Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1882-12-30
NORTHERN TRIBUNE.
SATURDAY. DECEMBER 30, 1882.
THE ELECTRIC LIGHT.


An fngenius Device for storing the
Electric Current.
From the New York Times.
Several hundred gentlemen, including
many who are pecuniarily interested in
various methods of electric lighting.
were present, on invitation, at the offices
of the Brush electric light company, in
the Domestic building, at S53 Broadway,
last evening to witness the result obtain
ed by practical application of the
secondary or storage battery. The occa-
sion was noteworthy because the exhibit
tiOn was the first ever given of Mr..
Brush's secondary battery as applied to
a system of lighting by incandescent
lamps. The lamps were of the Swan
pattern and consisted of a carbon fla
ment which is heated to incandescence
in vacuum. The filament has an extra
loop which is wanting in the Edison pat
tern of lamp, and it is cylindrical in
structure. 1t occupies less space, anu
the bulb in which it is placed is smaller
than are the Edison bulbs. At last
nights exhibition p lights were shown
in operation. They were fed from stor-
age battery feet long, Is inches wide,
and is inches high, and they burned
without flicker or any diminutiOn of
light awhatever. Besides these lights
there was exhibited an electrO-motOr of
One-hOrse power which supplied power
to blower of ordinary form, and which
was moved by the current from the
second battery. Among those present
were Mr.. G. +. Brush, the inventor; Mr..
G w StOckley, vice president and general
manager of the parent Brush company;
-. wi
president; A A Hayes, secretary, and
Robert W AbOrn, treasurer of the Brush
company of this city; the Hon Edwin
EIinstein; T Montgomery, who intro
duced the Brush light abroad and
brought the Swan light to this country;
G w Heberd and L Curtis of the United
States electric lighting company;
Eugene Lynch, president of the United
States electric Illuminating company;
Col r r Hazard, president of the Gramme
electrical company; DR. A M Withridge,
Thomas w Johnson, w + BarrOws, G
Scott, Col Barber, w CQuimby, of Val
parisO, Chill; r ] Sheehy, Gen G X Ora
ham, Gen Louis Fitzgerald, Elihu Root,
T + CrOnise, of SanfranciscO; + nj
CrOnise, Charles DelmOnicO, SOmerfield
Baldwin, Edgar G Miller, + Morrison,
L P French, of Boston; Thomas Sturgis,
of Cheyenne; Samuel NJ Shafer, G G Ruth
rauff. the Hon M f Post. of Wyoming;
the Hon Martin Maginnis, of Montana,
and representatives from the New York
board of underwriters. The visitors
watched the lights and motor in opera
tiOn for several hours, and all expressed
their qualification at the success of the
test i'm its details as well as in its gen.
eral application. The insurance repre-
sentative approved the "cut-away"
whereby. i'm case of interference with
the current, it is automatically shut off
by the instantaneous melting of strip
of tin foil which Is introduced into the
circuit. This prevents the occurrence
tenn Of lighting.
An inspection was made of the accum
latOr. or storage battery, which was eX
ulained by Mr.. Brush. The battery was
fed. or charged, by a current from the
ordinary arc circuit. and it gave out a
current of low electro motive force. The
cells of the battery contain corrugated
lead plates covered with composition
which is kept secret. The plates are
immersed i'm weak solution of sulphuric
acid. There IL no oxide of lead, felt. or
hacking of any kind, as In the Faure
battery. Mr.. Brush says that his battery
once made is practically indestructible,
and needs no care or attention beyond
the occasional addition of little water,
to replace that taken up by evaporation.
The lead plates are not acted upon and
need no renewing. and the acid does not
waste. The cells of the battery may be
arranged in series, just as are the cells
of galvanic battery. In one point MIR.
Brush claims to have achieved success
which of itself is noteworthy. He has
practically avoided the interference
caused by polarization which has i'm
paired the usefulness Of the secondary
batteries. In the feeding OF the battery
with the supply current, check 10 waste
or overflow is afforded by an ingenious
magnetiOdevic whereby the current
as soon as one cell is filled-is aut0m-
atically switched OF to feed another cell.
and after that another. and so on until
All are full. The number of cells being
used is variable, being suited to the re-
sistance of the lamps In the circuit. The
lOss of power by transmission from the
accumulation is Is to 20 per cent only
that Is, there is that much less force
sent from the accummulatOr than Is
given out by the dynamOs. How quickly
the secondary battery can be charged
depends upon the intensity of the curr ent
used. the more intense doing the work
in shorter time.
The batteries made are OF four kinds.
the first having capacity OF from B TO
3 lights, the plates being 8 inches by 3;
the second for from 10 to 10 lights, with
plates 8 by IS inches; the third for from
30 to 80 lights, with double plates 1y
rs inches. All batteries have twenty
cells. Mr.. Brush announces that the
batteries will furnish to 10 lights OF
the size or power Of an ordinary FIVE