The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-08-27
A MODERN MARVEL.
The Incandescent Lamp and How 1t
is Put Together.
From the Pittsbury Dispatch.

| from inc ItCtSOUTy DtSpItCH
An electricians workshop~-even that of
the most humble follower Of Faraday-is q
curiously-interesting place, Astounding in
strange things which pique the curiosity
and puzzle the understanding Of the un-
scientific observer. This being the case,
what can be said of an establis hment like
that Of the Westinghouse electric company,
IN which nearly 1909 men are employed,
and where almost every known sort of
electric appliance is manufactured. 1t is
| sapremely wonderful and defies descrlp-
ton. Yet even hasty inspection of the
various departments of those great works
cannot fail to impress the beholder with new
ideas OF the Importance to the world of that
powerful agent, electricity, and CT the
marvellous work which it is capable of per-
| forming
To describe the establishment in detail
would be task requiring days and weeks
OF labor and research. Only some of the
most interesting features therefore, will be
touched upon ia this article. In point of
interest and Importance the coInpany's
laboratory may be placed in the first rank.
| Here corps Of experienced electricians
are constantly at work here all discoveries
are made, new ideas given a practical
application and great variety OF expert
ments made, Electrical appliances are
| tested i'll the hands of experts, to ascertain
If they conform to the established standard,
Adjoining this department is the exhibition
| room, where some of the devices are TO be
seen in w0rklng order. Here are switch
boards, by means Of which the supply of
electricity for lights is regulated and con-
| trolled; the now and wonderful meter for
registering the amount Of light supplied; IL
'theater regulator which has perfect con-
troll over the lights with which it is con-
| nected, allowing them to De turned on in
| full strength or shut Off until only the faint
est ghnmer of light is perceptibie, as the
| operator may desire, and numerous other
| ingenious contrvances. Asmall appliance,
! by means OF which watch or any other
| article that has become magne,iZed. Gun be
| demaguetzed almost instantaueOusly, is
| one OF the curiosities of this department. A
| hVe-hor5e power motor, capable OF running
an elevator, all contained il bearings less
thai two feet in length by one and h If
feeJ in diameter, is another electrical mar
vel, AMI the list might be extended ain ost
indefinitely. In addition 10 the laboratory,
the drafting room, the pattern shop, and
the various departments devoted to
| the construction of Rrmaturea, convert
ers and other apparatus, Tie C is the lamp
| factory, a huge establishment in it
self, where the incandeseent lamps are
made.
Here the glass globes are taken as they
come from the glass factory and the car
| bonS put in. The globes, as every one
knows, are balloon-shaped affairs. Before
| reaching this department snail glass tube,
forming tip or stem, the use uf which will
lie made apparent further on. is attached to
the larger end of each globe. The globes
are thoa placed before a workman seated at
a bench, upon which is a Buasen burner of
six jets, senIing forth two powerful flames
| from opposite directions The workman
takes the globe by its stem and holds the
neck between the jets until the glass is
| melted, then with the other hand he takes
pair OF pinchers and inserts the prepared
carbon in the globe. The GRAFTON, though
| it does not look difficult, requires steady
hand. practised eye, and u high degree of
| skill
leaving the hands Of this workman, the
| globes COOS to another department.. Here a
man at W rk at a blowpipe is cutting up
pieces OF glass tubing ana joining them one
| to another, forming an arrangement known
| as fork, with ten pronGS or branches.
! Next the stems OF the lamps are Joined, by
means of the blowpipe, to the fork, ten at a
time, and attached by tube TO q mercurial
| pump, the object being to exhaust the air
from the globe. A great number of pumps
are working stimuli aneously, and formerly
one man was required to attend to each.
Now, however, by an Improvement in the
apparatus, one employe is able to manage
scores OF TIE pumps. The air being OK
hausted from the globes. they are melted off
| the fork, one at time, the heat being SO
applied as to seal them up, leaving them air.
| tlgnt, and taken to a dark room. Here
each lamp is subjected to q test TO see if the
mercurial pump has done its work properly
| and left no air i'll the globe. The lamp is
placed IL an apparatus from which an cleo
trical discourage Is flowing, and its carbon
| comes IN contact with the current. In case
air remains within the globe the interior of
the latter will be lighted rich purple
color, but if the air has teen properly ex-
hausted the light will be whitisn. All
lamps not properly exhausted having been
rejected. the remainder are taken to an al
joining room, also dark to undergo another
test.
This department is known as the pho
| tometer room, and the test to winch the
lamps are subjected here Is for tho purpose
of measuring their candle power. At one
| side OF the room standard lamp, i'll which
coal oil is used, of known candle power, is
burning. The electric lamp having been
placed in position, the light from il, as we'll
as that from the standard lamp, is thrown
upon two screens, SO arranged that the
relative strength of each light is shown.
The operator looks into the screens and
reads upon the volunteer on the wall the
candle power of the lamp. The result is
marked in figures upon slip of paper,
which is pasted upon tho globe, and the
lamp then goes to the packing department,
where it is attached to the socket and
packed FOR shipping.
The making of Ghe sockets or brass fit
tingS which are attached to the tops-tech-
nicaly known as the "hot oinsn of the
lampS--is part of the work upon which a
large number of men are employed. In the
department devoted 10 this work the vari-
GUS piece, forming the sockets are stamped
and drilled by machinery, the screws fash
toned and put in place, and the whole of this
part of the lamp put together. After being
finished each socket is tested ON a lamp to
see if il works properly.
Such, il brief, is the story of that modern
| marvel, the electric lamp.