Arizona weekly citizen., 1885-07-18
EUREKA, Cal, June P, 1885
An Interview with EdiSOn-A New
 Force.

A New York interviewer recently paid a visit to the work shop of MT. Edison, and among other things gives the follow ing: Perhaps the most interesting thing he had to say was respecting bis exploration for thew force" Al pre- sent he calls It simply yz. He does not pretend to know what 1t is. He says that there are many phenomena which are not explained by any force yet recognized, and it IS these that he is going to investigate. Vibrations Of matter at the rate of 5000 a second produce the highest sound We can hear. Between these and the vibrations which, at the rate of a million per second, cause the sensation of heat, there is large gap; and between these and the vibratioes which give the sensation of color there is another gap. These gaps Edison believes, are filled by vibrations as yet unmeasured, which constitute the new, or unnamed, force he is in search of.
 PROJECTED MACHINES.
 He brought out from a drawer sundry louse sheets oL which he had sketched a number of machines be had projected, which respond to some influence still undeined. "I get these down as they occur to me" he said, "and when l get enough of them together l shall have the machine made and try to generalize my observations"
 Think of it A man in this sksptical century who dares believe in discOv. cry beyond all discoveries. Here is a student of nature who Is not afraid to have the spirit of a Calico or a kepler or an Isaac Newton. What do you think of the nature of matter!" 1 asked. The answer was prompt: "I do not be- lieve that matter is inert, acted upon by an outside force. To me 1t seems that every atom IS possessed of cer- tain amount of primitive intelligence. Look at the thousand ways in winch atoms of hydrogen combine with those of other elements, forming the most diverse substances. Do you mean to say 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 originally"
 From some greater power than our selves"
 Do you then believe in an intelligent Creator. personal GOd.'
 Certainly" said Mir. Edison. "The existence of such God. in my mind, can almost be proved from chemistry"
 PHILOSOPHER.
 Lucretius thought that all atoms were moved by feelings of love or hate what we call attraction or repulsion. Edison's idea is far more subtle, slnce be allows the atoms only germ of in- tellgepce. It also seems to be quite in keeping with the doctrine of evolu- tion, while it contains nothing that IS not Tn harmony with the ideRlism of l the Platonists. And SD We discover l down on Avenue B, in the proSaic city | of New York. philosopher who believes | in a personal God, and IS at the same tlme the foremost exponent of applied | science. Curious that he should be at work here, night after night, in the | midst of million of people, only a few hundred of whom know how be is em- oloyed during the nocturnal hours, As usual thing be works until . or 6 in he morning, his supper basket remain ng untouched beside him, and 1t Is oft n o'clock of the next day before be caves the bench of the laboratory. "I ant think out anything" he says, "ex- ept when I'm experimenting. l have & ibrsry of 6,000 scientific works. but s omehow I can't find what I want in looks. How do I make calculations?l We'll, don't know, exactly. csn't do Q on paper. I have to be moving round.' So there he goes, moving around, linking and working with his hands. l the big sombre building, while the lty is asleep. He is the controlling over of several large factories, a mil onsire, a man of business, a marvellous lventor; yet he is as simple and happy } child, when, Tn an old seersucker he can manipulate at l Ill and without interruption the mys- 'rious forces and properties of nature.