Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-25
A TELEPHONE TO THE sun.
The Marvellous Experiment Edison Now
Has Under Way in jersey.
From the View York Herald,

From the New York Herald.
At Ogden, NJ, there is a mass Of iron ore
mile long standing perpendicular and.extend-
ing into the bowels of the earth to great but
unknown depths, said to contain several hun
dred million tons of magnetic material As
the violent storms and uprushes in the sun
produce disturbances of the earth magnetism,
which are recorded on the magnetometers at
the Kew and other observatories, it has oc-
Cured to Mr.. Edison that the strength of the
solar disturbances. as exerted on our planet,
could ''be increased enormously by util-
izi1s vein of magnetic iron ore,
and running around the body of
ore several miles of wire. forming an inductive
circuit into which powerful electric currents
would be thrown by any disturbance of the
earths magnetism" by the use of instru-
ments every change" lie says, could be
recorded, and by the use of the telephone oil
sounds produced on the sun would be heard on
our planet" He is, accordingly. erecting tele-
graph poles on each side of the Ogder ore hill
and parallel with it, on which he is coiling an
insulated wire many times around the whole
iron mountain and extend into space. The two
ends OF the long wire will be taken into his
observation station and connected with the
receiving telephone.
From every point OF view-poetic, spiritual
and scientihc-this promises to be one of the
successful conductor-like Wadsworths
curious child who dwolt upon a tract
9he eonqo f9Hn e bis ear
hearing ''sonorous cadences" and holding CON.
verse with the unseen universe itself-will he
| able to listen to the awe-inspiring rush and
roar OF the suns mountainous pillows OF fire as
they spiutter forth IN uncomfortable fury from
| his cyciopean furnaces. What sermon will
be preached into the receiving instrument A
voice from the central orb of our planetary
system-type answering to anti-type thunder
| ing forth the eternal power aud Godhead of
Him whom the Christian pulpit, often too
| feebly for our dull ears proclaims The light
OF this world"
From scientific point Of view the value of
| this experiment may be immense. Every new
fact brought certainly to light respecting the
! actual phenomena in 1.-The regions beyond"
however Insignificant it may seem at first, be-
comes to science In her onward path of re-
search the keystone Of an arch serving to
bridge some hitherto impossible chasm. Al
most every great outburst Of q solar cyclone is
followed by magnetic storm on our little
planet ana simultaneously the ices Of its polar
| circle glisten In the light of the Aurora Bore
ais.
Familiar examples of this are fresh in all
astronomical and magnetic observations. The
! magnetic storm of November H. 1882 Succeed
ing the appearance on the 10th Of a sun spot
which, measured at Allegheny Observatory.
covered 2, zoo. 600 900 square miles). seriously
interrupted the telegraph lines at New York,
and cable messages were delayed nearly an
hour, while at Chicago the switchboard was
dozen times ON ire. As an experiment one Of
the Western Union wires between Washington
| and Baltimore was worked with the earth cur
rent alone. There is every reason, therefore,
to expect that the strength of all such disturb,
ances viii be increased enormously in Mr..
Edison's inductive circuit of the OGDEN iron
mountain; that by the use of his instrument the
variations OF intensity can be recorded and. as
he hopes, sounds produced on the sun will be
heard through the telephone"