Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-09-23

viih Mn ysporic gun was success, and tue
ordnance officers present were loud IN their
resise ~ his invention. Sunday the inven-
IN was interviewed, and the following y
riven by Philadelphia correspondent as
IN rssssh Of the interview:
John w. Keely. the Inventor OF nc
Kcely motor. sat In his brcssing-gown this
EVENING In the second-story oil bis resi-
dence, on oxford street. reading thenew
paper accounts Of the experiments with his
new motor gun on saturday In the presence
Of . party Of Government officials at sandy
Hook. A satisfied expression was on his
face. A reporter of the Press was cautiously
examining vaporic vibrator that lay on
the table In the middle Of the room. Lay
ing down his paper, the inventor wheeled
around In his chair, and, after studying for
amomens, broke the silence that he has so
persis;ently maintained, and, for the FIRST
time In several years, communicated his
thoughts 10 a newspaper man. "My
experimenting days are oyer,' he SAID
"1his will develop my active enter
prise. Complete success Is very near ~
hand. My experiments at Sandy HOOK
demonstrated that my yaporic force
- fact and not mere creation OF
fancy, as many persons have persist
ed In declaring. am now able TO produce
= power OF projection thrice greater than
that Of sunpowder, and there Is no limit
TO this force. My motor will be completed
IN less than two months. and VIII then
make public exhibition OF its wonderful
powers, which are already in position to
manifest themselves. The adaptation OF
my force TO gunnery Is positively assured.
l can apply II with more elect than that OF
niifo-glycerine."
The inventor paused and took out OF
n saetbel what looked like a.policeman's
killy. "This," he said, "is what call
vibrator. 1t Is hollow coil OF steel OF the
Finest quality. In one end is al oritics. by
which IL Is attached 10 the germ. IL ~ the
most peculiar piece Of steel In the world.
Listen" and the inventor tapped one end
Of the coil twice, sharply. upon the floor
and held il to the ear Of the reporter. "Do
ron hear anything!" The reporter did
hear something. The steel cone was hum
ming In very high key. The noise was
like that OF a tuning FORK. Taking the core
In his hand the reporter found that II was
quiveripg from one end TO the other.
lIr. Keely continued: at huns, don't
ity No other piece OF metal in the
world OF similar shape Will hum at all. See
II II does" and he tapped another hollow
bar of steel on the floor and held IL TO the
not a culver could be detected. "That
steel barr said Mr.. Keely, "was the be-
ginning OF my motor. by means OF II L
stumbled on my discoveries. For seven
years ! have kept flowing through that
core q stream OF etberic yapor. The ac-
tion OF the vapor has been to affect the re-
lstions Of the molecules and to alter to
certain extent their conditions. For this
reason Il has become subject to these vi
brations, which are excited In the manner
I have shown you. There has been no
apparent outward change In the steel. Its
weight IL the same rs before, but II Is
Ia the process OF silent dissolution. Were
/ TO pass through II for twenty years
longer this etheric vapor, 1t would crum-
bic INTO nothiDgness, be transformed into
the most impalpable dust. or whatever you
usy choose 10 call il. The steel core is
necessary for the PRONUNCIATION Of the pro-
jeciing force OF the etheric vapor when APP
piled TO gunnery. When the yapOr WAS
first allowed TO flow through the core OF
steel the vibrations were scarcely audible.
Gradually they increased in volume, and
The noise became more and more audible.
The vibrations through 1t have averaged
100000 per second. IL has sufficient foice
30 ope crate 500-horse-pOwer engine.
terms, it is simply this take water and
air-two mediums OF different specific
grayify-apd produce from them by gene
ration an effect under vibrations that libe-
rates from the air and water an interatomic
ether. The energy Of this ether is bound |
iv-,, and can hardly be c9mprehended.
The specific gravity OF the ether Is ABOUT !
four times lighter than that OF hydrogen |
eas--the highest gas so far discovered. can |
hest answer you intelligently by explain |
Inc the operations Of the gun | used at
Sandy Hook. Ii was breech-loading
rifle weighing I've hundred pounds. twas
spec,aliy constructed for me. On WedneS-
dav last charged my tube-a five-gallon
reservoir OF wrought iron. one and 4 hall
inches thick--with etheric yapor. Then
boxed II up and did not even test 1t. so j
was certain OF lis powers. Three hours be-
fore the experiments IL remained untouched
In my shop. The process OF charging 1t
consumed less than four seconds OF time.
You could not guess how much material
was used in making the vapor," and the in
ysntor smiled and passed to allow the re-
porter to use his ingenuity at guessing.
"a pint OF water" suggested the visitor.
Mr.. Kesly smiled more broadly than be-
fore. Then he said, with q tremble in his
eve: "a pint Of water would have been an
extrayagsnt quantity. To project 20 leaden
bullets. each weighing nearly five ounces,
at a velocity OF over 80 feet a second, there
was required six drops OF water and about
a pint Of air. From this combination dc.
rived sufficient force 10 fire 20 bullets OF
like weight as those used. The most GU
rious thing about all ~, that found, at
the end Of my experiments. that | had IN.
creased the power in my tube instead OF
diminishing il. just as race-horse needs
to be warmed up before he can do himself
Justice, the initial velocity OF the last bull
let was more than that Of the first one.
can take that same tube and operate ii an-
other day."
"IIave YOU ever estimated the power Of
your interatomic etber?" was asked.
81 have produced frequently" was the
answer, "a pressure OF 10000 pounds to
the square inch in a quarter OF a second.
The process in reality is instantaneous. l
have succeeded in making a vacuum Of 81
pounds pressure. The greatest vacuum
ever before produced was OF IS pounds
pressure. One is an etheric, the other an
atmospheric vacuum. In order 10 apply
the ether 20 any gun, all that is necessary
u TO GET the chord OF vibration OF the gun
20 agree with the chord OF the vibTat0l.
The vibrations run through 40 octayes.
i am able to produce In metal the
eiheric vibrations In from seven 10
twenty minutes. The flow thus in
dueed IL equal to that which il has required
seven years TO effect In the steel core you
were examining a htile while ago. Now,
M 1 started 10 explain 10 you, allow this
ipteraiomic ether to pass into the gun.
thtn yibrate the gun by means OF blow
with n mallet. or anything OF that kind.
The steel coil attached TO the gun increases
the intensity OF the vibrations fifteen
fold. After the ether is introduced into the
weapon behind the proicctile the vibra-
tons lberate 1t and 1t expands, and the
bullet il propelled out with great force
four times as great, US l told you, rs that OF
gunpowder and that, too, on low
line Of graduation. have succeeded in
generating pressure OF $4,000 pounds 10
the inch. and have torn Shaw gauge to
pieces under the immense pressure. L have
thrown q seven-ounce proitctile through a
cast-iron plate three eighths OF an inch In
thickness I have propelled lead buiiet
through four-ineh plank OF wood. In
this instance. after passing through wood.
40 rren was the force OF its progress 1t Hat
tened itself out the size oil plate and as
thin as wafer against steel obstacle
ri.csd in the line OF its flight On another
secssion a lead bullet, after being fired
fhrourh a board, became cisintegrated. and
MAS showered over the room in particles no
larger than the head Of a pin. by attach.
gos a steel coll 10 a reSonanter. a SQUARE boz