Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1878-11-30
DAYLIGHT AT MIDNIGHT.
Mr.. Edison's Latest Experiments With th.
Electric Light.
from the New York sun.1

uIiIny duu sOOIy, lHOuldS CulSOH YES
terday descended from his Menlo Park
laboratory. All his time and energy
are now bent toward the development
of the electric light. His eyes are bright
and restless, and his motions quick and
impulsive. 1t is easy to see that his
thoughts are with his experiments when
talking on the most commonplace SUBJ
jects. "The thing is opening up be-
fore me-" he says, "and l am daily
making new and most important dis
coveries." He seems like man walk
| ing in another world.
When asked concerning the report
that an examiner in the Patent-office
had rejected his application for a patent
upon a divisible electric light on the
| ground that it is an infringement upon
an invention made by John w. Starr, of
Cincinnati, in 1s45, he said that it could
not be true. "Prof. Morton, in an ar
| ticle printed in the Sun last week spoke
of that invention" he says. The,
patent was taken out in England by a
Mr.. King, who was Starts patent
| solicitor l. was for an electric lamp.
The light came from incandescent car
bon, and was identical with the light
now on exhibition in New York by Saw
yer q Mann"
Here Mr.. Edison referred to Prof
Morton's article, which described the
Starr light as consisting " of an alright
glass vessel, within which a small rod
of platinum or carbon was so placed
that it could be heated intensely by the
passage of an electric current. The air
was removed from within the vessel, in
case carbon rod was used, to prevent
its combustion"
Mr.. Edison says his invention is diff
ferent. 81 can't patent the divisibility
of the electric light" he adds: 'but
can patent the means that allows it. In
other words, 1 can patent a lamp, or
any device that will make this division.
My application for patent for a lamp
is already before the Commissioners and
is taking its regular course. According
to the rules of the Patent office nothing
concerning it can be divulged. 1 have
heard that it is progressing favorably,
and that is all l have heard. One thing
is certain. My application does not
conflict with with Starts invention.
have already received seven patents
bearing on the electric light, and have
filed three caveats. Five more similar
applications are now under way.
have had man in the Astor Library
search the French and English patent
records and scientific journals from the
earliest dates down to the past fortnight,
and nothing like my arrangements has
been revealed.
Scientific Journals" says Mr.. Edi.
son, Frequently pick me up on mis-
statements by reporters. For instance,
one of your attaches some time ago rep
resented me as saying that could pro-
duce 1O,000 lights with one electric ma
chine. He misunderstood me. l meant
that I could produce 10000 lights from
one station, and there might be from 3L
to so machines in each station. If you
remember, propose to light cities from
I, electric stations, the wires covering SC
many blocks. There is vast difference
in the two statements.
"Now," continued Mr.. Edison, "l
find the scientific journals going for mt
on the idea of the supplying power.
fully understand and know that there i:
an enormous loss in Transforming steam
power into electric power, but if | car
sell the latter power for three times
more than the original cost of the steam
power, there is good profit notwith
standing this loss. To illustrate: Will
the same wires used for the electro
light could put electric power into :
7 private house that would run SEWN!
l machine. Now, the loss in furnishin.
this power might be rs per cent, but
> could get 10 cents day for supplyin.
: the power to run each machine shoul'
( make an enormous profit"
. "Do YOU mean to tell me that yo
: can supply this power with the sam
f engines, the same electric machines
j and the s me.wires that you would US
:. to produce the electric light?" asked
}, 81 mean just that" answered tn
5 Professor, smiling, "ard if l am no
n mistaken in the purport of my exper
d ments, mean to say that l can hgh
g and heat private houses and supply eleo
z trio power for sewing or other ma
chimes with the same telegraphic circuit
l. | have made discovery by which
# think l can concentrate and use th
IS electric heat which has heretofore bee
o wasted. My discovery is substanc
e which, placed between two metal plates
e holds the heat, and gives enough {
d it to cook beefsteak or max
/. tea, soup, or coffee. L am not y
l. positive about it. 1t may prove fai
% ure, but the result of my experiment
l. iustifies me in saying that it bids fair
n be success. We know that we ca
r transform electricity into heat, hgl
1t and motive power. There is less loss
turning it into light and heat than
making it a motive power. The loss
the motive power is considerable, ar
It is probably due to defects in the electr
machine. The loss in transformir
l.. electricity into light and heat is inco
siderable"
Here Mr.. Edison folded his arms al
'' relapsed into a brown study. The ele
trio light was recalled, and he RESUME
4 the conversation. The success OF c
IS light" he said, sis assured. Why, i
not mistaken in my experiments tt
or far, can go to New York and buy G
a from the gas companies at the rate tn
are selling it at, and through the
It of a gas engine turn it into motive po'
ut er for the production of G. ectricity, al
transform the electricity into light, g
on ing better light, more of it, and ful
re- as cheap, if not cheaper, than the orr
as inal gas light. This is no more VIC
derful than what was done by Pr
NV Apony with German electro-machi
uy driven by a five-horse petroleum engiI
~ | read it in the Sttn. The engine &C
~, sumed little over six and Il hall poun
of crude petroleum per hour. II p
-, duced stl cam of electricity having
m ,"2 Illuminating power three times grea
az than that OF the petroleum used"
IN ~ Mr.. Edison reflected moment, q
HI then said: Now, write this down q
give it to you. 1t is a law that | h;
ch foured out and verified Take s
wn Jet having ten inches of radiating S
as face, burning five feet of gas an hour, e
ed' ing q light equal to fifteen candles.
the radiating surface of this gas
er could, by any possible means, be
l to duced from ten inches to an eighth
will an inch without losing any heat,
out temperature of this surface would
him enormously increased, and would {