San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-08-31
RpATS ELECTRICITY.
,.,.,,Iou for Utilizing the Heat from the
~ SUMS Rays.
Chicago Herald.

..nsof the District, which bids fair to
.0read as widely throughout the coun-
.rv as did the blue glass "fad" of sew
avail wears ago. The person primarily
..snousible for what promises to be an
;ra;etion on the community is resi-
dspt of the city and an inventor. but
,he Washington Post has contributed
toward popularizing that gentleman's
discovery and in governing the young
and the aged of both sexes and all
colors into experimenters. A few days
400 It appears the patent office issued
nspers to Mr.. William Calver for a
discovery which, if it possesses all the
merits the patentee and the Post claim
ior il. will be hailed with gratitude by
both busy manufacturers and toiling
housewives. The invention is no less
than the
PRODUCTION OF INTENSE HEAT.
By peculiar arrangement of mirrors.
Meanwhile, as the ordinary looking
glass is common to every dwelling, and
the testing of Mr.. Calver's claims can
90 on without expense, the city de-
termined to judge of the virtue of his
discovery. In the Smithsonian grounds,
in the vicinity of the capitol and on
many of the avenues the test has been
made by those who have had their Gu
riosity aroused concerning the strength
Of the suns rays. In the negro quar-
ter even bits of broken mirror can be
seen cleaning in the dusky hands of
colored urchins, who mischieyously
turn the focus full in the face of the
passer-by. What the result of all these
experiments may have been, has not
yet TRANSFERRED, but it is evident that
the society of all grades has caught
new tangled idea which will, if it does
nothing else, afford it some amusement.
Mr.. Calver, the gentleman who has SO
distinguished himself, is brother of
Dir. Calver, at POI A. street Northwest.
DR.. Calver was born in England, but
came to this country when very young.
For number of years he resided in
New York. He has been citizen of
the district for upward of ten years,
and during that time has been absent
much in Arizona, looking after his min
ing property. He has been looking
for some method of working mines and
reducing the ore by more cheap pro-
cess than that in vogue. By happy
chance, equally as singular as that
which befell Newton, he stumbled on
his discovery. The whole invetion
simply consists of an arrangement
whereby the rays Of the sun are reflect
FROM ANY NUMBER OF MIRRORS.
Upon common focus. Happening to
direct the light from two ordinary look
ing glasses upon the same surface he
noticed that the resultant heat was
about doubled. He proceeded with
his experiments, and succeeded in re-
ducing wood to ashes and metal
to liquid state by simply concentrat-
ing upon them the reflected light of
the sun from twenty small mirrors with
fiat surfaces. The principle is an I'M
explainable one. 1t has never hitherto
been suspected that tapping one ray of
sunlight upon another increased the
heat. The model patented by NJ.
Calver consists of number of small
looking glasses, arranged in rows upon
frame so fixed that they can be con-
verged upon any one point. A working
model of which he has a number, was
exhibited to reporter in the yard in
the rear of his residence. Forty limo
cent, guilelss looking fifteen cent
framed mirrors, each 81 inches by 81
inches, were arranged upon a frame
propped up like an artists easel, and |
bearing a striking resemblance thereto.
Facing the easel was the fragment of
what was once barn door, also prop !
ped up and partially covered with a
worn and faded sheet of zinc that bore
unmistakable evidences of having been !
burned through in several places. 1t
was but the work o. a minute to con-
verge the forty mirrors upon a space
three and three-quarter inches upon
the barn door, and then the revelations