Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-01-10
IN The ELECTRICAL WORLD.

AN inyalid's chair propelled by cleo
tricity is among the great novelties
The battery is capable of propelling the
chair over an ordinary road for nine
hours at the rate of six miles an hour,
Interest in the proposed cable be-
tween Australia and Vancouver is on
the increase If laid, the cable will be
5000 miles long, and will cost 50, 900, 900,
on which the British Government will
guarantee 8 per cent. dividend.
The term electrical was first en-
ployed in 1900 by DR.. Gilbert, to desig-
nate the attraction which amber and
other substances of its class exhibit
when rubbed and presented to light
bodies, such as bits Of pith or paper
Travellers who assembled Pixies Peak
during snow storm report that they
frequently passed through electric
storms. During the storm each snow
flake as it touched the back of o
mule discharged "a spark, and electric
sparks were discharged from the finger
tips
The mills in this section are quito
generally adopting the new electric ap.
pliance for quickly stopping engines and
water wheels in case of accident Tho
pressing of any one OF number of but
tons distributed near the moving ma
chinery will shut down the entire mill
at once. Boston Herald.
"A leakage Of electricity at Detroit,
Mich, recently, was the cause of a
laughable sight. The current became
connected with the iron steps of the
Lyceum theater, and the genu-fexions
OF the people who passed over the
steps were as amusing to the specta-
tors as they were surprising to the per-
formers.
An idea Of the profits in electricity
is afforded by the statement that the
Thomson-Houston Company for the first
nine months Of the fiscal year shows an
increase Of business over last year of
$2se26, sos. It's profits for this period
over expenses were 81, G31, rs, an increase
of $3.50, 452. The companys net profits
for 1889 were over S2,50O,OOO
The large proportion that the cost
OF platinum bears to the cost of incan.
descent lamps is shown by the following
figures: 1t is estimated that during the
year 1891 there will be sold about TO-.
100000 1G-candle power lamps. oman
ufacture these lamps will require 1875,
600 ounces of platinum, which will cos
about S2,OOOOOO which is one-third o.
the sum tho lamps will sell for. The
discoverer or inventor of some substi
tute for platinum will make fortune
To find out the amount of slack Civ
en- to electrical cables as deposited il
the ocean at the time of paying out
Messrs. Siemens Brothers are using
steel piano wire, Paid out simultaneous
ly, with tension sufficient to make i
taut over sea-bottom. BY mechanism
on board, which measures the rate 0
paying out cable and wire the necessar,
slackness in the cable can be determin
ed and constantly verified, thus avoid
ing all unnecessary slackness, and say
ing large sums OF money.
The enthusiasts who predict tina
use of the electric trolley for town
canal boats will once more make bus
ness lively on. the canals are little to
fast They forget that the fact tina
prevented tho introduction of stear
canal boats was that the wash of sue
boats destroyed the banks of the cana
much more rapidly than boats towed
the old way. So far the cable appear
to be the only practicable one Of moder
methods for propelling the boats, an
this, while it works we'll for the draw
ing Of street cars, has not yet been su
ficently developed to make it CONNIE
cially practicable for use on canals.
There is now being perfected in tn
city an electric tricycle., which promise
great things, The tricycle. is made pc
sible by recently invented motto
which weight for weight and bulk f
bulk is about twice as powerful as tho;
Of the old models. Tho machine b;
: now reached point where it can be ri
! for distance Of from fifty to sixty mil,
without the storage battery, which fu
nishes the current, being recharge
Those interested confidently predict th
when the machine is placed upon IL
: market it will be provided with ba
= terry powerful enough to propel the m
chine for distance Of at least one hu
dred miles. The tricycle. will probab
| ha Offarad IN tho publiO povt cDriDp