The Portland daily press., 1897-09-07
SUMS RAYS MUST WORK.
Recent Inventions to Utilize Solar Heat
for Running Machinery.

Correspondence of the Boston Trans
cript.)
| Washington, Sept. 3-Yankee inventors
are busily engaged trying to find some
way of using the SUMS rays for running
machinery. Already they have taken out
large number of patents for solar cook
ers, solar heaters and solar engines of
many kinds, but none of them seems to
solve the problem in really practical
manner. Yet, much has been added to
human knowledge in this direction, and
scarce any other line of investigation can
be said to tempt pursuit more invitingly.
When it is considered that the sunbeams
whichYfall upon the small area of Manhat-
tan Island, If their energy could be col
lected for use, would drive all the mach.
inery of the world, the unlimited re-
sources of power available overwhelm the
/ imagination.
| 1t is not as ii practical steps had never
| been taken toward the utilization of this
vast and inexhaustible fund of energy.
Many very wonderful things have actually
been accomplished-suoh as the printing
of newspaper by suns rays, which ran
the press; the distillation of salt water
in large quantities, and even the manu-.
facture of coffee and cider. Various
kinds of small motors have been driven
by using solar. heat to raise the tempera-
ture of water, of alcohol, ofssoda solution,
and of air. Solar engines are sometimes
employed for working pumps, and a
small locomotive is said to have been run
across desert by no other agency. Erics-
son is not the only great inventive genius
who has devoted attention to building
machines for the sun to drive
The lightning is harnessed for mechani-
| cal uses; why not. then, the rays of the
sun? Anybody whose skin has suffered
from the burning heat of that orb is
easily able to realize that it's rays are
capable. when concentrated only four
fold or..fvefold, of boiling water violently
or of generating steam abundantly. OBJ
viously, the heat, always convertible into
power, is plentiful enough, even in a
small space. 1t has been reckoned by M.
Mouchon, an eminent French scientist,
that it is practicable to boil two pints Of
water and keep it boiling with the rays
that fall upon one and a half square
yards of surface. One square yard of
sunshine represents one horse power. The
problem, accordingly, is merely to con-
centrate the rays.
f. H. Monks, Boston inventor, has
patented machine which consists most
Importantly of small boiler and large
concave mirror. A familiar continuance
called "hellostat, - run by clockwork,
moves the mirror with the sun SO as to
keep its focus always on the boiler. The
LOO, A<~<1 I. -. 81. IL
boiler and generate steam, which drives
an engine. More complete, perhaps, is
machine devised by another citizen of
the modern Athens, named Sevey, ssfor
obtaining continuous power from the
sum-" The principle is the same as in
the other case, but the surplus energy is
| used to fill with water a storage tank up
above. When the sun goes behind a
cloud, thus suspending the operation of
the solar motor, tripping mechanism
automatically starts the water, which
takes up the task. Thus there is no
pause in the action of the machine.
An Englishman named Clark has pro.
duced continuance which ought to be of
use on the Klondike, being designed to
reduce and disintegrate ores. 1t is a
gigantic lens of glass, hollow and filled
with distilled water, SO as to be free from
imperfections. So great is its size that
gold ores are melted beneath it's tremend-
Gus focus. The trouble about lenses, how
ever, is that they are exceedingly costly.
If they could be made of large size and
at a comparatively small price, the
problem of solar mechanics would be
simplified very much. AS 1t is, multi
pie rehec tors are commonly used instead.
For example. William Calver of Washing
ton, has patented an arrangement of
boilers and rehectors which travels around
slowly on track, SO that the suns rays
@o1xr g. I~s1 VI,
steam thus generated goes to the engine
which runs the apparatus.
Mr.. Calver has also invented what he
calls "solar stove" for domestic use.
1t is box of iron inside of box Of wood
with an air-space between. In connection
with the apparatus are several doors or
slides which are ref1ectors. The contriv-
anoe being placed in the sun, the rehec-
tor throws the heat into the iron box,
while the non conducting wood keeps It
from being carried off. When the
stove" is hot enough, 1t is taken in
doors and utilized as heater until it gets
cold. Another strictly household con-
trivance is sun machine for heating
water. 1t is big glass box, to be placed
on the roof of a dwelling, and contains
several glass tanks which are to be filled
with water. The sun heats the water in
the tank, and it is drawn off as required
for bathing, laundry, and other purposes.
Ebenezer Sperry of Chicago, has
patented very interesting "solar
cooker" Beneath large frame of glass
is sheet of metal painted black, so as. to
absorb heat. 1t is fact open to any
body's observation that the heat carried
through glass by suns rays does not es
cape easily; hence, for example, the high
temperature under a ''cold frame in
winter Thus IL comes about that such
heat is generated in this apparatus as to
boil water and generate steam the latter
passing into cooking chamber above
and preparing the most elaborate dinner.
L. S. Morse of Salem, Mass, has
scheme for warming buildings. 1t con-
sists Of panels of glass arranged some
what like window blinds outside of the
windows. Inside of the glass are black
ened plates of metal, to absorb the heat,
which flows into the house.
Luther W. Allingham of Los Angeles,
has built solar machine for generating
steam, heating water, drying fruit, and
other purposes. A car carrying re1ectors
moves around fixed point, on which the
rays are focused. At the fixed point is
boiler. One Of the freaks in this line is
credited to William NJ Storm of New