The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-06-21
A Scheme to Utilize the Power Of the Sun as
4 Motor.


Deux Mondes contains an article on
the labors of sundry scientific men in
tent upon putting to use the heat OF
the sun. The Pail Mall Gazette sum-
nlariZes the article. :'In France it
says, " NJ. Mouchet, professor of mathe-
MATES in the Lycee of Alencon. has
engaged since 1860 in experiments.
His first were made with Il vertical
copper boiler, blackened externally, SO
us to absorb the incident rays, protect
ed by three concentric bell glasses,
and resting on /, badly conducting sur
face. such us sand. brick or wood.
Throwing on the boiler the rays from
a metallic reflector, NJ. Mouchet found
that he could dispense with two of the
bell glasses. He succeeded in vaporiZ-
ing water and in fusing sulphur. which
requires Il temperature of ll6 deg.
Centigrade and ut the end of % min.
utes of exposure he raised the tenlpera-
ture of his boiler when empty to POO
deg. Centigrade. He subsequently
fused tin in two minutes, lead in five,
and zinc in six. The quantity of metal
in each case was kilegramme, and
the degrees of heat required were 235
deg, 335 deg, and 475 deg. Centigrade.
The first practical use made by NJ.
Mouchet Of the rediscovery. OF rather
Teapplication. of a force that Archi-
modes had rendered available as u
military engine of otfense during the
siege Of Syracuse, was in the humble
but important department Of cookery.
His 'marmite solaire was;s glass jar.
in which he placed a cylinder Of copper
or wrought iron. hlackered without,
and resting on the bottom Of the jar.
The whole WAS closed by a glass lid.
\ cylindrical reflector. plated with
silver, cast the concetrated rays Of the
sun Oh this apparatus. in which an eN-
cellent soup WAS made in four hours,
perfectly cooked. al unusually fine
flavor being attributed to the regular
ity Of the heat. This solar soup kettle
has been sinlplifed into a plain glass
vessel, placed in the focus OF Il concil
mirror Of plated brass, in which vessel
all kinds Of viands-meat, vegetables,
or fruits-are cooked by the direct ac-
ton of the sun. Tea. coffee. OF any
other infusion may thus be readily pre-
pared in Il Lyons beer bottle or the
vessel in the focus may he used mere
ly for the production Of steam. which
is let off to a second vessel by pipe,
and thus boils any requisite quantity
OF vegetables in q short time. BY sub
shutting a box of wrought iron for the
glass jar, I, solar oven is formed; in
which Il kilogramme Of bread. said to
compare favorably with that baked in
the ordinary manner. is baked in less
f1,.,,, 1y.nn 1,r, u -
require SO fierce Il heat as either OF the
former processes. 1t is sufficient to
suspend the meat to be roasted in the
focus OF the reflector without inter-
posing any other vessel. either of glass
or of metal. In less than an hour II
joint. a fowl, or q piece of game is we'll
roasted. 1t is necessary to avoid the
use of butter for basting, as the chemi-
cal rays of the sun convert this SUBJ
stance into butyric acid. which gives
an abominable taste to the roast but
by interrosing Il yellow or red glass,
the chemical rays are arrested. Re-
placing covering of 'marmite solaire'
by Il sort of alembic, a distilling ap-
paratus is formed. A tube led through
I, helix in the ordinary way is added
and in 40 minutes the distillation Of
two litres of wine may be effected.
In this case the flavor Of the alcohol is
said to be unusually fine in consequence
of the slow regularity of the heat.
:: In 1865 NJ. Mouchet took the sun
from the kitchen to the workshop, and
at the cost Of the Emperor Napoleon
completed his first mechanical solar
engine. An apparatus of this nature
is now to be seen in the courtyard Of
the library at Tours. A conical silver
ed reflector. 26 metres diameter at the
base, metre at the apex, and cent?.
metres high, exposes square metres
of rejecting surface. The angle Of the
inclination of the sides of the cone to
the axis is Is degrees. The boila:
placed in the focus of this hollow cone
is double, being in fact mere shell.
The outer coat has a longitudinal di
ameter of so centimetres, and Il trans
verse diameter of % centimetres,
while the corresponding dimensions of
the inner coat are so and % cent?
metres, Thus a shell of water of 3
centimetres in diameter is subjected to
the reflected heat. the contents of
the boiler being twenty irres of water
with a steam box containing ten litres
of cubical space. The vacant space
within the inner coat affords room for
the steam and water-pipes and for the
safety valve: \ bell glass Of five mil
limetres thick Tor 3-16ths of an inch)is
constructedsO as to surround the boiler
cOncentrically at q distance of five CEN
timetres Tor two inches.) The object
Of this transparent envelope IS to al
low the free passage of the visible rays
of light and heat that come from the
surface OF the reflector. and to arrest