The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-08-28
EDISON'S LATEST IDEAS
Experiments for Telegraphing Between
Ships at Sea.

Ships at Sea.
1t was rather a weird experience,
meeting him there in the great gloomy
building, where there are but two
men besides himself, at night He
was chiefly engaged with his new idea
of telegraphing from railroad trains
in motion. This IS not to be done by
cable laid along the track, on the
Phelps plan. but by throwing the cleo
trio current, by induction, to one of
the wires alongside the railroad. His
experiments have already shown that
the sparks can be thrown 1S0 feet.
The regular Morse instrument, with
certain appliances will be used. The
battery is to be grounded in the wheels
of the car, and on the top or the car
there will be condensers Of tin foil
spread upon long strips of wood. Ar
rangements are also progressing for
an experiment in telegraphing by the
same method frem one ship to another
at sea.
''But is that possible" l asked.
''How far do YOU think you can throw
the current over the water?"
Il am afraid to say how far was
the answer. 'From the data already
obtained, the theoretical conelusi on
is that we can throw it twenty-four
miles. Possibly we can throw it more
than that"
Then Edison rapidly sketched on
paper Il map of the two continents
and the Atlantic, and illustrated his
plan of telegraphIng from ship to
ship so as to establish certain commu-
nication between the shore and any
part of the freGuented seas. Not con-
tent with this projected miracle, which
seems to be near it's fulfllment, he is
also busy upon improvements in snb-
marine telegraphy. The method now
generally in vogue of reckoning words
through cable by the flicker of a flame
thrown upon mirror is amazingly
insufficient. as Is shown on a diagram
which Edison displayed. The num-
Der of dots indicating letters often has
to be judged by operators from the
length of time that the flame hesitates-
Even the siphon receiver invented by
Sir William Thompson and used by
one or two of the new cables, is not
quite satisfactory, although it marks
the dots pretty nearly. Edison is try
ing to devise some means of attaining
a higher or better regulated rate OF
speed so that the record may be made
clearer But '.it's tough job" he
says.
Perhaps the most interesting thing
he had to say was respecting his eX-
.ploration for .'new force" At pres
.ent he calls it simply KY. He does
not pretend to know what it is. But
he says that there are MANY phenom-
.ena (which are not explained by amy
force vet recognized, and it is these
which he is going to investigate.
Vibrations of matter at the rate of
$4,000 second produce the highest
sound we can hear. Between these
and. the vibrations which, at the rate
of millions per second, cause the sem
,sation of heat, there is large gap;
and between these and the vibrations
that give sensations of color there is
another gap. These gaps, Edison be-
lieves, are filled by vibrations as yet
unmeasured, which constitute the new,
or unnamed, force he is in search of.
He brought out from drawer sundry
loose sheets on which he had sketched
a number, of machines he had project
ed, which respond to some influence
still underlined. 81 jot these down as
they occur to me-" he said, land
when j get,enough of them together 1
shall have the machines made and
try to .generalize my observations.
Think of .iti A man in this skepti-
cal century who dares believe in dis
coNery beyond all discoveries. Here
is a student. of nature who Is not afraid
to have the spirit of n Galileo or a KEEP
ler or an Isaac Newton. Perhaps we
shall learn from MIN that in returning
to faith and insight, aided by bold and
patient experiment, we may go for
ward by going backward. .'What do
vou think as to the nature OF matter?'
+ asked, unserupulously. The answer
was pronasat: Il do not believe that
matter is inert. acted upon by an out
side force. To me 1t seems that every
atom is possessed of a certain amount
of primitive intelligence. Look at
the thousand ways in which atoms of
hydrogen CONE bine with those of other
elements, forming the most diverse
substances. R0 you mean to say that
they do this without intelligence
When they get together in certain
forms they make animals of the lower
orders. Finally. they combine in man,
who represents the total intelligence
of all the atoms"
But where does this Intelligence
come from originality"
'.From some power greater than
ourselves"
..Do you then believe in sIn lntelli-
gent Creator, a personal GadP" was
the next question.
s'Certainly," said 3dr. Edison "The
existence of such God, in my mind,
, can almost be proved from ekemis-
stry."
Lucretius thought that all atoms
were moved by feelings of love or
hate--what we call attraction or re-
pu4sion. Edison's idea is far mere
subtle, since he allows the atoms oaly
a germ of intelligence. 1t also seems
to be quite in keeping with the doe
trine of evolution, while 1t contains
nothing that is not in harmony with
the idealism of the Platonists- And SO
we. discover down on Avenue B., in
the prosaic city of New York,
philosopher who believes IN a personal
God, and is at the same time the fore