New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-08-08
A NEW USE FOR LIQUID AIR.
IT MAY PROMOTE THE TRANSMISSION OF
ELECTRICITY.

NOVEL. SUGGESTIONS by AN EXpERT REGARDING
NIAGARA AND OTHER GREAT POWER PLANTS
great many scientific discoveries that we reao
about seem 10 be merely curious ana in'er.S'. .n
revelations OF natures processes but wi'ho''
slightest practical value. Yet one ai'er a'
of then, is being utilized for the convenience anu
.o,taro ~ man in WAYS that the discoveries them
selves probably never dreamed or
Faraday found that II ne moved coll OF "ire
IN n certain manner I'm front Of Il magnet cu''e.
Of electricity would be excited In 1t. Ihat - .i.
Fundamental principle of the modern dyh"'no' .'
!, H not clear that Faraday himself foresaw the o
velopment and present service of the machine "n,."
furnishes power for countless trolley io Us
There Is another example. 1t had peen hno" 80
years that IL current OF eiectr'ci'y VIZ
through an insulated wire that had peeh "ounu
around n soft iron bar the latter would DC con-
ver.ed into a magnet temporarily. ana wouu az
tract an adjacent piece OF iron But 'ne VIZ "a
slant that Morse heard OF the phenomehoh' Nv go
70 himself THAT is the agent ior VINE" , 10"
been hunting for years to work system VI 80
h,,r rhs rost OF his famous work was only
matter NJ detail Scores Of similar cases might oe
cited although not all OF equal importance.
= would not be surprising If. before long, one Oh
.ha observed properties OF liquid air mIsht NC '"''
IN account While Pictet. Cailetet, De"ar anu
O,.'wski xerc conducting their fascinating expert
,cens with the condensation OF gases. praclcai men
thought: Very pretty, 10 be sure; put "ha' "o's "
amount to?" One Highly important Dut NJ" YIN
paratively old Industry in which the .ioera'io" "a
COMPRESSED gas (ammonia) has been cmp!o!eo 10
refrigera,lon either In cold storage Establishments
or Communicating plants. Now another eh'"e!
ncw use has been suggested. The recommcndauo"
will be OF interest chiefly to electricians pu. a!So "
some extent 10 the general public. which Is o.,'s
served so extensively to-day by electric leh' anu
power.
THE UTILIZATION OF WATERFALLS
has hppD n
nous utilization OF waterfalls in America ana Eu-
rome for mower that shall be transmitted 10 as
lance In the form Of electricity The most preteh-
,ious plant Of this character IN the Cni'ed states
that at Niagara Falls; but in the NUMBER OF such
enterprises and in the distance TO which power is
thus sent copper wire. the Pacific slope al
present eclipses the East As yet, no attempt IL
made to transmit electricity for light and power 10
points more than thirty or thirty-fve miles away
from the generating station. But the possioH'! VI
reaching out very much further has been seriously
considered Only a few days ago The Tribune an
nounced that an electric transmission line eighty
miles long had been projected In Southern CaElor-
mia. And electrical engineers have given much at
tcntion the question of how far away from Mag
ara the power Of that cataract can be sent eco
nomlcally enough 10 compete with steam Opinions
differ might naturally be expected: but so emf
nent an exper, as Mr.. Tesla has declared emphati-
caly that if market could be found here in the
metropolis for sufficient amount Of electricity 10
n ~
entirely feasible transmit current from the Mag
ara dynamos to this city.
Some suggestions recently made by Elihu Thorn
son ieaaihs american ns ~ ond sr viii he
more readily understood If the reader recalls me
limitations which hamper long distance transmission
The first Of these restricting circumstances is the
cost of the wire. When electricity goes but a
few rods the metal conductor which guides 1t on
its Journey would be anS bd
energy transmitted is considerable, the amount OF
esara TO Buffalo over line that is about twenty
five miles long. there have been strung twelve
OF three ss'% viii ' be empo ye to carry 5000 horse
power when The new dyanmcs are ready 1 TO Supply
Re reaqred The Losses By s and n srsr
Ts ia 10 is ss ong Would be
much greater :. Consequently. TO deliver 10000
be sSpPsd NSeS hsn For S
ana I'd Of size gre mus dea pc ore an
fifteen times as much copper would be needed in
the one case than in the other. unless some new
factor were introduced
HOW HIGH PRESSURE is SAFE?
Another limitation which bothers the electrician
Is the voltage or pressure at which It is feasible
to transmit electricity The important discovery
made. few years ago. that IT, by piece Of
a current raised. the electricity could be sent
over smaller wire. To save copper. therefore. II
b is ion n oTFs 'a 2oy % %R hsS
rent sent at only zoo volts and for in
1 a on l hs yGbT
,ns sn%s g %oH s;s
Wires wire " before ions And the Proposition
RED into effect the result win be wa Ssh1r wi be
voltage Voltage or pressure the more careful must the
fsss1d to nS
amazing propensity to hunt out routes OF esoape
precisely steam or water n pipe would II she
lpon ting If
have been tested for voltage Of 5000 yet there
Under much and Jet the current nj
leak down the pole Eer,Ians nare cur
rent whose voltage has been transformed up TO 70
5000: but at present 2c0o or 1900 is regarded
Mr. Thomsons first point Is that the electrical COW IN
asSuenS Gi se GGs2sF %re This need
TIE impairment II conductiviiy ina, results from
m nsTs tests with Wire mmerssl in iiaui1 air or
qnd oxygen The conducirs po% Ur. OF the Trr
wire would sufice for the same SERVE c.,o, g.. n,,
d5 M fact o1 S % Of The o
arl that most Insulating materials cooled to inc
nne eu al g"' Inasmuch ' as tbs eno.r
tar Is about 200 degrees below zero Fair. tcre =
strong natural tendency toward the absorption %
heat from adjacent objects .ant the consequent
evaporation OF the liquid Hence he successful
use IF air as electrical sulator de'enis up,n
thorough Insulation against heat OF the rccc9hcle
(ppe or trough containing H. Mr. Thomson en-,
Undo and Happson fol- icuefying air wholesale.
and then goes on TO say:
SURPLUS POWER MIGHT MAKE LIQUID AIR.
Niagara power IL twenty-four- hour powe", and
as there are but few Industries demanding power
for The whole day. 1t follow that surplus power
is either no, used wasted. and that to krer tho
plant working night and day at full capacity Is ie'
sirable. even II some OF the power onlv yields a
moderate return. Can II not he u.ei making
LIQUID air? Cannot the at certain times of
Gay he put use in COMPRISING air % Nc afte:ward
lquened on the large scale?
ut would that large tanks % liquid air can
Re heat insulated perfectly by layers OF air and
abrous material properly placed OUTSIDE The
cvaporated air from the tank could traverse the
3ackeilngs in successive order from within outward,