The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-04-12

Informed by that ardent investigator or MS
discovery OF an oscillating current on cleo
tricity that would soon be made practieaI
for general. economical use. few days
ago the Associated Press announced from
New York that Tesla had made such a dis
covery and that IL would reyolutloniZe the
ordinary means Of Illumination, and that
IL would prove OF Infinite use in many d.
rections.
To a Post-IntellIgencer representative last
evening Dr. Kibbe stated that there Is no
doubt that the discovery has been made,
describing the apparatus he had seen In the
inventors laboratory as electrical oscil-
Gators, kind Of transformer that was the
outgrowth OF discoveries made by Tes.a
half dozen years ago. BY means of the
apparatus which is much smaller than the
storage battery used by DR.. Kibbe in his
production OF x-rays. Tesla is able 10 pro
duce electrical vibrations amounting TO
many millions a second from ordinary cur
rents.
While Tesla was working on his oscil-
iating currents" said DIR. kIbbe. electric
lighting was carried on almost exclusively
by the aid of what Is known as a direct
current The objections TO the direct cur
rent are the expense Of the wires 10 carry
IL and the difficulty OF transmitting 1T any
great distance without the use OF very
heavy conductors.
with an alternating current much small
er wires may be used, owing 10 the high
pressure at which the current Is delivered.
When IL arrives at the place OF distribution
It IL transformed into a current having
less pressure and. IL necessary, greater
quantity. II was this principle that made
Il possible 10 transmit tie power from Nj
agara falls I'm an economical manner. The
| utilization OF this great water power would
have been impossible I'm commercial scale
by the use OF direct current The osctl-
| istor whicb Tesla has recently perfected
| IS an apparatus by which the ordinary di-
| rect current may be transformed into one
| OF an osciHating or alternating character.
| II is probable that these appliances viii be
! placed In houses and that the oscillations
| will be utilized for lighting purposes. The
| lamps however. vii probably be OF an
I entirely different character from those now
| In use. in that they Will contain no fla
| ment TO be rendered incandescent. II has
! been found that when an eseiIating or vi
/ brating current Is passed through a tube
| or bulb, from which the air has been al
most exhausted the tube will glow and
! give light quite as intense as that de-
/ rived from the bulbs now in use This
| principle was demonstrated by Moore at
/ the electrical exposition. given in New
| York last May. IL was not. however. con-
sidered AZ the time as commercially prac-
/ tical- These oscillations VII reach 100 ol1
specially designed vacuum tube they arc
also used for generating x-rays.
| This tube" continued Or Kibbe. "will
! differ from that used for lighting. In hav-
! ting V-shaped plate OF platinum. which
being acted upon by the oscillations. gives
/ on the x-rays IN a more intense and pow
| erffIi form than when excited by the or
/ binary Induction con now generally used
| for that purpose.
! In addition 20 these uses the oscfllator
| viii be OF practical value I'm generating
/ ozone IN unlimited quantities and ct n
! trifiing expense It's value IN this respect
/ VIII be FOR disinfscting purposes for which
| II Is . powerful agent. II viii find "A wide
/ application in hospital wards sick rooms
! cellars. etc. You have often observed the
/ clearing up of the atmosphere after n
| thunder storm THE oscillator viii have
( the sa'e effect in smaller way. OF
! course. With IL small fash OF lightning
| may be produced at any time. A fash Il
/ such lightning from six 70 ten inches nav
/ b kept up at little expense. tho result Ct
/ Se 90 volts. A stiil further use 20 which
| II may b. put is in producing fertilizers
| one q the principal fertillz'ng agerts IS
| the nitrate combinations. These accord
/ ing 20 Tesla may be produced on com
/ meTc3al scale much ch@a pe- than they are
| now obtained The beds q Florida ard
/ the guano islands OF the isaci1c are the
J NtaaF4 rtf4ENf~ AtttEt u ftft"a 4tEkf4LaffS are
/ nov obtained. but with Tesia's apparatus
1 ultrates are 20 be extracted from the air.
1 The result VIII probably be- IN liquid form
/ and the economy attending such ar sx.
| traction viii he such -h.sS It will become a
| great commercial factor
! Or Eibbe des ,sfbes Tesla as c man
/ probably not more than = years OF age,
| OF a serious. stuGl0us temperament lie
! would not impress the caslas observer rs
! a brilliant man Until fe removes MS hat
| when his splendid head Hn3 lne features
I mark him "a & man Of more than ordinary
! ability. Dr. kibbe ~ estimating Tesla
/ ard Edison. characterize the former ss
/ a scientist And the later rs an Inventor.
! Tesla never tells what he Is going 10 &c;