The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-04
THE LAMP of THE FUTURE.
May BE the Difrused Glow of the
Vacuum Tubes

Vacuum Tubes.
r. r. Bowker in Harper's Magazine for
October.
The light Of the future" according 70
many electric prophets, will be of still
another sort-instead of the concentrated
intensity of incandescent carbon, the diff
fused glow of vacuum tubes, or heatless
flame. Geissler of Bonn, who devised the
first mercury air pump, obtained from
huorescent glass tubes, in which by his
air pump he had rarefied the air or had
vaporized solutions, on passing through
them an electric spark, faint light Of
lovely color, varying with the kind of va
por, now known as "Geissler tube effects
Crookes of London made tubes of a high
Vacuum-less than one millionth of at
mospheric presSure-and obtained in these
'Crookes tubes" such remarkable phos-
phorescent effects as led him to believs
that he had discovered a fourth state
OF matter" more rarehed than gas. Tesla,
an inventor of daring imaginative gen.
lus, graduate from Edisons workshop.
went step further by obtaining from
current of extremely high frequency or
quick oscillation, and also of extremely
high tension, an intense electromagnetic
held-that is, by "elec trifying" surfaces
or terminals from this current, so that in
the space between there was intense elec-
trio "stress"-he was able, by merely
Placing an exhausted lamp-bulb within
this field, to produce a glow inside tho
Dub without use of conducting wires, and
even to show luminous discharges from
his own person at the finger tips, like the
st Elmos fire" observed at the mast
head of vessels during electric storms.
These experiments led him to the develop.
nf to Ill ,A.. cp1a
piston vibrating with extreme rapidly
within stroke of an inch, which actu'
ates at high frequency an electro-mag-
netic generator-and his electric oscl-
Iator, not yet in commercial application,
out from which great results are hoped.
Pupin, at Columbia University, has pro-
duced similar luminous effects, using MS
harmonic system of condensers, by help
OF which he expects to render ocean tele'
phony practicable Macfarlane Moore
while working upon an incandescent lamp
in which the light, as in the gas-burner'
may be turned low, with proportionats
saving OF current, found that the oscillat-
ing device which he mad invented for tns
purpose, thin strip of steel making ana
breaking contact within a vacuum BUN
when actuated by low-tension currents
produced like effect IN vacuum tubes
and he has been able to light a room with
q pervading glow so that reading Is pos
sible in any part of it. Edison, by coating
the inner surface OF a glass bulb with a
huorescent material, has developed sun
stronger light, with consumption Of cur
rent less than one-third that Of the IN
candescent lamp.
Tesla, the pioneer In this field, Is expect-
ed, In turn, to make his glow-llght Of q
prilliancy corresponding rather with Uis
arc than with the incandescsnt lamp, ana
the present year is thus witnessing race
between the greatest among American
inventors as to which shall first reach INC
goal. Any Of these systems may, II -
probable in their practical development
be adapted as house devices, obtaining
their actuating current from the present
distributing and generating systems, ana
making electricity at last a rival WIZ
gas In cheapness as well as in comfort
and convenience.
johnny" asked his teacher, 'wslaf
must we do before our sins can be forgiv-
en?"