Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-12
Whose Strange Ideas Make Miserable
the Lives of Washington
Model Makers.
THE PERPETUAL MOTION MANIA
And the Darius Green Theory Both Fro
ductive Of Many Clever and
Remarkable Devices.
WONDERFUL PACIFIC OCEAN CRABS
In an Exhibit Of TrIlObites at the Smithsonian
Institution.
rconRrsroSpExcE OF THE DISPATCH. ]

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPAToB.l
WASHINGTON, July 1.-THE last in
ventor of flying machine was found dead
in his bed one day this week at fourth rate
hotel on Pennsylvania avenue. He died OF
broken heart. All the little savings with
which he came to Washington a few months
AGO had been spent in the construction of
models that somehow would never quite
work. His notion was not that of the ordin-
ary experimentor in aeronsutics, whose am
bition it is to fly high. On the contrary he
considered that for all useful purposes 1t was
simply desirable to elevate and control his
apparatus at height of not more than ten
feet above the ground, and thus to swim
along over peoples heads at such a rate of
speed as his propelling equipment was able
TO give. Given a vacuum enclosed in an ex-
hausted receiver, and it is bound to float in
the air, ii only the receiver itself is at once
strong enough to resist the atmospheric pres
sure, and not SO heavy as to overcome the
element Of buoyancy.
FLYING MAY BE POSSIBLE.
In aluminium, which may now be bought
for so little as s. a pound bv the ton, the In
yentor thought that material light enough
and strong enough was to be lound; no
metal surpasses it in resisting power, and its
specific gravity is a trihe less than that OF
common chalk. A cigar-shaped tank of
aluminium 80 feet in length and strongly
ribbed, ought, when exhausted OF air, to
sustain itself and 400 pounds in addition,
thus being capable OF upholding compact
electric engine to work the fans OF q pro-
peller and at least one passenger.
Such, at all events, was the inventors
idea, and one of the best-known patent law
yers in this city said yesterday that he was
convinced il was practicable. The only
doubt he had was as to the matter of speed;
but, the problem OF buoyancy once solved,
that would soon follow. Certainly it was
mistake, he thought, TO relegate flying by
artifce TO the same category of impossible
ties with perpetual motion and like absurd
ities. No less an authority than the great
Edison has declared that the thing will one
day be accomplished, though not by ordi-
nary balloons or imitation wings
PERPETUAL MOTION MANIA.
OF all the cranks who make life a misery
for the model makers around the Patent OF
fee here, the perpetual motion maniacs are
the worst. They are the ones who are most
apt TO he afraid lest their inventions be
stolen. aud sometimes they go so lar as 10 in
sist upon the mechanics agreeing that their
models shall be worked upon only when no
other customers are about, precautions be-
ing taken tn hide them at once n anybody
comes iht9rfh shop. Even o. the patent Law.
yers wheii they are obliged TO consult they
are afraid lest their ideas, representing as
they do gigantic fortunes tempt the pfefes=
siohal met ~ appropriate them
Occasionally they will not evie the model
makers any elesf description Of what they
want bF reason 6f The same dread One Of
them tried 10 make bargain recently TOT
The construction 81 = m6del but eaHid hot
lie Induced 60 say anything more abeHt IL
thaH that there was "PFeiiF nigh De faHeh
Wgfk ApaR u ss there WeHid be eR d now
iHg machine" Tbs model maker ~ whom
this msR applied says that ~ many years of
experience . such perpetual motion isBds,
hs has never known ana Of them IN own up
that his e8BlriYauoa wasa failure, The ma
chine invariably wants only little i'm
ProYenent 10 make IL work,
A REMARKABLE DEVICE,
Perhaps the most eRtraordinary of the de-
vices ior perpetual motion turned out by
this model maker was tho invention Of y
crank who walked all the way from Georgia
20 Washington 70 procure his patent. Tho
ooutriyuuno consisted of tall framework
with four ul iuhts, In which gas 20 be-
swung back aud forth tho ontire trunk Of
large tree When the butt end OF the tree 4
in swinging struck spring on one eide the
sprng was set loose aud threw the tree back
toward the other aide, where Ii struck an
other spring which N turn flung II back %
the frat spring, aud 10 on, The only trouble
with the thing, the inventor said. was
that IL would go 30 last aud was s0 difficult
10 stop when once started. o. course, the
perpetual motion once obtained In this Way,
IL was an easy matter TO transform 1t into
power for running mills or for any other
purpose. The model made according 20 his
instructions would not work, but that was
the model makers fault
Another machine tor the same purpose
was composed Of 200 long sticks, each
pivoted at the middle, and an equal num-
Der OF rubber bands connecting them
together. 1t was simply necessary TO start
one stick revolving on its pivot, the result
being such a multiplication of energy by
the action Of this original force through the
other rubber bands and sticks, which were
supposed TO act as levers. that the inventor
was afraid lest some terrific accident might
occur and so refraIned from putting in as
many sticks and levers as he might other
wise have done.
CLEVER, BUT IMPRACTICAL
Still another perpetual motion machine
was a wheel from equi-distant points on the
periphery, Of which hung heavy balls on the
ends Of rods. The wheel, being started, re-
volving 10 the right, carried the
balls dangling on the ends of hanging
rods up around its left-hand side TO
the topmost point OF its circumference, when
an automatic catch threw the rods out hori-
Eontally to the right, the heavy balls being
thus cast over far out of the center OF
gravity of the wheel, which their weight
pulled down to the right side; when each
ball got to the bottom of the wheel it fell
into the wheels center Uf gravity once
more and carried up and around again.
Given succession of balls throwing
themselves one after another out of the
center of gravity Of the wheel, and you
ought to have perpetual motion. The
reason you don't is the same that prevents
you from lifting yourself up by your boot
straps.
Yet another interesting perpetual motion
model that he had made, the model maker
said, was pivoted board on which q little |
car ran back and forth. When it reached |
one end of the board it loosened a spriug.
which tilted the board the other way. SO |
that the car ran back to the end from which |
il had started, where it touched another |
spring, tilted the board the other wav. was |
sent pack again, ana SO on ad infinitum.
ENDLESS BELT PRINCIPLE.
One spring that winds another up while |
81 runs down itself, and vice versa reeinro- |
csllv without ceasing, is another form of |
perpetual motion cpntrivance offarnd Ia /
inaiiy editions. Also an inclined nians
down which six cars run while three are
hoisted uD 10 their starting point on an end. |
less belt principle. Bx cars running down |
ought certainly 10 be able to lift three