Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-01-25
MILLIONS IN an IDEA.


WAsHINGrON, Jan. 24.-A large pfcpofuOu
| ton of the inventions on which letters pat
| snt are being asked for at present arc in
the electrical line, for the ingenious oncs OF
the earth have discovered that fortune can
be most surely won in that way. The man,
| for instance, who devises successful con-
duit for an underground trolley wire will
be fairly inundated with the stream of
| wealth which will flow in upon him. Pro
prietors Of electric railroads everywhere
are anxious to put their wires below the
surface, but so far it has been impossible
to do this without suffering such {. loss of
| current as to make it practically prohit-
| tory.
| The earth is wonderful absorbent of the
subtle agent, and the leakage from tele-
graphic. telephone and electric light wires
that have been put underground is enor-
nous. / have been told of an electrician
WHO discovered By accident that u strong
current was passing through his laboratory
over the gas pipe and an iron waste wafer
pipe He made test and found the cur
rent to he strong enough to run a small
| motor, end now he gets ali the power Ee
| wants free. OF course this current is due
| to Il leak from, some ones wires.
| The wires from which this leak comes
are undoubtedly as thoroughly insuiafeu
as possible, and yet the current escapes.
| The underground trolley wires first used
were naked. They were, to he sure, IN
closed in !; tube. but the slot through
which tho trolley made contact with TIE
wire admitted dampness, and the leakage
| was, rs ! have said, prohibitivc. A te>t
We recently made of II new method IN
which The wire is incloset in oil, contatt
with the trolley being made at Intervals
| II this continuance bc a practical success
the inventor may snap his fingers at fasr
| so far as monsy is concerned, for the rest oi
his life krrw of half dozen other II
ventors who ere sitting up nights at wcrS
on undcrgro md trolley schemes.
Others are mt work on storage BATTERIES
| but if the vie.ys held by prominent builder
of electric railroads be correct these men
| may as well sop. He says: 1.-The difficulty
with storage batteries, so far as is generally
| known. lies il the fact that they are not ~
| economical as the trolley. But there is an
other trouble The storage batteries used
en- an electric railroad take the place OF Il e
| v-ire--that is, they supply the current tht
| has been gen rated in the power house 90
| the motors or the cars. Their weight Is
| great, and this weight has to be carried y
the cars Say that the batteries of each CIR
! weigh three tons, or c, 00 pornds--and th'S
| is u very reasonable estimate-this will l,c
equal to the eight of 40 passengers OF IN
average weight of $50 pounds, Or on lite
| that uses 1CO ars, 1000. This dead weight
| has to De traf sportei, and no matter how
economically Che storage batteries mayla
| ceivc and give out the current power m'i't
| be supplied fos this transportation over AID
| above that needed to run the same numlhT
| of cars on trolley road"
lie who invunts u method of electrically
| transmitting great powers long distances
| with slight loss will reapa golden reward
Ny railroad building friend assures me
| that millions are ready for the Develop
meDt of any successful invention of this
| description. Many eyes are turned toward
Niagara Falls, where an enterprise Is under
| wcy for tho transmission of some of the
vast power Of the cataract to Buffalo and
elsewhere "jf," said my friend, this eX
pertinent demonstrates that great powers
| can be earn led 200 miles with Il loss of only
% per cent, capital will be expended at once
| in the building of dams in the mountainous
regions Of southeastern New York, mort h.
| eastern Pennsylvania and northern New
Jersey. The weight OF the falling waters
4 of the hillside streams that now tumble
picturcsuuely to waste will be used to turn
the raiils and factories of New York, Philn-
! ,eii)hia, Newark ana other manufacturing
cities OF the Three states, and predict that
within four years after this discovery there
will be IL great revolution in the matter OF
securing motive power"
| 4 practical electrician to whom spoke
of this ind,rsad the railroad builders
prophecy. I'm the present state of Enowl-
edge regarding the transmission of the
eiccsric current" he said, "thc amount Of
| copper required to transmit the power yol
speak of wtis!d be so enormous that |
tlonbt IL ther> is enough mined and in sight
on ehis earth for the purpose. But bright
lEc1 are working feverishly at the problem,
and it will probably be solved. 1t is all a
question Of o!tas,e, pressure or tension -
three terms used lnterchangeably by cleo
tricians. To nake myself clear, | will COM
pare electricity of high tension to IL belt
running ut enormous speed.
Any Cne wi. understands the transmits
sion Of powes 1T all will tell you tina. a
small belt running rapidly will transmit
much more power without breaking than
the same belt running slowly, and some
one has made an interesting calculation as
to how fast silk thread would haveto run
to carry 1910 horsepower. theoretically
this seeming impossibility might lie
achieved. New If II pressure of So, volts,
say, could be lied in transmitting electric
ity, a small caltlc would carry a great pow
er but unfortunately it cannot. for such a
pressure destroys the best insulation yet
devised. The man who discovers the in
sGlation reQ1iIed or i substance cheaper
taGa copper for transmission of the current
will bring ABOUT complete change He
will do Il goed deal toward driving the giant
Steam, from his throne. To be sure, the
higt voltage ] have spoken of cannot be
used III the motors now maize, and instant
and complete destruction would be the lot
Of any person 'r thing that should get in
he way of ei":tricity Of such high tension,
lut il may readily I've converted into low
tension current with slight loss of power,
IL that there will he 10 insurIaouutablt
'iGiclity in that direction. The highest
tension, used h,is far in practice has bettl
ut Il fraction Ct 80 600 volts
! Cc,or photography, too. is being sought
for. and in the opinion of many will he at
tanned by an,l 10y. New and economical
met hods for stucing refractory ores would
Weld their dis coyerers an enormous SUM.