The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-03-18
GATHMAN'S DISCOVERY
WILL sxxBns us ULrIm~TSIr TO
sKrrnErS8xKITASTs or x@Ks'
TO. q. tho Removal OF All
Practical Limitations From inc
Sire of Lenses.

.o<,ns 10 be at last within measure "'
$500 y, its solution. II there be h'
,,r beings mon the surface OF other pan
s,s than ours. the chiidnn OF men are
20, unable 10 see them. Hitherto the LII
possibility Of constructing lenses Oh "'''
man a certain diameter has hin''eu VIZ
oouer NJ All telescopes. Hereafter ui'
obstacle viii be no more
FOR 5000 l will undertake to cons" u0'
.1,osco,e with an objective ten ieet u
diameter better in every respect ina" -,
fortv-inch S500.Og Nerkes telescope az
80 6nish /, sooner. For a piopoi uo''''e.
Isrcer sum 1 will undertake 10 Co. 80. -,
a telescope with an objective w g.,
diameter. more efficient IN pioPoi w., ,.i,
every scientific purpose IMAM ti'o - - a.
~ Yerkes telescope There II no 80
,a,oscoric science why We should h"' %.
the inhabitants OF MATS anu '00
nm a pin on the moon ~ - tho
T-tis saws the Chicago Tribune, - W
- hu, Intelligent utterance OF LOUIS
,sfbman. an amateur opticlaH aS.-'.'1
.,er scientist. and Inventor OF inc w "a
Size Air. Gathman was born al ho'"0' -
near the city Of Hanover, IN RUSSO -
1s,s ne received no scientific INST e'o''
-, -, the Polytechnic School IN Han
IL csme 10 America in 1854. ana
sffer remaining "a year IN Fhilau'Ip pm"
,ook NJ his residence IN Chlcaeo' 49,
no has rcmaired ever since ne VIC
Mechanical engineer in the employ o. C'"
ers Until 1877. and since thAt lihie IDS
been manufacturer OF mining n'a0' me-
of his own invention. lie hVes a' '"0
,.,rrcr of Lincoln and North PARK ave
rtes. - .os hoo,
Nr Gathman's scientific career has Deth
.o',,.fhiur ike that OF Edison ana Prot.
: II Eurnham That is he has been de-
,..,dant on his own resources. ana mas
ie.n an all-around inventor In ADDITION
=, ,,ulin, machinery he has invented Toy
Gums artillery, submarine gunDOats' ana
artiicial rain-producers. all Of which nave
hos, nafeuted. But he has taken the
sreafcst interest Of all ia optics ana
agt1 ouomy He mas Tad telescope ahu
has been "A student Of the heavens lor
fifteen years Ten years aso ne erected
an observatory in connection win MS
residence and placed In its dome Il seven
inch telescope with which lie amuses
himself in spare moments lie makes no
,retet sions. however. to scientific
knowledge Of astronomy.
AIR Gathman has for twenty years peen
,roveneut could be made in telescope
lenses especially in respect 10 size. his
doctrine is that wherever there is an ur-
.sant need for uOn-eXistent thing that
thing can be discovered. Accordingly
he has chafcd a good deal under the IDEA
that telescopes had reached their ultimate
size on account Of the impossibhlty OF
casting large pieces of glass without bub-
bles as well as the otner innrmiues IN
separable from glass IN large pieces. Ills
dream has always been that lens cOu4u
be constructed in sections. Two years ago
he completed his discovery ana made
working model. Since that tine ne has
kept his discovery secret IN order 10 Sc
cure his patent rights, first IN Germany
and then in this country AS his German
patent has been issued, and as his Amerl-
can patent is as good as secured, he has
had for some time no motive for secrecy.
Mr. Gathmaus discovery Is, In brleI,
that a lens that Is made in sections can
be made as correct as any other lens
provided the sections are separated 10y
dun. black partitions, which prevent an
inter-renectiOn Of light from their mar
gins The sensitiveuess Of lens 10 such
disturbances IL we'll understood a Sill
ele air bubble. however snail, in a lens,
however large. renders il worthless. the
reason being that IL splits and retracts
certain rays of light and causes cohru-
SIGN at the focal point. Mr.. Gathmans
theory is that If the bubble is bored out
and the opening filled with dun, black
material the lers viii be perfect again.
But he thinks there is no use going TO
this trouble when lenses can be made
IN small sections and the perfection OF
each section assured before it is used.
TINS principle has for many years been
applied TO refiectors. There are not only
rcflectors, but reflectors OF
rejecting telescopes. constructed In sec
tons These Tcfiectors have been found
to be ats good as any others, and the wish
has constantly been expressed that the
were applicable TO lenses ana 10
refracting telescopes, for rejecting tele-
scopes are comparatively worthless. But
opticians and astronomers were so Wei
n priori that the principle was
TO lenses that they Woulu
not condescend to experiment win IL
Not so. however. with Mr.. Gathman. lie
reasoned that If the inter-reiiecuon OF
ieht was the only obstacle, that could
easily be prevented by interposinS non
rejecting surfaces between the sections
OF the lenses He tried IT and was sue
cessful.
In his first experiments Mr. Gathman
divided up his lenses into wedge-shaped
sections with a circular section at the
center, leaving no interstices except from
thu Insertion OF a blackened metallic RIM
half an inch wide between them. sun
seouently he found il better to leave wide
OPENINGS between the sections the OBJ
iect being 70 allow a free circulation OF
air. which would equalize the tempera-
lure In front and rear of the lens. and IN
ms N
he was led 10 make the sections circular
and of different sizes. The seven and
one-half inch lens Of the telescope which
he now uses I'm his observatory is made
IN this plan. 1t has a circular section IN
tho center. six circular sections OF the
same size arranged around H. and then
six smaller circular sections In the tri-
angular spaces outside the larger six.
The result Is tina, objects seen through ,
this telescope are brighter and better de-
fined than when its objective was sin
gle piece.
This last lens is apt to produce the i'm
preston that II is an assembiage Of
small lenses. but that would be obvious
~ unscientihc, and Is far from the fact.
Zach section is shaped exactly as II IL
had been stamped out Of the large lens
and that fact makes one curious at once
10 know how they can be ground accu-
rately TO fiji I'm their several places. But
that Is a matter OF no difficulty. Mr.
Gathman takes a number OF pieces fof
glass and polishes them In any plane. so
as 10 see whether they are perfectly
Then he gives them their
circular outline. lie next arranges them
within a circle OF the desired size. aud
pours melted sulphur between them.
When the sulphur has hardened. the
IA the positions they will occupy In the
lens They arc then ALI Ground at the