The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-01-23
EDIS0A'S LIGHT NOT OUT.
RumOrs That Were DisprOved by a
Visit to MenlO Park.
A Defect, However, Exists in the
Glassware or the Lamps That is
Exercising the Inventors
Ingenuity What Mr..
Edison Says.
New York SUM-

hat matters In tho shops OF the inventor,
Edison, In Menlo Park, are rather mt
,tandstill !" that many lamps have suddenly |
rome out, owing TO the breaking OF tho carbon |
norseehoes. aud that Mr.. Edison ID now at |
work solving tho mystery OF the failure. IL
was said that the light cracks the lamp
glasses and admits air. The article cor
,luded with the announcement that Mr.. Ed |
,on hopes to overcome these difficulties In |
time to INTRODUCES the light into practical use
in New York before next winter. Mr. Edison |
WAS shown these statements last night.
sSDtns of those statements are Ia lseh0ods,
said he "aud some are quite true Ihe lamps |
have not gone out, aud tho carDon horseshoes |
have not broken. That some OF the lamps |
have been cracked, and that air has thus |
gained entrance to the lame, 10 true. This |
ioss not affect my invention. 1t 10 purely u
mechanical Yault--a trouble with the glass.
lamp. am still experimenting with 1t.
linen Mr.. EIlson TOOK unn VI nie little glass
near shaped lamps In his hand and showed |
now some Of them had broken A low de-
feotive ones broke Mt tho top or the dome. n |
few broke where tho inner or wire glass was
Joined to tho big vacuun-g glass, but the ma
iority broke where the platinum periorates
the Inner bulk. Edlsnn's electric light 10 not
). hot light. An ordinary gasliaht is fifteen
times az hot Yet there Is sufficient heat
lamps, and 1t Is because the platinum wires
expnnd more than the v lsss around them that
the glass breaks. Mr.. Eileon' experiments
have led him W use many kinds OF glass, and
the different parts Ut his lamps have
bsen given many slightly different shapes.
All his lamps in tho houses, shops and
streets are numbered and their descriptions
written down. They are examined coD5tint-
~, and MIR. Edison says ho Is gradually reach
lug definite conclusions about tho various
materials and shapes. He has found ont thnt
he can mako TN almost absolutely perfect
lamp by using Certntn kinds OF ghss nnd
shaping 1t lev hand, but IL would be- expensive,
and thn very first object IN. ST. ives to attain Is
cheapnpss His lamp must he perfect ana
cheap also. To toe cheap 1t must be made by una
chinrry. He does not want 1t to cost more
Lhae twenty or twenty i've cents. He makes
the big outside bulb Of his lamp OF the best
glass, unannenled aud thin enough to be
elastic, aud therefore stronger, Tor the pur-
nose Of n lamp, than If IL were thick glass
This cauDot be bettcred. Only those
that were badly made have broken. The
trouble IL with the inner bulb In It's relation
to the wires that pierce 1t. His experiments
have shown him that by soldering the pla-
tinum wires firmly In the places where they
pierce this inner bub with cement OF Pc
culnr white glass that he has obtained from
Europe there is "A result of only ~ per cent
bre.kaRe. Now, by anDealing this glass that
cOmpOses the inner bulb he believes the
breakage will fall 10 per cent lie will have
to build big annealing furnace but his
lamps. he says, will cost only one cent more
than at present. But he says that will not
satisfy hiru, ~ compares well with the per-
csntaue OF BROKEN Chinneys IN other lamps,
out no wants to reduce 1t to IL KIT to nothing
or "nne-tenth OF l per cent, as NO expresses
II. III no could make tho whole inner bulb OF
th!s white glass that he uses for solder his
Inn ps would never break, but unfortunately
1t IL n glass that cannot be blown.
Hang it.. no says. Ia his quick way. n
they would only break right away l could
hurry up the experiment, but they don't.
some OF them crack In twenty-four hours,
| some In two weeks; others have been buraiDg
| four weeks and have not cracked yet. AS for
| their going out, there Is this remarkable
thing about it--they crack and yet don't 90
| out. discover that they have cracked, be-
cause my microscopic shows that tho carbon
arc, from being u smooth, glossy black, has
| become rough has It's surface eaten out, AMI
Is deep. soft black, iustead OF glossy, hard
black 1T can always DO detected, but there
are lamps now burning that began to leak a
week ago.
MIR. Ellison calls defect like that a "bug.'
II have had queer experiences with bugs,
he said, quito Rravely. Sometimes they'll
come right out, and I'll see them and fix them
on the lpot; but other bugs will hide and
puzzle mo for II long while. sat right down
ana hunted bug IN my telephone for thir-
teen months. but when | got 1t the telephone
was perfect
| wv men MI LttSe peOplt 20 AWAY no Shnt III
another time, referring to the siRhtSeeis thai
throug his place until the O'Clock train takes
away the last one, "l'll go to work, and theI
you won't think things here are at a stand
still"
"Whv." said the inventor, ''III hunt AROUND
with my microscope, and land III think"
They say in his shops that there never was
such Il thinker AS ne il. By figuring anG
| = bn
he wanted to improve on the dynamo ma
chimes OF the day 1t Is said that he, Mr.. Batch
elor and Mr. Upton sat still for three weeks
day and night, figuring and thinking, ant
thus they arrived at tho plan OF the machine
that Is now supplying the sixty lamps IL
Mpnlo Park.
, Mr.. Ellison repeated that the only defec
, that he is com batting Is in tho gln5sw ware o
his lamp He says that he has done all tina
it was said he could not do, In the way OF sub
, dividing this electric current, iinlnR non
des,ructible burner inventinH suitable form
! OF lamp for private houses, and producing
Ell apr light than gas 1t cost 100000, an
it took forty men sixteen months; but now h
la only bothered by what no one denied cOu
be DONE and the present difficulty may no
be remeiied In month, or II IN ny 10 SUI
? mounted In Il minute while he studies II
Meanwhile his employees ara preparing plan
for the depot he expects soon TO establish 1
New York, with it's great engines and II
| wires to every house In - district OF half
J SQUARE mile Before that will b. DONE how
| ever. Mr. Eli 3on intends tn have increase
the number OF his lamps to GOO to1OO IN Menl
! PARK Every house is to be equipped wit
them, and his shops are TO be lifted with
!, many as possible, because Mr.. Edison say
that the more lamps ne has 70 study ana ~
pertinent with the sooner he will remedy tn
defect that H. now his only obstacle.
i Mr. Edison has designed a lamp for prlvat
houses containing three separate carbn
r horspshors. One will be Of three candl
8 power, the second OF eight, and the third {
] sixteen Any or all may be used at one time
K He has al-o designed a new street lamp col
8 tanning a series OF horseshoes In the shape {
: pyramid This, he says, will give as muc
8 light as he large lights now Ia use Ia tn
9 city, at Anout one-halt the eXp~nse. Mr.. Il
0 ison exhibited copy Of written paper la:
i evening, which, he says, has been distrlt
a uted among the newspaper offices. 1T Is wri
d ten by IA person Interested In az electr
Q lamp and, in trying to prove that Mr.. Ed
sons izht Is q faiIure, he makes nunerot
mistakes, such as avrrrug that carbon is q
!. panded by electricity, whereas 1t IS col