Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-01-07
EDISONS ELECTRIC LIGHT
THE GREAT INVENTOR MAKES A NEW
AND REMARKABLY DISCOVERY.
[New York Herald. Of the 2lst nlt.l

New York Herald, of the 2lst ult.l
Edison's electric light is produced
from a little piece of paper-a tiny
strip that a breath would blow away
Through this little strip of paper i:
passed an electric current. and the re
suit is a bright, beautiful light, like
the mellow sunset of an Italian au
tumn. Edison makes the little piece
of paper more infusible than platinum
more durable than granite. And this
involves no complicated process. The
paper is merely baked in an oven un.
til all its clements have passed away
except its carbon framework. The
latter is then placed in glass globe
connected with the wires leading to
the electricity producing machine, and
the air exhausted from the globe.
Then the apparatus is ready to give
out light that produces no deleteri-
Gus gases, no smoke, no offensive
odors-a light without fame, without
danger, requiring no matches to ignite,
giving out but little heat, vitiating no
air, and free from all Pickering a
light that is little globe of sunshine,
a veritable Aladdin's lamp. And this
light, the inventor claims, can be pre-
duced cheaper than that from the
cheapest oil.
Sitting one night in his laboratory
rejecting on some of the unfinished
details, Edison began abstractedly
rolling between his fingers piece of
compressed lampblack mixed with tar
for use in his telephone. For several
minutes his thoughts continued far
away, his fingers in the meantime
mechanically rolling out the little
piece Of tarred lampblack until it had
become a slender filament. Happen
ing to glance at it the idea occurred
to him that it might give good result
as burner if made incandescent. "A
few minutes later the experiment was
tried, and, to the inventors gratiica-
tion, satisfactory, although not sur
prising, results were obtained. Fur
ther experiments were made, with al
tered forms and composition of the
substance, each experiment demon
strating that at last the inventor was
upon the right track.
A COTTON THREAD.
A spool of cotton thread lay on the
table in the laboratory. The inventor
cut off small piece, put it in groove
between two clamps of iron, and
placed the latter in the furnace. The
satisfactory light obtained from the
tarred lampblack had convinced him
that filaments of carbon of tex
ture not previously used in electric
lighting were the hidden agents to
make thorough success of incandes-
cent lighting, and it was with this
view that he sought to test the carbon
remains of a cotton thread. At the
expiration of an hour he removed the
iron mould containing the thread from
the furnace and took out the delicate
carbon framework of the thread-all
that was left of it after its fiery ordeal
This slender filament he placed in a
globe and connected it with the wires
leading to the machine generating the
electric current. Then he extracted
the air from the globe and turned on
the electricity.
Presto beautiful light greeted his
eyes He turns on more current ex-
pecting the fragile filament instantly
to fuse but no, the only change is a
more brilliant light. He turns on
more current, and still more, but the
delicate thread remains entire. Then,
with characteristic impetuosity and
wondering, and marveling at the
strength of the little filament, he turns
on the full power of his machine and
eagerly watches the consequence. For
minute or more the tender thread
seems to struggle with the intense
heat passing through it-heat that
would melt the diamond itself-then
at last it succumbs and all is darkness.
The powerful current had broken it in
twain, but not before it had emitted a
light of several gas jets. Eagerly the
inventor FASTENED to examine under
the microscope this curious tilament,
apparently so delicate, but in reality
much more infusible than platinum, so
long considered one of the most in
fusibe of metals. The microscope
showed the surface of the flament to
be highly polished and its parts inter-
woven with each other.
THE PAPER LIGHT.
1t was also noticed that the filament
had obtained remarkable degree OF
hardness compared with its fragile
character before it was subjected to
the action of the current. Night and
day, with scarcely rest enough to cat
hearty meal or catch brief repose,
the inventor kept up his experiments,
and from carbonizing pieces of thread
he went to spinters Of wood, straw,
paper, and many other substances
never before used for that purpose.
The results Of his experiments showed
that the substance best adapted for
carbonization and the giving out of
incandescent light was paper prefera-
bly, thick like cardboard, but giving
good results even when very thin.
The beautiful character of the illumi-
nation and the steadincss, reliability,
and non-fusibility of the carbon fla
ment were not the only elements in
cident to the new discovery that
brought JOY to the heart of Edison.
There was a further elemcnt-not the
less necessary because Of its being
] hidden-the element of proper and
uniform resistance to the passage OF
the electric current.
The inventors efforts to obtain this
element had been by far the most
laborious Of any in the history Of Lis
work from the time he undertook the
task, and without it absolute success
to electric incandescent illumination
could not be predicted, even though
all the other necessary properties were
present in the fullest degree.
J Passing over the scores of eXDeri