The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-09-26

/
IE THE current number OF tie
North american Rerieto Thomas A.
Edison tells in q short article how he
has succeeded eth the electric light.
1t is not new thing for Mr.. Edison
to succeed with the electric light, and
hence the reader IL not disappointed
in finding that the article is but 3 re-
iteration OF the assertions so widely
published last winter, and 30 gener-
ally ridiculed by scientific men. Mr..
Edison is alSays about to succeed,
and when, therefore, he tells us'that
an exhibition is to begin two months
hence, it naturally provokes smile.
In this respect the methods OF two
inventors were never more strikingly
different than those OF Edison and
Brush. It is said the latter never per-
mits any preliminary flourish, and
never allows a piece OF machinery to
20 from his hands until it is ready 10
entirely accomplish the purpose for
which it was intended. The failure
of the one and the substantial success
of the other attest which is the better
method. Brush long ago discarded the
incandesceut lamp as impracticable
and expensive, but Edison seems to
have cluug to il with tenaoity that
lis merits scarcely seem to warrant.
The only change that Edison seems
to have made 10 his lamp is the
substitution OF the fibre OF Japanese
plant for the horseshoe paper
carbon, the form being changed
from q horseshoe to loop. /! is
claimed that the bamboo is more
tenacious, and will last longer when
subject to conclusions. Now it is 8
well known fact in science that in
csndescent carbon, no matter what
the material is that has been carbon
lied, even in q perfect vacuum such
as Edison claims, if heated sufficiently
to be of any value as light-produc-
| ing agent, can last but g short time
owing to a peculiar disiutegration OF
the material, the cause of which has
never been satisfactorily determined.
| It seems that Edison, in order to
make his loops last reasonable
length of time, heats them to low
temperature only, thus sacrificing
their light-producing power to add to
their durability, which must after all
be very much limited. But granting
that Edison's lamp is all that ne
claims it to be, be is then simply on
the threshold OF the solution OF the
problem, for the question of economy
ia generating the current at once
arises. On this point Edison In hii
article carefully confines himself to
generalities. He announces. how
ever. that he has decided to use dy'
uamo instead of magnetic machines
and ten of these are to be placed a.
each station, instead OF 100 magnetc
machines as at first determined. Will
q 120-horse power engine Mr.. Edison
says ne will be able to drive SOt
lights of 10-candle power each, o.
an aggregate illumination OF 8,OO(
candles, equal to 800 gas jets OF th'
normal standard OF 16-candl'
power each. His generator is dis
eribed as rather poor form of th'
D!emens machine, aud its compara
tive efficiency may be judged wher
we state that ten dynamo machine
OF the Brush system will produce 1
light equal to 10000 candles q
against 5000 candles according Il
, Edison's claims. Edison, again
only claims bis lights to be 10-candl,
power, and therefore will find som,
difficulty in getting people to accep
the dim light OF a 10-candle powe
lamp for that of a 16-candle power
! gas Jet. But those who have ex
amined his new lamp claim that it j
not even 10-candle power, for I
large amount of light is lost by th'
loops being fiat and therefori
giving scarcely any light q
the sides. Last winter Edison
claimed ihst he would soon be able Il
get ten OF these lights from 1-horse
power, bat now claims only Eve ano
a half. It was apparent to those
who examined his apparatus lssl
winter from the size Of the belt used
for driving, from the rspidity of the
revolution OF the machine, and from
the heating of the armatures and
field magnets, that each machine
was absorbing from 5 to 7-horse
power, so that with four machines.
and the sixty lights be obtained, ne
only got in fact three lights per
horse power. But granting that be has
succeeded in getting even six lights
| per horse power, it would require 3
/ consumption of coal for every six
| lights that would make it far less eco
nomical than gas. The plant is an
other item that Mr.. Edison does not
seem to have considered, but which
offers 8 grave obstacle to the intro
duction Of the System In each block
or district OF q half mile square he
would require e separate plant, and
in q thickly populated city. like New
York, it would require large num-
Der of 12O-horse power engines to
supply the light needed. In New
York 800 lamps would 20 but a very
little way. There are 1000. 600 gas
burners in New York, and il would
require ], 500, 600 of Edison's lamps
to supplant them. This would re-
ouire shout $500 120-horss power
anoinea and $1,000 DYNAMO ma