The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-06-18
THE INcANDESCENT LIGHT.
MIR. EDISON TELLS HOW HE IN
VENTED THE NEW LAMP.


Trials "a Palm Leaf Fan Suggested
Bamboo-Then Began world
Wide search for the Proper Ma
teriaI.
New York. June 16.-Thomas a. Edison
made the hrs, modern incandescent lamp
out OF a vacuum pump and piece of
cotton thread. The idea of the bamboo
hiiment was given to him by a palm Leaf
fan. Here is his story of the invention
which created a new Industry and revo-
lutionized the lighting effects of the
world
The subject of electric lighting occupied
my attention at intervals from a very
early period of my life says Mr.. Edison.
LAS early as 1864 / commenced to eX-
pertinent in this field. But no material
advance had been made in the production
OF incandescent lamps for more than a
quarter of a century previous TO my TAX
ing up The subject No lamps had been
made that were capable Of practical use
nor had the conditions of use OF prac-
tical incandescent lamp been determined
nor had any comprehensive system been
devised whereby practical lamps of small
canGle power could be used in supplant-
ing or competing with gas as a general
iluminant. EXperimentOrs had used piau-
mum burners. but there were many OBJ
jectons to their use. l turned my atten-
tion to platinum and made many eNpeH-
ments with il. working with the idea that
something might be evolved IL the metal
we're coated with earthly materials Dur
ing these experiments ! made a remark
abe discovery. i found that Il was mlea
harder TO melt platinum in vacuum
than when it was exposed to the air. 1t
would stand more electric current, ana ls
Aea.HW for
knowledge opened the door 10 the later
discoveries. 1 tested the melting point
OF many substances under the vacuum
pump and with the idea OF increasing
the good effects oi the platinum expert
menI / sought 70 ootain a more perfect
vacuum.
Tried Carbon for the First Time.
Il tried a series of experiment with car
BOMBED paper to determine rs aVaila Dl4ity
as a light for an incandescent lamp. /
placed strips OF carDoulzcd paper IN the
electric circuit and brought them up 10
Incandescence in the open air. l also piac-
ed carbon strips In the air pump in which
the atmosphere had been exhausted ana
brought the strips to incandeScence. From
these Experiments it was absolutely GER
tain that an incandescent lamp was pos
sibe, but to make il commercial II was
necessary to perfect II IN parts. during
1873 the work was Interrupted because my
time and attention were absorbed by the
invention and exhibition Of the phono-
graph. My health broke down and l was
compelled 10 go west 10 TeGuptIdtts Oh
my return in August, 1873, resumed my
experiments and continued them night and
day. / tried paper-cOated with tar and
lampb.ack and carbonized, holding it in
lamps connected in circuit and placed I'M
der a vacuum pump. also Tried car
BOMBED broom corn The knowledge OBJ
tained by me that the passage of a cur
rent through platinum, during the process
OF eXhausting chamber in which II was
contained, would drive out Occluded gas
and thereby increase the infusibility of
az
greater perfection in the vacuum, upon the
theory that the higher the vacuum in
which was carried on the process of treat
ing the platinum, the higher would be
the infusiblity of the burner resulting
from such treatment. About August, 1873,
we obtained vacuum up TO the one-hun-
dred-t housandth part of an atmosphere,
and during the next month we obtained
a pump which would produce a vacuum
up TO the one-millionth part of an atmos-
phere
Cotton Thread for FiIiment.
Having this entire glass chamber ex-
hausted 10 the one milhonth of an atmos-
phere, it occurred to me to try compar-
atVely short filament Of carbon. So on the
2lst Of October, 1879, / introduced carbon
lied cotton sewing thread. 1t was a loop
OF horseshoe form. With this lamp / made
the discovery hat the iiiament of carbon
under the conditions of nigh vacuum was
stable and would stand high temperature
without dislntegration and oxidation,
which took place in our previous attempts.
ascertaned the conditions for the pr0duc-
ton Of a successful incandescent lamp. Up
20 that time | had spent in money about
$4,000 but the discovery thar L made, sur
prisng as il was TO me at the time ena-
bled me Immediately to determine that
very fine ailments OF carbon with such
high resistance could be used as incan-
descent conductors for electric lighting
by system of multiple arc distributors. 1t
was also proved from the fact that the fill
ment of carbon, being small In cross sec
ton, did not conduct heat any better than
electricity, and therefore very little heat
was given over from the glowing mean
descent conductor 10 the clamps and APP
planes which supported them, hence no
special appliances We're necessary TO get
rid of the heat conductiOn. Prior to my dis
coVery OF the STABILITY Of carbon in high
vacuum the direction Of Improvement in
tncandescent lighting was not toward a
reduction in size Of the cross section of the
carbon burner. The extreme fraglllty OF
carbon IN small masses would be consumed
on the passage OF the electric current
through them. deferred inventors from ex-
perimenting with them. My discovery for
the first time informed the world of prop
erGes not before known or supposed TO be
inherent in carbon that is, the property of
stability In high vacuum.
How MEMO Park Was Lighted.
Following the discovery made with the
carDonized cotton thread Immediately
commenced to use carbon in other forms,
and prior 10 Jan. !, 1880, had made sew
eral hundred lamps employing carbonized
paper in the form of horseshoe as the in
candescent burner These lamps We're pub
holy exhibited during the holiday season
of 1879 ana 1880 in lighting up the streets
and some buildings in Menlo Park. includ-
ing my laboratory and Office and Two or
three houses. On New Years Eve 1879.
about 5000 people visited Menlo Park and
inspected the lamps ] equipped and light
ed up a steamship the Columbia with
scvcnty-five to 100 lamps containing pa
per carbons which continued TO light The
ship satisfactorily for several months. Ex-
hibitsons of these were made on the Comm-
bia at Rio de JaneirO. Valparaiso, San
Francisco and Portland, Ore. | understand
that some of them We're lighted during
the voyage around Cape Horn, and Were
kept lighted from San Francisco 10 Port
land on the regular trips for several
months.
But while this was to a certain extent
a triumph. we had not really produced a
commercial article We had a successfui
lamp built on the right principle but IT
was moi economic. 1t WAS fragile aud
costly. In fact. our carbons We're appar-
emily NOT made 0ut of the right sub
stance. Somewhere in the world We
thought there must exist a substance
which could be turned into carbon which
would be cheap and lasting. We made
ailments of everything we could get hold
OF. with the idea Of getting a carbon that
would give life under commercial aDpdt