River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1880-03-18
THE DIAPH0IE.
The Economical Transmission Of Sun
light.
Bethlehem pa Time.

In conversation with DIR. II. +. Licks,
the inventor of the diaphote, our report
er learned that there is strong prob
ability that this instrument may be sue
cessfully employed for the economical
transmission of sunlight. The diaphote,
as fully explained by DR.. Licks in a lee
ture last week before the Monocacy
Scientific Club, of which we published
a full abstract, is an instrument by
which objects far distant can be with
the aid of electricity, rendered plainly
visible. The rays of light from an OBJ
ject fall upon peculiarly constructed
mirror of selenium and iodide of silver,
which is placed on an electric circuit
passing to the remote observer, who by
looking into speculum made of chro-
MUM and selenium, sees the reproduc-
ed image almost as distinctly as if it
were near at hand. The theory of the
instrument is similar to that of the tel
ephone. In the latter the vibrating
diaphragm induces electric currents,
and these cause a second diaphragm to
vibrate correspondingly; in the diaphote
the light effects chemical changes in
the mirror which modify the electric
anu CdttSC lllc W NC It,
produced on the far distant spectrum.
Our reporter found DR.. Licks i'll his
laboratory, engaged with his assistant,
Mr. X. M. Puter, experimenting upon
some new speculum amalgams. On the
benches stood queer looking cameras
and queerer looking diaphotes, while
multitude of wires ran along the walls
and across the ceiling. DR.. Licks
cautiously explained the peculiar disc
on which the speculums were polished,
and the furnace retorts i'll which the
amalgam was prepared. "The ANAL
gam on which we are now Working"
said he. lis to be used to determine the
cost of applying the diaphote to the
transmission of light. With instruments
already made | am able TO reproduce
the image of a burning lamp or gas jet
with fair success for short period, but
to do it economically and continuously a
somewhat different chemical compost
ton must be adopted foI the mirror
and speculum. | can show you what we
have done this far if you wish.S Thu
speaking ne motioned the reporter into
dark closet, and pressing key a
bright light appeared in a speculum on
the wall. "That is the image of the
sum-" said the Doctor. ''as due to the
rays falling on mirror only sixteen
square inches out on the roof. And it
would be just as bright were the mirror
five or six miles away. Now this light
will remain of this steady brightness for
a great many hours and days, but find
these changes gradually set in which
after time cause the speculum to be-
come disorganized.
eve feel confident that our present
experiments will overcome the diff
Guilty soon." Our reporter suggested that
by the use of several diaphotes a large
electric light might be subdivided.
Certainly, sir" said DR.. Lick, "but as
long as we can use it to subdivide sun
light it will not be profitable to run
steam engines to generate electric lights.
AT first it will be mainly employed in
cities for the dark stores and offices
where now gas is burned all day. Each
of these offices will have spectrum
connected by wire with central office
where large mirror collects the sun
light. For dark days artificial light will
have to be used to some extent to
illuminate the mirror, but the cost of
this will be little compared with the
profit on the free sunlight, and it may
perhaps be possible by refiectors to use
the diffused light of day even when the
sky is wholly clouded. Ultimately l ex-
pect that New York will be Illuminated
by sunlight transmitted from Eastern
Asia or the Pacific islands. In some of
these regions the sun is never obscured
by clouds, and it is day there when it is
night here. Large diaphotic mirrors
will be erected there and connected by
Geographic wires with our principal
cities, where thousands Of little diaphotic
speculums will give out the reproduced
sun rays, the most cheerful and most
healthy of all lights"