The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-04
PICTURES BY WIRE.
Can BE Transmitted n thousand
Miles in Half a Minute

Miles in Half Minute.
From the New York Herald.
Chicago, Dec L-Dr. Robert D'Unger in
ventor of the telephot, which promises TO
transmit pictures, handwriting, printed
matter-and, in fact, the representation
OF any given object by wire any required
numebr of miles, is very hopeful of the
entire success of the invention. 1 saw him
to-day in his office at the Palmer house.
he was enthusiastic as a boy over a new
toy. The doctor is 20 years old. He told
me he had one proposition for the sale of
his invention, the figure being round mill
hon, but for business reasons, he said, he
did not care to reveal the identity of the
man who made this offer This man rep
resents interests worth $4,000, 900, and the
doctor is now engaged in the manufacture
of large-szed models which will, he
thlnks, do all the work required of them.
| L asked the doctor what time would be
required to transmit a picture of any sort
photograh, drawing, written or printed
matter, or, in fact, the representation of
anything else, from Chicago to New York.
mot more than half a minute" he said.
The time is not far distant when the en-
tire edition of the New York Herald can be
reproduced in Chicago on the morning of
| its issue in New York All that is needed
is an instrument or apparatus large enough.
The different pages of the Herald can be
| received here by the telephot and repro
duced. good wire, such as the Postal
| Telegraph Company possesses between
here and New York, will do the work ad-
mirably. The same thing is true regard
ing transmission over the ocean. What APP
pears in the European edition of the Her
aid can be reproduced in the New York
Herald on the same morning, and vice
versa. I am no dreamer but a practical
man. / have invented many things, but
have not reaped the benefit or advantage
| of them. But let that go. / will get all
| the benefits out of the teiephot. 1t is not
| like anything that has been invented be-
| fore.
II have been thinking that perhaps the
description of the apparatus sent to the
Herald last night might not be sufficient
ly ineligible to the average reader. Now,
in the first place, there are two Crookes
| tubes-one at the sending and the other
at the receiving end. The first, or what
we will call the sending tube, has within
| it two platinum discs, which form the
! terminals of a secondary circuit, which
| induce the tube to throw out what are
| called the X-rays. There is also shap
ed piece of platinum suspended in the
| tube, which acts as a. defiector, casting the
| rays downward on the article to be copied
! and increasing their energy. This lies
| upon a sheet of rubber, and through it
| the rays pass to another disc, composed
of tin. hope to get along without this
tin disc. 1 have simply used tin in lieu
of anything else so far, but for present
| purposes it concentrates the rays and
casts them upon the variator.
Il have thought that metal or hard rub
Der might be used upon which to rest the
| object to be copied, but so far l have
! found that a thin piece of rubber stretch
"a hot Ira oh N a
head has answered my purposes better
| than anything else, as the rays pass
through much more readily than through
anything else.
Now this variator, which is the most
important device of the apparatus, needs
a fuller explanation that it has so far
received. 1t is constructed as follows: A
round piece of tin or other metal is set
into a frame, being tightly screwed down
at it's edges. AT the bottom of this plate
is a strip of metal, fastened by a hinge.
This metal lever rests upon fulcrum, and
it has at the shorter end four carbon pen
ellis, through which it passes. These PEN
ellis swing freely and rest upon a carbon
rod, the rod being insulated from the le-
yer, upon which the pencils swing. The
X-rays from above playing upon, or rather
bombarding the round receiving plate
causes it to vibrate, and as the variator
is located in the primary circuit, separate
and distinct from that which operates the
first tube, it induces a secondary current
in another coil, and in this secondary cur
rent is placed the second Crookes tube
| The current entering this latter tube, be-
| ing variated by the variators action in
proportion to the amount of resistance Of
fered to the rays in passing through the
object of which a copy is desired, sends
out its rays less such resistance, these
rays acting upon the sensitive plate be-
low the second Crookes tube upon which
the photograph copy is taken"