, 1885-02-25
aun ~ CHANGE Or 1EmegaAruHE


Like Perpetual Motion.
bridgeport Cor. New York SUM-
It viii be interesting to many thousand 3
OF people In this precautionary mech inicAl
age 20 read a description OF a INA .nins in
vented and constructed by Mr. +. T. Bar
mum that "a fairly entitled to be called =
perpetual motion machine. This wonderful
little machine ran tirelsssiy until most
unfortunately bur rel with Mr.. Bar
NUNS handsome residence, Iranistan,
twenty years ago. Many Of Mr.. Barnrm'a
friends and visitors OF those days marvelsd
why the machine was never put on exhibit
ton in his then popular museum in New
York Tho reason given at that time was
that the people could never be made to be-
believe either that Mr.. Barnum invented or
made the machine, OF that it was made to
run with such simple means, furnished by
nature itself. Many inventors had visitol
Mr.. Barnum, AMI many others had writtsn
to him urging him 10 buy machines that
they claimed could be described In the pub
lie prints as perpetual motion, and, INDEED.
Mr.. Barnum purchased mora than one OF
such machines for his museum, but he could
never bring himself to believe or admit that
a machine could not b. made that would
run from its finish until worn out, and with
out trick.
In fact, he urged twenty eight years ago,
when mechanic was In its infancy, and the
papers were constantly discussing the prob
lem Of perpetual motion, that such a ma
chine could be made, and made to go por-
p~etually. His first idea. a. explained to the
writer. wa to utilize in a convenient and
simple form the power OF expansion and
contraction In metals. and he claimed that
the difference In the natural temperature
between night and day would be sufficient,
"A rrw-.- a-alT.I - rs.w IL uw..f-r.-l.kA I
machine from the moment 1t was finished
until its motion had worn itself out
Tn base OF Mr.. Barnum's machine was
made OF glass, something In the shape OF q
pill box, eight inches In diameter by three
inches deep. This bass was filed with quick
silver. There was an opening in the center
and top Of the base about half an inch In d.
ameter. A glass tube OF the same diameter
as the hole, and six inches long, was in.
serted in the middle OF the hole, so that when
the heat OF midday caused the quicksilver
to expand, It would rise up through the tube
and force a piston Upward. On the top oil
the piston rod was placed about Eve pounds
OF lead When the temperature cooled the
metal contracted in the base and tube, and
the piston was made to follow tho quickil
yer in the tube. That gave the piston a re-
ciprocal motion. Gear wheels connected
with the vertical piston rod gave high speed
to the four-inch fly wheel, and the machine
was complete. A movement OF 1-1O00 Of
an inch of the piston rod gave
Il motion to the periphery OF the
fly wheel Of seventeen inches to the minute
which was quite enough to show that the
machine was in motion. II my recollection
is not at fault, the fly wheel was secured tt
its shaft by slight friction only, so that al
the exact time of change Of motion of the
piston rod the wheel would slip ON its shaft
and continue its motion until the motion OF
its shaft was reversed. when In due time the
wheel would stop and instantly reverse 1t:
motion, and so ON. OF courso other mechan-
ical devices could be applied in this connec
ton which would cause the wheel to rotate
one WY, no matter which way the piston
rod Travelled.
The machine ran constantly from the mo
ment il was discovered until it was de-
stroyei by fire, four years after. Mr..
Barnum thinks that the future clock will be-
so constructed that the han 81 in tempera-
ture between day and night will wind IT,
and win it gently, without trouble or ex-
pense,