The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1891-11-05
What the Wizard Of Menio Park Is Doing
with the Light Of the Future.

Mr. Edison has been giving Il friend
some notwithstanding particulars OF
the present status of the electric light
industry and concerning his own
habits of work and thought. The
great inventor says that the light of
the immediate future will be an I'M
provement in the development of the
incaudescent light. Much, he says,
can be done TO leugthen the life of the
present lamp by a finer adjustment OF
current force to the bearing power of
the carbon. when | speak of in
creasing the life of the lamp" says
Edison. Il mean making one that
will see a ripe old age" The advance
in the amount of Lighting obtainable
per horse power has been almost
phenomena. AT the beginning. when
/ first invented the lamp, the utmost
we could get per horsepower was six
lamps, sixteen candle power. After a
while we raised it to eight, then TO ten.
then TO twelve, and finally by degrees
TO fifteen. have no doubt that ulti-
mately the product per horsepower
will reach as high as thirty sixteen
candle lights"
As TO cheapness of cost Mr.. Edison
is also very sanguine. With the use
of the triple expansion engine, he re-
marks. they are almost able TO get one
horsepower for one hour with one
pound of coal. The average number
of burners in house is ten. They are
lighted on an average for three and
one-half hours each. Conceding that
the limit of production both rs to
horsepower from coal and candle
power from horsepower is reached. it
will be seen that these houses can be
lighted for an hour with one pound of
coal, or at Il cost of half cent. Or in
other words an ordinary house can be
lighted for 60 cents per year. so far as
coal is concerned.
The largest dynamo in use at the
time Mr.. Edison invented his lamp was
twenty-five horse power for continuous
current dynamOs. The first large
dynamOS which he made were not
popular but now people arc coming to
them for the sake of economy. The
tendency is III the direction of large
central stations. Three plants are now
in construction, each capable of burn
ing 800, 900 lights, for Chicago, where
dynamos of l, 500 horse power, OF
twice rs large as any now in use, are
TO be put in. The cost of construct.
ing these large central stations is
steadily decreasing. The great Fulton
Street Station in New York City
originally cost 5000 600. A year later,
says Edison, / could have duplicated
it for $3.50. 900. and today | would
build it for Sl20000 The price OF
coal regulates the cost of electric light
ing for consumers. In Philadelphia,
where coal is cheap. the light is sup.
piled at $50 for light equal to Loo
feet of gas. 1t New York CITY the
same costs 81.
The wizard is at present spending a
great deal of energy on his magnetic
ore separating works at Ogden. n. j..
which have been Il complete success.
When Ellison showed the iron and
steel men of the country the pure mag.
nctic oxide i'll fine powder produced by
his process they pooh-poohed it. 1t is
good ore, they said. but can never be
worked, us it will blow out of the fur.
naceS and produce plenty of dust. bnl
no iron. They don't say so now. Al
Ogden his new company has 500, 600,
900 worth of workable rock III sight.
and he is tearing down the mountain
wherever there is 20 per cent of iron
in the rock and getting it all out The
inventor continues to work sixteen &c
eighteen hours daily, and says thai
sleep is a habit which can be got rid Of
in large degree.