The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-29
Z WONDERFUL f'as Il. INVENTION -

tOl ana Study7l IN the aendeavor to dis
cover 9 substitute for steam. Born in
Chester county, Pennsylvania, Mr.. Kelly
IS by profession machinist. Physically
ne is a perfect Vulcan; mentally, his
genius is more than, a substitute for a
liberal education. For years Mr.. ,Keely
mas been endeavoring to discover in the
works of mature hidden power or motor,
and the result Of his labors, should it's
practical and permanent success be equal
TO Its present promise, must certainly be
regarded as one of the most wonderful
achievements of the age. The, CORES
pondent Of the Leader has seen this en-
CINE in operation. 1t is propelled by d
heretofore unknown vapor of immense
pressure. created from small quantity
of water, with a certain admixture of
air. This yapor is purely produced bv
mechanical means, without any chemi-
calls whatever, without the aid Of galyan.
ism or electricity, without heat, and
without cost, aside from wear of ma.
chinery and expense of an engineer
MIR. keely has for years been i,nbued
with the belief that motor was hidden
somewhere which could be utilized in the
place OF steam, with comparatively little
cost. He started out by underwriting to
use the pressure of atmosphere as a mo-
tor, and his first construction to that end
was an air engine which proved entirely
satisfactory. The piston-rod of this en-
CINE was fastened by circular metal
plate to an India-rubber diaphragm on
the top of the cylinder. By some mys-
terious arrangement the air is exhausted,
and vacuum formed which compels the
diaphragm to bulge inward several inches.
When the air is let in the diaphragm
bulges outward, in that way working
backward and forward several hundred
times minute, making that number of
revolutions in the engine. How he man
aged to make ffteen-pound pressure of
the atmosphere do more than overcome
an opposing equal pressure of the same
atmosphere is mystery. He did it,
however, without the aid of electricity, !
galvanism, or heat, simply with the as.
sistance Of a minute quantity of water.
The engine seems to have been propelled
somewhat on the principle of an
hydraulic ram, and Mr.. Keely sue.
ceeded in making it work purely
by atmospheric pressure, without
electrical or chemical aid, or without
heat. The models of this air engine oc.
cupied space less than cubic foot, and |
made 500 revolutions minute with such |
force that the strongest man, with his
hands encased i'll pair of gloves, could |
Mt stop it by holding on to the fly wheel.
The objection to this engine as it was
then constructed was the necessity for
using an india rubber diaphragm, which
would make it impracticable for large
engines. While experimenting upon and |
endeavoring to do away with the use of |
tho diaphragm. MI keely accidentally |
discovered another ,notor-a new and
heretofore unknown vapor. He saw that |
this vapor could be compressed and made |
to give almost an unlimited amount of |
pressure, and that it could be made to |
propel an engine precisely as steam en-
CINE is propelled.
Mr.. Kelly then set to work to construct.
a mechanical apparatus to produce this
vapor, and, after vast amount of ex-
perimenting, has succeeded almost beyond
his expectations. The apparatus is CAL
led a generator" or ''multiplicat6r.' 1t
is about three feet high, two feet long,
and thirteen inches deep, made of glass
and wrought iron in heavy and strong
manner, the whole of which con-
sists of a series of iron chambers,
cylindrical in form. connected by pipes fur
nished with various cocks and valves.
The multiplication was suspended from
the ceiling by a chain, three feet above
the floor, showing it to be entirely discon.
nected with anything else, excepting the
pipe connecting it with the receiver
The vapor generated is conveyed to the
receiver, and from the receiver it is con-
veyed by a ss'feed pipe'' to the engine.
The receiver is made out Of wrought iron
two inches thick; capacity about twenty
gallons and shaped like soda fountain.
The popularity Of this receiver is, it is
made of wrought iron, without a rivet,
and entirely welded. The question is,
how could receiver, shaped like soda |
fountain, be made of wrought iron, en-
tirely welded without an anvil inside and |
without rivet?
The popularity of this vapor is that it
can only be used to the best advantage
at pressure OF 10000 to 10000 pounds
to the square inch! The most extraord.
mary thing is that Mr.. Kelly is enabled
to control his vapor at that immense
pressure, and run his engine with pre-.
cisely the same ease at which the ordinary |
steam engine is run.
It is we'll known that the weakest point
in boiler is where it is rivited. If al
, boiler could be made entirely of welded
iron without rivets, it would be one.third
stronger. The smaller the boiler the
stronger it is. A boiler twenty. -four
inches in diameter will stand twice the
pressure that boiler forty.eight inches