New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-01
IiCTT II TUBE LIGHTING.


II has long been known that our present
methods Of producing light with electricity are
not as economical rs they might be. Before the
slender hlamcnt in an incandcSccnt lamp VIII
glow or the pencils of an are Will emit their
binding glare. the temperature Of the carbons
must be raised To very high degree. The heat
thus generated represents Il large waste OF en-
crgy only n small part Of the power put into
a dynamo ever appears In the form of light
Hence electricians have long and eagerly sought
a way 10 obtain luminous radiance without
thrrlnal effects Within the last two or three
weeks public attention has been directed 10 the
efforts Of three men. living in or near the
metropolis To attain such result. The tech
meal and daily papers have had much 10 say
on the subject. And there IS strong and
widespread desire to know how much we are
al present warranted I'm expecting from these
undertakings.
Nearly all experiments conducted for the dis
covrry Of a process Of making cold light have
taken for their starting point Gcsslers vacuum
tube In this device which was well known
I'm college laboratories even before Edison and
Brush achieved rcnown. either the rarched air
within or else the inner surface Of the con
tanning glass. both were mnde 10 shine by
the pax,age OF an electric current from a biz of
metal sealed into one end Of the tube To sim
liar BIT M The other end The light thus devel-
opcd however. WAS faint. Besides. supple
mcntary apparatus was required: an induction
coil. 10 Increase the gap lcaping disposition OF
the current and an attachment which would
interrupt the flow regularly and frequently.
These facts. like the peculiar phenomena which
Crookcs obtained by using Il higher vacuum.
have all been brought freshly To mind within
the last few months by R6ntgens startling dis
covcry Of invisible rays proceeding from such
"A tube. and manifcsting themselves entirely
outside of il.
Now. Mr. Moorcs sticks Of sunlight" rs he
POLITICALLY calls them. are long. low vacuum
,;clsslcr tubes filled with a soft white or blush
white light. The especially novel feature Of his
system is Il mechanism for interrupting the
current II operates with such abrupncss as
To possess remarkable efficiency An ordinary
incandcsccnt lamp Of sixteen candlcpower.
consumes sixty -four watts" Careful meas
urrmcnis show that one Of Mr. Moorc's tubes
requires only from thirty to fifty; and the in
vcntor is inclined to think that he gets just
much light. As yet though, no tests have been
made that fully Justify the latter conclusion,
and the claim is disputed. Thorough photo
metric experiments are necessary before the
economy OF this lamp can be accurately estI-
mated Furthermore doubts have been ex-
pressed in private as to the lasting qualities of
the vibrator While, therefore. Mr. Moore has
made distinct advances along this line Of in
v,stgation. II Is too soon TO say whether or not
his scheme, In its present state, is Il practical
success
Mr. Edison has not deliberately aimed to I'M
prove on the types OF electric light in vogue to
day For the last few years he has given his
best thought 20 the magnetic separator, the
photograph, the vitascope aud other inventions.
But. Ike hundreds Of other scientists, he was
captivated with R6ntgen's revelations; and in
his enthusiastic and successful end-avors to
adapt these to the service of mankind he acct
dentally stumbled on new idea He takes a
typical N-ray lamp, n small bulb rather than a
long tube and employs higher vacuum than
Mr. Moore. The inner surface Of the globe is
carefully frosted with certain crystals possess
ing In rare degree the quality Of huOrescence
lie believes that the illumination thus secured
calls for only onethird OF the current used in
an incandescent lamp for the same candle
power. Here apparently, is a remarkable saw
ing. But the gSted inventor frankly says that
his plan cannot be utilized commercially until
some new methods and apparatus have been
devised. While Edison was yet striving to per-
feet the filament of his incandescent lamp
twenty years ago scientific men OF worldwide
reputation predicted that II would never come
into general USE inayn,ch ms electricity could
not be economically delivered about town like
water and gas. in precisely the desired quaint
ties And until Edison found Il way to do this
his other work was vain. Just so the "huores-
cent lamp" recently shown AT West Orange will
always remain n germ. n laboratory curiosity
II tantalzlng suggestion. unless a fresh prob
lem is solved. And as yet there is no solution
I'm sight.
Mr. Tcslas experiments In the production Of
cold light have extended over n period of five
years, and have followed three or four separate
lines. He has already succeeded In getting
beautiful effulgence in vacuum tubes that are
entirely detached from wires But while he
announces that he Is making gratifying prog
ress, he Is not yet ready to take the world into
his confidence. A genius must always be al
lowed to have his own way In these matters,
however, and we must be content to wait His
mastery Of electrical science and his fertility