The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-08-09
A TlRELESS INVENTOR.
Professor Bells Latest Production of Genius
His Great Mental EnercY.

Professor Bells Latest Production of Genius
His Great Mental Energy.
Washington Correspondence Pittsburg Commercial
Professor Bell, it might be thought, after hav-
ing given to the world the telephone, would be
content with his scientific eOnquests, but he is
still actively at work upon problems of sound
and electricity in way that promises an inven-
ton of far greater Importance, scientifically
and practically, than the telephone itself. His
laboratory is an old-fashioned two-story house on
Connecticut avenue, near street. IN the
nelghborhood of the British Legation, Stanley
Matthews house and the residence of Mrs John
Davis. He also has private ard secret labora-
tory over in GEORGETOWN, where at present he
has a most skillful workman engaged upon the
forthcoming instrument. What it is is known
only to Professor Bell and the man who is work
ing at the idea The great inventor has said to
his friends that if he succeeds his new idea will
yield him greater returns than the telephone
has. 1t is suspected, however, by those who
have given some attention to the course of
Professor Bells thought upon the subject, that it
Is the photophone, or the use of electricity to
reproduce over the wires the image of the person
speaking before tho instrument.
Professor Bell is man of prodgous tai
energy. and he IS constantly developing new
ideas and new applications of electrical force for
the production Of useful machines. He throws
them off easily and carelessly as you can
fancy. For instance, he made not long ago an
instrument called the aUdlometer. Perhaps not
u y
magnetic cylinders graduated to each other.
These cylinders will indicate by measurement
how much sound it is possible for a deaf person
tc hear and if they can hear at ali. Although it
Is an important instrument Professor Bell allows
anyone who wants it to get one of his model
maker, and himself asks no return for it.
Professor Bell has also devised instrument
which might be called the submarine telephone,
by which can be ascertained from the echo from
stone dropped upon the bottom of the bay or
NxxrJyn IN haI no
what the depth is at that point. He has also
utilized the telephone to record echoes at sea,
which may show the distance of icebergs and
other distractions. Even buoy can be distin-
guished by its use.
Professor Bell is gradually growing out of all
business pursuits and devoting himself to the
improvement of the deaf. He is constantly
giving more and more time to his little school on
Sixteenth street, where he has perhaps score
of pupils, most all Of them wholly deaf to whom
he is teaching the art of sight language He is
training these little children so that they can
distinguish from the lips and face Of the person
speaking what they say, and teaching them to
initiate the proper arrangement OF the lips. teeth
and tongue so that they may articulate sounds.
4 gentleman calling upon Professor Bell the
other evening tells me that while he was there
one of his workinen came in for instructions.
The man sat there four hours, while Professor
Bell applied himself uninterruptedly to other
matters which he had in hand At the END of
that time he wheeled about IN his chair and be-
gan to talk to the workman. Il never heard a
man talk so in my life. Every sentence had the
compact result Of hard thinking, and carried to
the mind of the listener a complete scientific
idea. In half an hour he had indicated to the
man new and great invention and the work
man said if we had known this two months ago
we might have saved two months labor. It de-
monstrated to me the wonderful versatility of
the man who, in his far advanced studies on the
subject of sound and hearing, could pass to ut
terly diverse subjects instantly and with perfect
mastery of each" 1t is understood also that
Professor Bell is at work upon the problem of
resolving heat at once into electricity result
if it can be obtained that will greatly simplify
and cheaper all uses of electricity.