was first introduced into use many
prophesie were made that II would be found impossible
10 use it in dwelling houses by reason Of its noxous
effects upon the atmosphere. These propheses have not
I'm ed hut
unfuled either 1t has not been found impossible for
people live in the rooms in which this gas IS habtuay
consumed but it has been and 1t daily is found unde
srabe and in positively dangerous, for them
10 do So In many OF the better sort tho car
bureted hydrogen gas Is rigidly excluded from the
"iyng rooms" sleeping apartments and the like. The
carbureed hydrogen gas also found in practice to be
a very bad light for those who have much reading or
writing to do Occuists earnestly discourage its use by
| such persons
That the promoters Of the In this country of the
oxyhydro light fears of its being found less de-
sirable and available than the common gas Is plainly
shown by their willingness to let us test it, as the man.
ayers OF the American Institute Fair propose that we
SHALL hey claim for their process in fact that the light
il supplies not only relatively but absolutely cheaper
than the light of the carbureted hydrogen gas that 1t
is so far from being injurious health to be positively
advantageous health and that is safer and more
controable than the ordinary gas We call
il new process This is not strictly accurate. Many
wears ago the principle on which it rests being the In
PRODUCTION of oxygen at the point OF combustion
with cOmmen gas, was applied to the produc-
ton of light known the Cline light"
This light greatly admired for its
clearness and acbromatio brilliancy. But it
was found costly Of production and the combustion
was found TO be always securely controllabe. 1t
soon therefore, passed into the category Of splendid GU
rosities and ceased to used excepting for festivals
and rare OCCASIONS and occasionally 10 produce scenic
effects in theaters But the process now exhibited to us
may in be fairly called new, inasmuch as it
overcomes the objections raised to the application OF the
principle in the use of the Cline light" 1t invented
by French chemist, NJ Tessie du Motay. M. dn Motay
founded his invention upon two chemical facts. All
metallic oxides acids which viii for IN with potassa,
soda and baryta binary combinations capable OF super
oxidation possess the property of yielding their oxygen
at certain temperatures when they are submitted
TO the action Of current Of steam.
After being thus deoxidsed these bodies possess also
the property of being reoxided when they exposed
to the action of of air Having these facts to
go upon, NJ Tessie du Motay simply effects direct
production Of oxygen by OF atmospheric gas One
of the binary IcompOunds above alluded 70, be it per
manganate of potassa ferrate Of soda, chromate of
baryta or what you wil is placed in retort at the
minimum or at tho maximum Of Oxydation. II at the
minimum 1t is superoxidized by a current of the atmos
phere; II at the maximum, 1t is deoIidzed by current
Of steam The oxygen and the steam issuing from tho
retort pass together into cOndenser the steam is
densed there and the oxygen onand is collected
in gasholder. When the steam has done its work. and
dsengaged all the utiIzabe oxygen Of the binary COM
pound current OF air is introduced to superoxid1e the
compound again, and 80 on alternately as long may
DO necessary Under this system the manufacture Of
oxygen has become facilitated and cheapened that the
lime light becomes commercially available as well
certain OF combustion and Of marvellous purity and clear
ness Careful experiments give 1t result that 1000
feet Of oxyhydric gas producing light equal to that
afforded by 10000 feet Of ordinary gas be supplied
sn expense more than 80 per cent lower than
.ha nn.t Of the 1nnn0 feet OF ordinary gns.