, 1880-01-04

pieces Of this carbonized thread introduced
into the electric circuit These Sarbons be-
haved better, but they were very brittle, the
an Accidents sol Of ali ali kinds. They did not answer
the demands Of q lamp for practical every
day use Then Gang into Edison's mind the
successful idea It was only a step in advance
Of the notion Of carbQnized thread, ,fbnd was
issSsth It was the idea of try{ng siendA slips Of
paper instead of thread. Paper contains the
same fibre as thread, but IS betterh because
the texture is closer. Mr.. Edison fid not
know that he was -
ON THE BRINK OF 4 DISCOVERY, a
but he was following up general principle,
order to ascertain exactly what value there
was in the principle. Several kinds Of paper
were examined, and finally Bristol board was
selected, as being freer from clay sizing anu
impurities than other. varieties. Slender
strips were cut of BY. hand from a sheet Of
Bristol board, being scissored out in the form
Of delicate horseshoes. These slips were car
BOMBED in the muffle furnace by being placed
between sheets Of tissue paper, tightly
clamped between pieces Of cast-iron, and sub,
In glass globes, as before. and tested.
The first experiment with carbonized paper
Observation-Disclosures wasmade only two or three
weeks ago. To the Surprise Of Mr.; II; Edis9n
cate horseshoe carbon was not at all brittle;
It was actually flexible. It could be pulled
cut nearly straight without breaking. THIS
was the first good point. Then, On being
ea5Gftay G aSen Sf1leG 6eg up psssd IT" through e
they became brilliantly incanlescent,. giving
out light equal to that of very bright gas.
burner. The first ones were tried several.
days, and withstood use so well that every
man in the shop was astounded. A current
rf prTAaf Intensity turned tnfn 0f
them, and the ilcandeseence raised to pow
er of thirty gaS-burncrS before the carbon gave
out. As A1r. Edison does not care to produce
lamps having greater brilliancy than one,
Conclusion conc Hu % thas carbon Which would stand
current strong enough to give a, light OF
thirty gas-burners could be depended upon
for light Of two or three without suffering.
WITH Wit reference to its liability to rupture. lie
detailed 4 man to turn on and off the current
in one of the paper carbon lamps 5000 times,
calculating that that would be about the num-
Der of times the gas would be lighted in a
Years. nAtS Tie Il lamp M stood this test also; and
Menlo Park could suppress its feelings no
longer. The most intense exhi1aration and
astonishnent reigned, and q week ago the
reporters were sent Tor i'll hurry TO give the
that the persons most astonished at the sue
cess of the new lamp are Mr.. Edison and his
assistants themselves. They very frankly
Xr: Edison now has forty-tlve Of the new
LAMPS IN OPERATION
at Menlo Park. Three dwellings are supplied
with them, as also the Edison shops and one
or two Of the streets of the. village The
whole Of the available force Of the shops IS
Mr.. Edison says that he expects in five weeks
to have 500 of them u practical use at Menlo
Park and vicinity. Wires are to be run down
to the village Of Railway, four miles distant,
in order to ascertain the loss Of power IN dis
thorough practical test is to be made of the
whole system. Some Of the lamps have now
been burning for seventeen days; the rest Of
them over q week. So far they are doing
we'll. The lamps can be made for: % cents
apiece, and they give the light OF one gus
burner.
1t must be confessed that there seems to be
something practical in 4lr. Edisons new idea.
To be sure the idea is not new one in prine,
ciple. Inventors have been striving to maln-
vacuum for over thirty-fiye years. But no
one has thought Of way to get so delicate
and slender a carbon before. No one has
ever before been able to produce so per-
feet vacuum in gla;ss.tube IS; @ hd4n! And, strange
Sa tie tut tube S'RS WITH p bowpipe M s' aftef tie lie
vacuum had been obtained. Sawyer uses
some kind Of wax. Edison, with his
piished, half by accident, the one thing after
which all have been striving in the field Of
household illumination. At the same time
the new lamp has not been tested long
enough to develop its defects; and the proc
la1llation made a week. or ten days ago. ,.that
the victory had been finally won, must cer-
tainly be considered rs premature. Already
few Of the lamps appear to be little dull,
little less brilliant than at first. What does
that mean, now? Can it possibly indicate
that a change is going OH III the slender car
bons, scarcely larger than hairs as they are,
and that in a few weeks they may actually
lose their power to become brilliantly lncan-
!descent?? Perhaps SO. II they SHOULD Grow
taiIly indicate sthat. The lamp then would
be gfailure after all.
2a3, SAWYER INSISTS
thateven if there is 1100 900 000 part of the orig
inal air left i'll the sealed glass globes, the
carbolis must be consumed in time, especially
il they are yerEsmall ones; Is that to pc ths
Time alone can tell, but the contingency is
SO probable one that it would seem as if
common prudence and a sense of responsible
ity to the public should have restrained Edi-
Soa aoce fo% an aihgg ae W GIVEN R TIM IN ate
of the most thorough character. At any
rate, it is not time yet to say whether the new
lamp is to be q success or not. IT appears to
be all that is desired. It is all that is desired
50. far as the beauty Of the light itself, the
simplicity of the lamp, and its ornamental
character as a piece Of furniture are con-
eerned. But will it last, and is its light to be
cheaper than gas? To these two questions
positively no answer can now be given, and
he public should understand m t.! this is faet The
favor at present is that Mr. Edison has conf
dence enough in it to exhibit it to the public:
rid of his gas stocks in too great hurry; II
stocks go down, perhaps he had better buy,
if he can. twill be many months before it
will be known that the Edison lamp is a sue
cess,-if 1t is to be a success,-and it will be
years before it can be introduced to such an
extent as to affect the consumption Of gas.
Stockholders in gas companies should do
nothing rash simply because Mr.. Edison is
experimenting in new direction. II. II.
ODE TO EDISON.
hear you've fashioned an electric burner
That throws Duboso's and Browning's in the
shade;
And makes cen Jablochkof appear a learner,
And not an expert at the lightning trndeI