The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-01-11
THE NEW ILLUMINANT
EXTRAORDINARY CLAIM PUT FORTH
BY LOGANsPORT'S INVENTOR.
A Light Evolved from Chemical Ac-
ton, Which, Once Started, Nh. Nick
um Says, VIII Never Go out.
Chicago Tribune.

| eiectrician-been at last discovered?
Unless there are some badly mistaken
| people in Logansport, Md. II has. A new
light has been invented there whose aston
ishing possibilities put to shame the Widest
imaginings of Edison or Tesla. Compared
with the expected developments from it
! gas, oil, electric and even the new vacuum
/ tube lighting are crude, clumsy and ex-
pensive. More brilliant than the electric
arc, more steady than the incandescent
| lamp, more soft than the oil burner, this
! new light is promised to fulfill ali the con.
| ditions of an ideal illuminant, and in addi-
/ ton is to be portable, inextinguishable anc
| permanent. Imagine small portion of the
| sun put inside a ground glass globe and
| you will have what it's advocates declare
| is this latest and most wonderful arrival IN
the field of discovery.
| If the discovery proves all that the IN
ventor hopes, he believes that the doom OF
| the gas trust and the electric lighting com
/ panieS has been sounded; that the hundreds
of millions of dollars now invested vii
come to naught; that monthly bills for illu-
minaton will be abolished, and that the
| furnishing of light during the dark hours
will be white elephants on the hands OF
| their owners.
|
carry a tiny lamp without wires or Other
| attachments-a lamp to be tucked away
! during the daytime when it's light is moi
| needed in pocket or bureau drawer; for
day or night, the light will never go out.
And where, he asks, will the gas COM
| panies be then?
| This is not the dream of some crack
Drained inventor working with a drafting
| mic Of &
Of four years of hard labor by an intelligent
man in a well-appointed laboratory. 1t is
declared to be a demonstrable fact, nearly
| ready for public inspection. Men have seer
| the new light and are willing to state ovel
! their signatures that they believe 1t 10 %
what it is claimed. Time alone is needed
/ to show to the world the value ot the olS
/ coVery.
S. b. Nickum, for several years resident
| of Logansport, is the dlscoVerer OF tnls
! wonder model maker and inventor py
| profession. several years ago he MT on the
| secret of this new light, and mght ana oay
since then he has worked to perlect II.
! Now, at last he states ne is IN d positlo1 y
| announce to the world his discovery ana &c
/ take steps toward putting the manuIact 'li;
/ of the lamps ON a commercial oasis. Appl.
| cations for patents have already gone lc
| Washington, and more are folloWlnS- AL
other week or two at most ana eAnlpIlio11s
| Of the new Illuminating power VIII pc lndus s
| to select parties of scientists ana newspaper
people. After that the lamps VIII De pu
! in general use as fast as they can be maze
| AS near can be learned the new nghl TIE i
| a product of some chemical action hitherto
| unknown. 1t is given OIL, according 10 lnt
| tales of eyeWitneSses, from ROUND Sldss
globes sealed up from the air ana appareIl.-
| " disconnected from every possible source
/ of illuminating energy. IheSe GLOBES car
| be carried anywhere desired, EXPOSED u
light or darkness heat or cola, an wlt froro
| within. They are made in sizes rahSins
from about that of a small egg up to the
dimensions Of an arc ight coSerl tiS, S 81
| candle power, while others glow with the
| brightness of an Argand burner ANY coiol
of glass in the globes may be 4sea, aad slqs
/ hue size and brilliancy may be completelS
| at the control of the manufacturer. Ano a.
i long as the globe remains intact the ilgn'
is declared to endure In lts Original piisiA''
ness.
CHEMICALS IN VACUO.
The chemicals placed inside of these
| globes are the personal secret of the lnven'
1 tor and have not been told by him &c
! any one. They are carefully compounded
and placed within the glass receptacle, ap'
parently without producing any effect
whatsoever Then the globe is attached tt
an unusually powerful air pump and the
| atmosphere exhausted to an extraordinary
degree Of rarefaction. AS soon as the vacu-
I'm begins to grow perfect the light appears
| and gradually strengthens until the hlgnes'
| point of exhaustion is obtained. Ii the
| globe is then sealed up the light remains
constant indefinitely II air as aloWeo &c
| go back into the GLOBE, however, the Slo"
| For MANY wears the problem of phosphor-
| escence has troubled the chemists and phy-
! sicistsl of the world An immense amount OF
/ work and labor has been put upon the TASK
| of discovering how it is produced and what
| chemical action takes place during its con-
| tinuance but without avail. In living
| creatures and in decaying wood the phe'
nomena of phosphorescence seems to be ac-
| companied by chemical action, but IN luml-
nous paints and phosphorescent salts tins
same result seems to be obtained without
| chemical change. The question mas lons
| been one of most intense interest as posi-
| bly, affording a pathway to the discovery OF
| a light without combustion and without
heat. The new discovery now ,+ brought ig o9'
bly, a step in the direction OF solution OF
this long-standing problem The fact thai
| only the slightest discernable rise IN TEN,
| perature accompanies the giving off of light
by the new lamps lends strength to this
idea. - ~
| Niclxllrn began the Investigations which
| have led him to his present success Al
/ that time he was running small mode
| shop at the corner of Third and Market
| streets in Logansport. An order for a hall
| dozen models of the solar system was sent
/ him. and he set to work building an ex-
| act representa- ton in miniature of the plan
| cts in their orbits about the sun. While or
/ this work he became firmly convinced that
| the theories or the astronomers were eS'
| sentially wrong. What is commonly called
| the attraction of gravitation he decided tc
| be due to some vastly different force act
| ing in manner not as yet grasped by sci
| entists From his conclusions he began tC
| draw further deductions as to attractions
| and repulsions, finally deciding that there
! was no such thing as automatic affinity
! or cohesion of molecules. He began a Sc
| ries of experiments both mechanical ano
] chemical, and in the midst of it stumbled or
! the new light.
That was three years ago. Since then he
| has worked night and day, bringing the
| idea to state of practical perfection. He
claims to have had some unfortunate eX-
| periences with patents which were stoler
from him earlier in life, and this time he
took no chances. His laboratory was ex-
| tended until it took in the space necessary
| for all the details of his work and every
door was put under lock and key. The
| windows were double-shuttered and barred
| signs posted up and every possible precau-
| ton taken to keep the faintest knowledge
i of his doings from the public at large.
INVENTOR A RECLUSE.
For three years Inventor Nickum has
lived almost unseen in Logansport. A sign
on his door and a mailbox standing near by
answer for all communications between him
and the outside world He lives up over bis
laboratory in a suite of rooms and some
times for weeks in succession never ap.
pears in the open air. Once in long time
| he is seen on the streets of the town, but
always looking down on the ground as if In
| a brown study and hurrying by to do the
! important business which alone could cal
him from his retreat. But at all hours OF
the night light CLOVIS through the cracks
| of his windows and even the most be-
! lated pedestrians have been able to hear
the whir of his lathes or the throb of his