Arizona republican., 1897-10-03
THE WHIRLPOOL ILLUMINATED.
A Striking Use of Electric Lights,
 White and Colored.


 A magnificent sight vomchsafed to the members attending the conven- tion of the Edison electric illumlnat- ing companies, held at Niagara Falls recently, was afforded by an e1pem- ment arranged between Superinten- dent J. K Brooks of the Gorge Road, Iuther Stieringer and the General Electric company. It was the illum- inatiop of the Whirlpool rapids at Mi agara Falls by powerful searchlights. The idea originated with Luther Stl- eringer. whose experience with searchlight effects on moving waters gained from the electric fountains at the Worlds fair at Chicago, which he designed. enabled him to gauge the probable success of the eXperl- ment. MT. Brooks arranged the car and the lights and provided the cur rent. while the General Electric com many furnished the searchlights and colored screens.
 The illumination was to demon- strate the feasibility of realizing MT. Stieringer's idea, which comprehends the illumination of the Whirlpool rapids nightly during the season on a larger scale. The methods adopted in this instance were somewhat crude. owing to the shortness of time in which arrangements had to be made. Six searchlight lamps were employed They were set in six plain wooden boxes painted dead black in side. In front of each arc, attached to the back of the car, were polished silver refectors. The boxes were IL, Gorge railway, and the lights were controlled by a rheostat, also on the car. A start was made from the Cat aract house at S:30 o'clock p. m. in special cars. Many of the party had no idea of what they were about to see.
 Arrived opposite the point in the Whirlpool rapids where the move ment of the water is most turbulent, the lights on the cars were suddenly extinguished. The small switch on one of the uprights of the car being suddenly closed, the beams scf light concentrated into one flashed out up- on the rapids. The effect thus pro- duced evoked @ gasp of admiration. The intensity of the white light upon the masses of tumbling waters was magical. They seemed to be endowed I with new life, weaving and inter
 ing in white, fieecy foam It
 new view pf the rapids and )1bnveyed perhaps better idea of the force and violence of the current than can be gained under the light of day.
 MT. Sdeginger had provided a series of colored screens, to see what effect colored beams would give to the wa ter. The red screen was lowered in front of the reflectors and the water assumed an almost blood red hue. such as is found in the depths of a furnace of molten metal.
 The lamps were left lighted during the return journey and there was no part of the Whirlpool rapids that was not momentarily illuminated by the concentrated beams of white light This light was the concentrated rays of six searchlights. It would, of course, be impossible to tell the ex- act strength. but 1 100000 candle pow CT is considered conservative The electric current which operated the lamps was the trolley current taken off the wire as the car moved along.
 he current is 800 volts in strength and exceeded the voltage required for the lamps, but resistance to offset this was provided, as we'll as an au- tomatic switch, which would prevent the destruction of the lamps by one going out and throwing the surplus power on the other five.
 The men in charge of the experi- meat say that had it been possible to secure six glass mirror refectors instead of silVered ref1ectors, the effect would have been greatly intens- ifed-New York Tribune.