Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-02-25

Salt Lake Tribune saws:
1T seem almost like fairy tale to
read of the new and wonderful di-
r.ctions in which the fertil. brain of
the great electrical ''wlzard," Thoa rs
A. E lison, is reaching out. About a
year ago Edison became intense
ly Interested in instantaneous
photo yraphy and its possible availa-
bility in c,unscton with the phono-
graph an at once began an cxhaus-
tive series of experiments in that di
rection.
The first thing was to develop the
possibility of the camera as to rapid
" o. exposure, an an elaborate SIS
tenn of experiment, were begun to
try, X possible, to photograph rifle
bullet in its passage through the air
at its maximum initial velocity Of
500 feet a second To do this sue
cessfully no known mechanical means
w4re adequate. Five thousand f, ct
means 10000 inches, an inch being
the length of rifle bullet. The
great inventor harnessed the light
ming to do the work. Before II cam
era he arranged series of electrical
wires, SO fine as to be practically IN
visible, and so connected that the
T breaking Of any of them would com
I plete an electrical circuit and furnish
r an elementary spark for the 200, oOoth
Z of the second. AT first the expert
: ments seemed to be fruiiless, rs to
n the plate of the camera, but weeks of
careful experiments boa snt sou-
c ton in new combination of srnslti-
d zing chemicals, by which even this in
!initcsima period of timc sutliced for
4 perfect image.
What pc sibe good was it to get
% the picture of rifle bullet, showing
q the condensation of air in front of it,
u tho vacuum behind and the air ed,lies
that were thus created? Not only is
. i. practical means of studying the
d best form OF built in overcoming
I" the resistance uf air, but more es,
~ pecially is it means of developing
- TIE great idea Of bringing photog
"A raphy to bear rs an adjunct to tl-t
p phonograph. He though; that If ii,
Vi speakers personally could be brough
- before the eve by means Of photo2
1t" raphy and stercop,ican, while Tho
20 phonograph was bringing the suhjec
% matter before tie ear, that an i'm
t" poriant end would be gairc1 ami II
accumphsh tins an elaborate series o
" expe.im ,nts were planned and carrie,
:" oat.
So The result has been most mar
- vicious success and the most wonder
'"' tul machine that is possible to eo'
"" ceive of. Imagine n popular iectuicl
J. preacher or orator delivering an nd
III dress. In front OF him, AT social,
III reporters table, are Two small ns
rs chimes, one tbs weil-known phone
'"' aph, and the other an ingeniou
= p.ece of mechanism by which plot,
re graphs Of the spe .keis are taken !
!" succession with enormous raphlitv 1
er- Intervals Of from one-eighth To on,
twentieth of second, and suppos
ed both these machines are at wo.k =
-, leutlv recording both the uttere
speeches and personal appearance {
," the speaker. The results thus al
Ter tAiued may he sent to any desire
" point aud thrown on screen by a
ess ingeniously contrived piece of me
was chouism. Thus the exact appra
ance of the speaker, with all his W
lures and plays Of feature arc exact
leu repro iuced, while the phonogral
aid simultaneously delivers his spe c
The interval between successive ph,
tographs is SD iniiritismal that Il
picture is apparently living on
moving, gesticulating, apparently II
tering words Of fact AS spoken by Il
hat phnnograph The greatest difficult
nj, experienced by Edison in his rxper
IN meats was standardization of two i
strumeuts So that uttersnces of u
us ph"noyraph should exactly coinci'
SER with gesticulation, hut this was final
overcome, and the experiment
crowned with most perfect succe.
,rly Edison is not pushing the matter
,h.. present, being absorbed in his expe
WV iments on electrical traction for $, re
ties oa.s wha, th,t nr,hIom i dao;l
+. he may hiring this new invent,
prominently before the public.