The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-06-16

1t was to dispense with the lamplighters.
thought for time that might make
some money out of IL, but though II
might operate to-day. at that time II
was hardly commercially practical, and
1 gave Ii up"
What was your next electrical ex-
periment?'
II can't say as to that" replied Mr.
Brush. II was always working at cleo
tricity. i read all that i could find, and
I watched the reports of experiments as
they were given in the newspapers
While 1 was still in the high school /
produced an electric arc light with
lamp and a battery of my own construc-
ton, and when l graduated from there
IL was curious thing that my grafton
was on electric lighting. and prophesied
that electric lighting would be the light
of the world. and that ii would be gen.
Grated by means OF dynamos."
Have you a copy OF that oration?"
asked.
II don't know" replied Mr. Brush.
Il have looked for il, but / can't find
it. You see. / delivered it twenty-eight
years ago. and that is long time.
Where did you go to school after
that"
II went to Ann Arbor to the Universe
ty of Michigan, and graduated there With
the degree of mining engineer in 1869.
then came back TO Cleveland and es-
tablished a laboratory here, doing the
work Of an analytical chemist, but still
| experimenting on electricity. L kept
working on my dynamo and the electric
| light, but 1t was more as toy and TO
| amuse myself than with any idea of
accomplishing anything of a commercial
| value
THE SERIES ARC LIGHT.
When did you first appreciate that
your electric light might have COM
| mercial value?"
II think it was about 1885, replied
Mr.. Brush. 1T was at this time that l
completed my first dynamo electric ma
chine / showed this at Philadelphia the
| next year at the Franklin Institute, and
| ii is a curious thing that Mr.. Thompson
| and Mr.. Houston, afterward of the
Thompson-Houston electric system. were
| present at the time. The first arc light
ing machines had to have one dynamo
| to each light Ny invention was the
| first that proposed a series of arc lights
working from one dynamo. and it was
| upon this that all the street lighting
| and all the arc lighting systems of the
| present are based. We first made two
| light machines. Then we ran four
| lamps from a single dynamo, and this
was considered a wonderful achieve
| ment. We soon had ten lights in
series. Then we found we could run
sixteen, and 1t was not long before forty
lights were supplied by one dynamo.
/ At the present there are a number of
| dynamos which supply 12O arc lights,
| and, though the electric current requisite
| for such result is immense, the safe
4 guards placed about the machinery are
| such that they are more dangerous
| than much less number of lights was
| in the past with the old machinery. 1t
| was in 1878 that 1 invented this, the
modern series arc lamp with the shunt
tn,
made arc lighting practicable and COM
| mercially possible
Where was it first used?" I asked.
Some were first used for the lighting
of stores and shops. and among those
| first to introduce the arc light was John
Wanamaker. of Philadelphia. One of the
| first instances of street lighting was
| here in Cleveland. We put UP twelve
| lights in the park. and the people came
| out in force to see them the first night.
| They had no idea of what the electric
| light was, and many of them wore
smoked glasses for fear that they might
be blinded by it's rays. The street light
| ing soon spread, and our lights are now
| to be found. as you know. in nearly
| every great city of the world"
| rs there not a great loss in the pro-
duction of electricity from coal for cleo
| trio lights?''
Yes" replied Mr. Brush 1--WE only
| get about 10 per cent. of the force from
| the coal in the production of electricity,
| but this is in the production of the me-
chanical energy. In the conversion of
the mechanical energy into electrical
| energy by means of the dynamo only
from TO 10 per cent. is lost, and the
| modern dynamo is probably the most
| perfect machine that the world has ever
| produced"
will we ever get electricity directly
| from coal?"
II think so.' replied Mr. Brush. an
| fact. 1 have already gotten it. but not
| in such way as to make the invention
| commercially profitable. II is now TWEEN
| ty years since 1 succeeded in getting
electricity directly from coal. IL was in
| 1874. j used carbon as the combustible
| element in voltaic battery, the cleo
| trolyte being fused salt or oxide ca
| pable of fusing the oxygen for the COM
| bustion of the carbon. / tried fused
caustic soda. bicarbonate of potash and
| oxide of lead and got a good electric
current in each case. / have not pur-
| sued my experiments in this line of
| work because / thought l saw other
lines which promised better and more
| immediate results. The fields of inven-
| ton are vast. We stand just on the
| threshold. and there will be new inven-
| lions long man has mind to create
and the will to investigate the great
forces Of nature and the possibilities of
| their combination"
AS TO NEW INVENTIONS.
do you anticipate many new inyen-
tons in electricity in the future?"
who can tell?" was the reply. "The
electric force is still to a large extent a
secret from us all. OF late years there
have been few new fundamental inven-
tons in electric lighting. There have
been many improvements and modifica-
tons of the old ones. The light is stead
lily being made better, but il is the
same light. just as, for instance, we
| have had locomotives drawing trains
ever since we were born, but the loco
motive Of to-day is a far different ma
chine from that of forty years ago.
1 Still, it embodies the same fundamental
principles
Where is the chief work being done
| in electricity to-dsy?"
1T is in the field of thermo electricity,
| or heat electricity. 1t is now thought,
you know. that all light and heat are
| produced by electrical force, and 1t is
in these branches that the best work
is now being DONE"
How about patents, Mr.. Brush?
| once had an interview with Mr.. Thomas
Edison in which he said that he had
spent 100000 in defending his inven-
tons. but that he had not had one
minutes protection. You have had con-
siderable experience with the Patent
Office. Does Uncle Sam run his business
on the square,"
| Uncle Sam may be all right" was