The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-03
ELECTRICITY DIRECT FROM COAL.

ELECTRICITY DIRECT FROM COAL.
 The problem then was to convert the energy of coal more directly into electricity; to do away with the dynamo and the steam engine; possibly even to do away with heat itself, A multitude of experiments were made. In the earlier days my attempt was merely to do away with the dynamo and with steam, and convert heat into electricity. A fire of coke, burning on an insulated grate, gave some slight electrical manifesto lions, but they were not encouraging. Experiments with various novel forms of thermopile were tried, but con- sideration of the theory of the subject soon made it evident that it was not even theoretically possible to convert more than a very small percentage of the energy of the coal Into electricity in this way. The generation of electric currents by alternately heating and cooling the magnetic cores of wire coils gave no promise of efficient results I | tried natures plan of producing light ning-the evaporation of water and con- | tinual dissipation of Vapor globules- and though I succeeded in producing miniature thunder storms, the quantity | of electricity obtainable was not sufficient for any commercial use. In- deed, my researches have led me to doubt whether the total energy of a l good brisk thunderstorm, dramatic as Is its display is equal to the energy radiated from a bedroom fire. For a minute fraction of a second the force of a stroke of lightning is terrific, but it's duration is so brief that, even if it could beharnessed, it would be capable of do- | ing very little useful work. Many other plans, all of them intensely interesting from a purely scientific point of view, were tried; but from most of them no current was obtained that was econom- ically capable of being put to any in- dustrial use.
 Nature is a coy witness, yet she likes to be wooed and to the dilligent suitor gives occasional tokens of encourage ment; and it happened that one day l surprised her in her secret, and discov- cred the way by which we may abandon even combustion and heat itself, and convert the stored-up energy of coal directly into electricity.
 It came to me almost as a revelation that if the oxygen of the air could be made to combine with the coal under such circumstances that the production of heat could be prevented, and at the same time a conducting path could be provided in which a current of electric ity might develop, the chemical affinity of the coal for the oxygen would neces- sarily be converted into electricity and not into heat for any given form of en- ergy will be converted into such other form as the surroundig conditions make most easy. Given the proper conditions the potential energy of coal would rather convert itself into electricity than into heat
 This led to experiments in which coal was submerged in liquid so that the oxygen of the air could not come in di- rect contact with the coal and produce combustion. Further, such liquid was chosen that when air was forced through it to the coal, the oxygen of the air would temporarily enter into chem ical union with the liquid and then be crowded out by a further supply of oxy- gen and forced to combine with the coal. We may picture each successive atom of oxygen, on its way from the source of air supply through the liquid
 to the coal, as temporarily entering into
 chemical union with each of a row of
 atoms of the liquid, just as each suc-
 ceSsive man as he circles around in the
 grand right and left" of dancing tenn
 porarily clasps hands with each of the ladies in the set. When one substance passes through another in this way it
 furnishes path in which an electric
 current may flow, so that by causing
 the oxygen to combine with tha carbon through the intervening liquid oppor-
 tunity is furnished for an electric cur- rent to develop, and since combustion
 cannot take place, the chemical affinity
 of the coal for the oxygen is converted directly into electricity, and not into heat Liquids which thus allow atoms
 of oxygen and a current of electricity
 to pass through them may be called
 electrolytic carriers"