The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-09-27
! EDlsOS,s LAST MARVEL.

Sending Cheap Light, Heat and Power b.
Electricity Illuminating Gas To be Super
seeded.
from the New York SUM-
Mr.. Edison says that he has discov
cred how to make electricity cheal
and practicable substitute for illuminat
ing gas. Many scientific men hav,
worked assiduously in that direction
but with little success. A powerful
electric light was the result of these
experiments, but the problem of it,
division into many small lights was {
puzzle. Gramme, Siemens, Brush
Wallace, and others produced mt most
ten lights from a single machine, but &
single one of them was found to be i'm
practicable for lighting aught save
large foundries, mills and workshops
1t has been left for Mr.. Edison to solve
the difficult problem desired. This, he
says, he has done within few days
His experience with the telephone
however, has taught him to be eau
tious, and he is exerting himself to
protect the new scientific marvel
which, he says, will make the use OF
gas for illumination thing of the past
Mr.. Edison, besides his power OF
origination, has the faculty for develop
ing the ideas and mechanical construc-
tons of others. He visited the Roose-
welt pianoforte factory in this city, and,
while examining the component parts
of the instruments, made four sugges-
tons so valuable that they have been
patented While in the mining dis
trict of the West, recently, he devised a
means of determining the presence of
gold below the surface without resort
ing to costly and laborious Dor
ing and blasting. While on a
visit to William Wallace, the
electrical machine manufacturer, in
Ansonia, CT, he was shown the lately
perfected dynamo-electric machine for
transmitting power by electricity. When
power is applied to this machine, it will
not only reproduce it, but will turn it
into light. Although said by Edison to
be more powerful than any other ma
chine of the kind known, it will
divide the light of the electricity pro-
duced into but ten separate lights.
These being equal in power of 1000 can
dies, their impracticability for general
purposes is apparent. Each of these
lights is in a substantial metal frame,
capable of holding in horizontal posi-
ton two carbon plates, each II inches
long, % inches wide and ] inch thick.
The upper and lower parts of the frame
are insulated from each other, and one
of the conducting wires is connected
with each carbon. In the center, and
above the upper carbon, is an electro
magnet in the circuit, with an armature,
by means of which the upper carbon is
sired. Wires from the source of cleo
tricity are placed in the binding posts
The carbons being together, the circuit
is closed, the electro magnet acts, rails
ing and lowering the upper carbon
enough to give a bright light. The
light moves toward the opposite end
from which it starts, then changes and
goes back, always moving toward the
place where the carbons are nearest to-
gether. If from any cause the light
goes out, the circuit is broken, and the
electric magnet ceases to act, instantly
the upper magnet falls, the circuit is
closed, it relights, and separates the car
bon again.
Edison, on returning home after his
visit to Ansonia, studied and expert
mented with electric lights. On Friday
last his efforts were crowned with sue
cess, and the project that has filed the
minds of many scientific men for years
was developed.
"I have it now!" he said, on Saturday,
while vigorously turning the handle of
a Richie inductive coil in his labora-
tory at Menlo park, land, singrllarly
L have obtained it through an
entirely different process than that from
which scientific men have ever thought
to secure it. They have all been work
ing in the same groove, and, when it is
known how 1 have accomplished my OBJ
iect, everybody will wonder why they
have never thought of it, it is so simple.
When ten lights have been produced by
a single electric machine, it has been
thought to be great triumph of sci
entific skill. With the process 1 have
just discovered, L can produce 1000
aye, 10,000-from one machine. In
uttt, tllt luluDtl OAHU W NC
finite. When the brilliancy and cheap
ness of the light is made known to the
will be in a few weeks,
or just as soon as can protect the pro-
ess-illumination by carburetted hy-
drogen gas will be discarded. With
fifteen or twenty of these dynamo
electric machines recently perfected by
Mr.. Wallace, can light the entire lower
part of New York city, using 500
horsepower engine. / purpose to es-
tablish one of these ight-centers in
Nassau street, whence wires can be run
up town as far as the Cooper Institute,
down to the Battery, and across to both
rivers. These wires must be insulated,
and laid in the ground in the same man
ner as gas-pipes. 1 also propose to
utilize the gas-burners and chandeliers
now in use. In each house can place
a light meter, whence these wires will
pass through the house, tapping small
metallic contrivances that may be placed
over each burner. Then housekeepers
may turn off their gas, and send the
meters back to the companies whence
they came. Whenever it is desired to
light Jet, it will be only necessary to
touch n little spring nearit. No matches