The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-01-07
TIE NEW TALKING MACHINES

GEo. II. THRooP.
|
THE NEW TALKING MACHINES.
Edison's Photograph and Beips GRAPHIC
phone to BIO Ready Next WesE-A Con
CiAO Description Of the New Wonders
Writing TO Become Lost Art.
Special Correspondence Of he INtelli0an1.
NEw YoRK, Jan. 5.-Wlthin the mex
fortnight both the photograph Of Mr.. Ed
son and the Rsaphophone OF Mr.. Bell, the
inventor OF the telephone, will be before
the public, and after many months ofspec
ulation and promises upon the part o.
these famous inventors, buBineGG men will
have the opportunity Of deciding 90 to the
value Of thee extraordinary devices fol
recording and reproducing human speech
or, for that matter, any other sound. So
much has been said In the gCiantitiC jour
malls Of what the phonograph is to do, that
l have made no less than three visits Ia
Mr.. Elisou'g laboratory within the last
four days in order to test the phonogrsph
in every possible way. And l havs OBJ.
Lsinsd from competent judgeD who have
tested Mr.. Bells Rraphophones in Olmi'
lur iaahi9n at Washington, g clear account
Of what that instrument does, Gnd in
what 1t differs from tho photograph oil
Edison.
Frat, may I say one word % to the
really wonderful laboratory which Ediaon
has built for himself within sight OF his
home at Orange, New Jersey. The build
ings are nostly three stories high, and
cover very nearly m ecre OF ground. In
them he keeps q. work more than hun.
drsd men who do nothing but carry out
the Buggeations for experiments which
Edison wishes to make. The s!orehouses
in the laboratory are filled with every
material that may DC oil possible uae in
such experiments, and Edison's method OF
amazing this material is simplicity itaelf,
but rather costly, rs the bills for 1t amount
already 10 moro than $4,000. He put an
assistant to work on several large books
upon chemistry, phyeics and machinery,
telling him to make a note OF every ma
terisl mentioned in those works, and when
the lsts were complete, containing come
6, 600 different substances, orders wsIs sent
to New York, Paris, London and Berlin
to be filed. GIore than 400 cases,
Weighing leo IONS, have been received Ia
the chemical and physical departments
alone. Every kind OF glGss, OF metal, OF
wood, Of textile fabric, Of stone, OF clay, is
to be had from tho s!orekeepeTs in the
laboratory. Several tunes In hie lie Edi.
son has had to wait for weeks at very Criti-
cal moments for come material which
could not be obtained id this country; by
this marvellous collection he expects to
provide sgsinst Rnhoyances OF this kind.
The laboratories are heated by steam,
lighted by electricity and furnished with
power, water, gan and every convenience
known to Bpienc0. No lees thGu twonty
expert chemiBts ere employed as Sssietanta,
and the cashier'a department Of the labor
atory looks like banking housS. All this
vast establishment, which will cost Edison
nessly thsli million dollars, ia used ex-
clusiveIy iOr experiments, and for nothing
elae.
In the old phonngraph Of 1876, the chiet
diftiCultiea we're the impossihility OF max
ing an adequate impression upon the tin
foil or wax sheet placod TO receive the
marks OF the needle.point carried by the
vibrating diaphIggm; 1t was necessary to
shout against the diaphragm, and even
then the resulting sounds were mostly
caricatures OF the original. II a person
happened TO hesr what was said into the
monograph, it was possible to distinguish
what came out OF 1t, but scarcely other
wiso.
The mechanism Of The new phonograph
consists Of cylinder which revolves upon
itself and also has q eide movement gov
ernad by very fine thread, 80 that fixed
pencil would trace upon the cylinder q
spiral with the lines almost touching. The
motive power used in IN ELECTRIC motor de.
vised by Edison himself, very poor motor
economically considered, but one which
doea It's present work Of turning the cylin-
der at an almost nominal cost and without
noise, which is the greatest thina to
be sought. The motor runs with four
celia Of q simple battery, which can be re-
neWed ct the end Of each month for less
than dollar; with this power the phopo.
graph will work for four or Eve hours
every day during the month. Upon the
cylinder is placed sheet Of soft substance
somewhat resembling the wax used at
times with the old monograph. The
features Of the new Improvements made
by Edison within the last year In the pho
nograph consists In a radical change in
The apparatus by which the vibrations Of
diaphragm under the aound Of the voice
are marked upon the cylinder, and also in
tho reproducing apparatus, the two being
entirely distinCt, while in the old phono.
graph the same device was used for both
purposes make the sound indentations
and TO reieot thsE when the phonogram
was repassad through the machine.
The phonograms Of wax will be sold in
the shape Of email cylinders one and q
quarter inch In diameter and from ono
inch to to four inches in length. The enc
inch phonograms will contain goo words,
or what is considered quite sufficient for
On ordinary business letter; they will cost
10 cents dozen. The full-sizsd phono-
grams Of four INCHES in length will contain
from 800 to 1000 words, according to the
rate OF speed Of the speaker, and will cost
about So cents dozen. OF course there
Is no manipulation Of the apparatus
neceasary. 1t will occupy about the
room necessary for Typewriter, the cells
going in any closet or under the table.
The motsr viii be boxed over, with moth
ing but the revolving cylinder and mouth
piece in view. One touch Of little
switch aels the machine in motion.
When the mouthpiece Is adjusted
to the cylinder and talking may begin;
the same process is gone through when
the machine Is to read. II will be seen
that the cost Of tho phpn0HTaHa Is . great
deal more than that Of letter paper, but
provision 10 made for the use Of the came
phonogram over again twelve times II the
message which 1t contains are not worth
keeping. A little knife Ia attached to the
machine which takes uhaving of the
surface; this process may be repeated
twelve timeB. The boxes for mailing the
phonograms will be ready ct the same
time with the instrument, and resemble
the old.iashioned wood.turned pill boxes.