The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-03-13
Is EDISON 4 WIZARD:
He Has Invented Most Wonderful fho-
tographic Machine.

Marvel follows upon marvel 50 rapid
u nowadays that it has become almost
innossible to wonder over over a new
invention; yet the description OF Ihos'
A. Edison's latest production reads al
most like a fairy tale. y New York
letter in the Chicago Tribune tells OF
the development Of this wonderful de-
vice.
About year ago Nr. Edison became
intensely interested in instantaneous
photography in its possible aval!aoliity'
in connection with the phonograph,
and at once began an exhaustive series
of experiments in that direction Ihe
first thing was to develop the possloll-
itv of the camera as to rapidity OF eN-
posure, and experiments were maze III
photograph phing a bullet passed through
the air with an initial velocity OF o,ooo
feet a second. But to secure perfect
picture Of bullet moving at this eX-
traordinary velocity, it must apparent
ly be at rest, and hence the actual time
of exposure must be brought down to
incredibly infinitesimal limits.
The inventor at once harnesseC the
lightning to the work, and before the
camera arranged series. OF vertical
wires so fine as to be practically inV!sl-
bile. and so connected that the break
ing of any one OF them would complete
an electrical circuit, and furnish an
Illuminating spark fer the 2O0,OG0 OF a
second. The slight, imperceptl0!e trem-
or of the room in which the expert
ments were conducted, caused by the
motion O: the machinery and dynamos,
was sufficient to destroy the sharpness
and value of the Photographic images.
This was overcome by erecting spe-
cial building for the purpose and plac-
ing the camera Oh pier of solid ma
sonry running down to the primitive
rock. Then, and only then, it was that
success attended the experiments.
Mr.. Edison intended these expert
ments 70 show that instantaneous pho
tography could he utilized with the
phouograph and pictures sent over the
wire aud reproduced at the other end
OF the line, together with the message
delivered by the phonogra2h. The re-
suit has been the most marvellous sue
cess and the most wonderful machine
that it is possible to conceive of.
Let the reader imagine popular lee
turer, preacher, or orator delivering an
address. In front Of him, at the So
called reporters table, are two small
machines, one the well-known phono-
graph and the other an ingenious piece
of mechanism by which photographs
of the speaker are taken i'll succession
with rapidi:y at intervals of from one
eighth 10 one-twentieth Of a second;
and suppose these machines are at
work silently recording both the ut
tered speech and the personal appear
anee of the speaker at each fractional
part of q second. The results thus OBJ
tanned may be sent to any desired
point and thrown on screen by an in
genious!y contrived piece of mechac-
ism.
Thus the exact appearance ct the
speaker, with all his gestures and play
of features, IS exactly reproduced,whlle
the .phonograph simultaneously de-
livers the speech. The interval between
the successive photographs is so intln-,
itesimal that the screen picture is sp-
parently living one, moving, gestlcu-
lating, and apparently uttering the
words which, in fact, are spoken by
the phonograph. The greatest difficult
ty experienced by Mr.. Edison in his
experiments was the experimentation
of the two instruments so that the ut
terances OF the phoncgraph should eN-
actlv coincide with the gesticulation,
out this was finally overcome and the
experiments crowned with perfect sue
cess. What the commercial value Of
the invention may be is yet to be de-
cided.