The evening times., 1899-03-18
TO USE THE POWER OF TIDES.
An Inventors Plans to Get Force
From Them.
(From the New York sun. }

Among the newly patented inventions
which are intended to make nature work
for the people of the earth is one taken cut
by William Reed, of this city, for using
the tides as a source OF power. 1t Is par
tcularly interesting because of the in
genious manner in. which the device would
provide a constant output of power from
the intermittent action OF the tides. The
normal tides of the sea rise and fall once
in a little less than thirteen hours, but
there is period known as slack water at
the ebb and food of each tide, when for
nearly or about an hour the height of ihe
water does not change. 1t was 10 SO use
the power developed by the rising and fall
ing of the tides during their Ave hours
or so of continuous motion as to get an
output of power during the slackwater
period that set Mr.. Reeds brain al work.
In Mr.. Reeds scheme he would place his
tide machines along the shores of inlets or
tidal rivers at places where either by
means of dam across natural inlet or by
the construction OF an artificial basin he
could have a means of catching and hold
ing water raised 10 the high level by
nature These waters he would shut in
by tidal gates In front OF such a dam he
would moor a great square fiat whose up
ward and downward motion would be the
main source of his power supply. The deck
of this float would be made water tight and
surrounded by a cofferdam, making it into
q great water tight pan.
AS the tide fell the float would sink until
the tide was at its lowest, giving out power
all the time through its weight in descend
ing AT this moment, when slack water
begins, there would naturally be period
of an hours rest when no power would be
available. Now comes in the use Of the
waters stored behind the dam. The deck of
the float at low water would be just be-
low the level of the waters behind the dam.
Gates would now open from the dam to the
deck pan of the float and the waters would
flow upon the float, sinking it with their
weight for the entire time of slack water.
BY this time the float will have sunk per-
haps three quarters further than the tide
first made ii descend; that is, that where
the normal tide action is six feet, it will
have been sunk four feet further down by
the deckboard of water. Now the tide be-
gins TO rise and up goes the float, with its
load of water giving out power as it goes
up from its extra f1oatage capacity. 1t
will rise now, according to Mr.. Reed, until
the upper level of the deckload Of water is
considerably above the tidal dam from
which ii came. Now comes the slack wa
| ter of high tide, and to still provide up
ward motion to the float gates are opened,
which will allow the water of the deck
| load to flow gradually out and so enable
the float to rise again to its full height,
| with its deck again about level with the
waters behind the tidal dam.
| The waters let loose from the deck OF
the float flow into raised basin built be-
! side the float, and from there they go baca
| to the level of the sea in fall which car
be utilized by itself as a power producer
| There is no doubt that Mr. Reeds inven-
| tion will work and he is so enthusiast
| about it that he is taking out patents fol
| it all over the world, and he has visions O
| a time when all the wharves along OIL
| river fronts will be of, his moving float.
decked over, and each one will be giving
| out power at every tide, while it is alst
| serving all the other purposes of a wharf
Mr.. Reed has been SO occupied in gettin!
out his patent papers and thinking of thu
future of his invention that, as he admits
he has as yet had no calculations made a.
to the amount of power which a fioa
would produce or the cost of it per hors,
power. His idea is to build each float g.
feet square. Supposing the rise and fal
of the tide to be six feet, it would be in
teresting to know how much power 800
foot square float would produce and wha
the estimated cost Of the power would b
per horse power year. Twenty dollars
year for a horse power used ten hours
day is considered fair cost price today il
the worlds markets for power.