The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1875-07-14
BY JULIAN A. SELBY

THAT New 'AIoToR. The alleged dis
covery Of q new motor by Mr.. Keely,
of Philadelphia, has been exciting the
curiosity of scientific and unscientifc
men for some time pnst. There nre those
who consider it not so much q new motor
as chimera, which is nm assumption
formerly arrived Mt in regard to steam,
the electric telegraph, and ocean navi-
CATION, before they were established by
actual experiment. There are others who
insist that it is the greatest discovery of
the age, and is going to revolutionize the
forces now employed in industrial
progress. 1t is unnecessary to say
that just as sanguine expectations
have been expressed before of the
results of inventions which have failed
to realize the predictions of their
patrons. Mr.. Keely, we are told, how
ever, is about to demonstrate the entire
practicability of his discovery in its ap-
plication to q railroad train between
Camden and Jersey City. Any express
sion Of judgment, either for or against.
until we have this practical demonstrn-
ton must be premature. The public can
afford to wait till Mr.. Keely submits his
case to actual experiment. It is difficult
to convey an intelligent conception of
what the alleged new discovery is. The
motive principle is represented by the
New York Daily Bulletin ''to be the ex-
panslve power of carbonic acid. This
important compound, under n pressure
nature of thirty-two becomes LIQUID:
and when the pressure which retains it
IN the liquid state is renewed, the ra-
pldlty of the evaporation, and the cnor-
nous expansion of the vapor, are such
MS to produce a degree of cold under
which acid solidifes, forming n white
concrete substance possessed of very ex-
traordlnary properties. Prof. Faraday
was the first who liquified carbonic acid,
but 1t was first treated rs n solid by w.
Thllonrier. At common temperature
and pressures, water nbsorbs its own
volume of carbonic acid; under press.
ure OF two atmospheres. it dissolvcs
twice its volume, and SO on" An intel
ligent correspondent of the Savannah
Ae,cS, who claims to have made nume-
!rous and expensive experiments with it,
mas no doubt of its immense power as a
mechanical agent, in proof of which he
adduces the following progressive aug
mentation OF its expansive properties by
increased temperatures: At S degrees
Fahrenheit the pressure in pounds per
square inch is 372; at 10 degrees Fahren-
helt the pressure in pounds per square
inch is 403; at 20 degrees Fahrenheit the
pressure IN pounds per square inch is
46O; Mt 80 degrees Fahrenheit the pressure
IN pounds per square inch is $50; ut 40
degrees Fahrenheit the pressure in
pounds per square inch is 637; Mt As de-
grees Fahrenheit the pressure in pounds
per square inch is 1,080. Heretofore the
great scientific difficulty has been to
know how to utilize this Wonderfully cx-
panslve power-tO put the harness on it.
so to speak, and to work it, as Prof. Morse
has harncssed electricity, and compelled
1T to carry messages. Now, Mr.. Kecly
claims this difficulty has Mt length been
conquered, and people who profess to
have patiently examined his plans, and
listened to the description Of his gene
rator' mnltiplicr, receiver, pipes, etc.,
nre confident he will succeed. The ad-
vanta9es claimed for it over steam and
tne steam engine nrc many, not the lenst
OF which are economy, safety and casv
control If applied to navigation the
propelling power, it is said, would not
cost more than S5 to run n steamer from
Savannah to New York; and rs tho ne
cessary machinery will not take up one
fourth part Of the weight and room Of n
boiler, engine and fuel, of eounl power.
another advantage would be additional
carrying capacity and space for freight.
II Dir. Keely should be able to DEMON
strate all that he promises, the mills and
manufactures md the commercial and
social progress Of the world would re-
ceive a new impetus. Even steam md
electricity have failed to satisfy the inn
patient temper and the industrial de-
mands of men, and If there nre any other
forces IN nature which can be avniIed of
they will be largely pressed into service.
But what is to be the lessened value of
al! our coal fields, if this new motor hos
all the virtues claimed for it?