New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-20
POWER WITHOUT FUEL.
ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO UTILIZE SOLAR HEAT FOR /
WORK
From The Boston Transcript.

From The Boston Transcript.
Hundreds. and perhaps thousands, Of people
going out on the Boston and Albany Railroad
through Brookline have noticed Just before coming
10 Longwood Station peculiar iron framework
surmOuntcd by mirrors and surrounded by board
fence. Probably hundreds have speculated on tho
nature Of this peculiar contrivance and here and
at a glance that the machine could be nothing
more nor less ;han. solar, engine. for Ger
framed for any other purpose. Those who have
made 3s hs aTSsr at at Bosom G9nG
have been working on this machine. and last Mon.
though il is. given successful test.
The running Of engines without fuel BY the d.
rect use of the suns rays has occupied the atten-
ton Of scientific in all ages OF experiment.
That it has been brought 70 n success the Boston
men interested in the present machine beicye' and
tho direct use OF solar power seems only TO bo
question OF IL romans h 10 De Ses
practicable Of its kind.
SO far as Is known, Euclid. the famous mathema-
solar heat. and Archimedes the first TO experiment
sr 10 my Roman Seet Which WAS besesng syra
9use by setting the tnrred rigging and sails on , FIRE
Witch SATISFIED even the sceptcal Romans The
sceptcs OF the eighteenth century doubted the
and the learned naturalist Button, conducted
series of experiments 10 demonstrate that the act
Of Ar:hlmedes was within the bounds Of possibi;
$50 feet he caused tarred plank to smoke in two
This was in Ia saussurc instead Of employing
rcfectors used a series of cylinders of glass. b.
M wv Gec ne snnh alone 70 SIR john HersShe in 8
turned his attention 10 the matter and conducted
ss6ss 9f IS 6 SPo TO of GSo9 4 SP
The tremendous energy IN the SUNS rays. Pouiilet.
the French physicist who engaged in solar radla-
iion measurements estimated that tho suns rays.
IL concentrated would IN one year melt sheet OF
Ice thirty metres in thickness. covering the entire
globe
It was not until as late as 1866 that the expert
menters began 10 turn their attention toward the
% solar heat for purposes In that
NJ Mouchot then professor of mathematics in :he
with this end in view. In August Of 1866 he made
his hrst solar engine. Ericsson was at tho sam.
that concentrated solar heat would cvaporate eight
Hires OF water when reflected from a surface or
nine square metres; furnishing the equivalent of
sisted In Mouchots experiments In France and Al
gera. and result cconical reflector. erected
afterward shown at the Paris Exposition N le,S.
means OF an engine whose only fuel was the suns
rays. II was Monchot, with all duo credit to other
gnery. and while later machines may bear the
came relation 10 his coni-al reflector that
ocean greyhound" bears 20 Fulton's Clcrmont. 1t
is 10 him that due credit should be given. Strange
as ~ may appear the hrst patent granted for
learned Mas dated s March 20 ISL and ran to two
California inventors. who were prevented from de-
veloping II by Interest In other matters
sands Of dollars in expcflmentng with tn. coz
and electricity is coming .nto such common yTs
Tor motive power. IL might appear though Soitr
engines would not be needed until the worlds snp-
Ply OF coal runs short. and that such an invention
Is ages In advance Of its need. But IL mug; -
taken into account that there great areas IN
This country where coal IS neither accessible nor
cheap; where the water undcr the ground
and where the sun shines through a clear sky COR
three quarters OF the year. Such CONDITIONS to
be met by solar engines The area Of California
is 10000 square miles. equal 70 that OF ali The
States east Of the Mississippi River except Wis
consir and Michigan.
The sale of seven hundred thousand windmp.s
west Of the Mississippi River last year ndIcs rs
that there js demand for power In the so-caed
arid regions. provided II be procured at a
reasonable cost ana the solar engine has the great
advantage over the windmill that sunlight in these
regions Is more plentiful than wind and the means
Of utilizing II is moro efficient. for the windmill Is
but wasteful power.