The Van Buren press., 1895-12-07
IN THE ELECTRICAL WORLD.


run by storage batteries last twice as
long as lamps operated directly from
dynamos
An electric time check receiver,
which embodies an automatic device
for receiving the checks OF tickets of
employees in manufacturing establish
ments, offices. etc, is among the late
electrical patents granted.
The question of municipal control
of electric lighting plants, says Elec-
tricity, will, no doubt, receive censid-
erable attention at henext meeting of
the American Society of Municipal
Improvements, to be held in Chicago
next year.
There are now $50 electric rail-
ways in the United States, with more
than nine thousand miles of track,
2, 400 cars. and capital of 100000, 600.
In 1887 the electric reads in the United
States numbered only thirteen, with
about one hundred cars
1t has recently been pointed out,
says the Philadelphia Inquirer. that
already the telephone is used, by actual
count, ten times as much as the tele-
graph, the annual figures being put
now at about rs, ,o0o,0 600 kilograms and
$50, 00o,o00 telephone talks.
For finishing certain kinds of fab
rics and also for obtaining effects of
watering, drapering, etc, there is used
hydraulic press and heated plates,
between which the fabric or paper is
placed. The heating of the plates is
effected in furnace. The inconven-
ience of this system is that during the
work the plates become cool, and the
action obtained is not regular. The
idea has occurred to Mr. Emile Cla-
viez, of Chemnitz, to heat the plates
| by electricity, and to thus esta blish
an electric press. 1t is said to be a
success.
The steady progress of the gas en-
CINE In public favor offers good in
stance of the danger of setting up in
the engineering prophesying business.
| When it was learned that the electric
motor was a mechanical success there
were number of enthusiastic en-
gineers who were very sure that the
gas engine would soon lapse into the
state of a dusty curiosity But il
seems to be far otherwise, The Elec-
trical Review of October says, i'll its
editorial columns: THE new gas en-
CINE developed by Mr.. Geo. Westing-
house, jr., promises to work a reyolu'
ton in the economical generation OF
the electric current The crude re-
suits thus far obtained indicate that a
saving of fifty per cent over steam
power will be attained
Louis II. spellier has devised some
very ingenious movements for clocks,
which every few moments wind up the
handspring which has been spent in
propelling the works. The main feat
ure about this spring is that even for
large clocks it is very short, and the
spring being bound up so often not
only takes little power, but remains
almost at an even tension, thus afford
ing far better regulation and less wear
and tear on the clock gears. To show
the simplicity of the device for wind
ing this spring, it is but necessary tc
follow it one cycle. Say, for instance,
the clock is running and the power OF
spring is partly spent. A point on the
drum which carries the spring makes
electric contact which energies three
magnets successfully, winding the
spring and carrying a weight past its
highest point, which in dropping puts
full tension on the spring, and the
clock is again ready for another few
minutes run, etc. Another great adj
vantage of this self-winding clock is its
compactness. 1t occupies very little
more space than an ordinary eght-day
clock of any pattern or make, doing
away with lot of complicated gear
ing, found in other forms of self-wind'
ing clocks.