The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-27
NOTES OF ELECTRICAL PROGRESS.

hc's Wish M u ND"Na
nt,ed to a socket inside. The wiring Is brought to
the switch stand In underground eonduits and
arches over. 20 as 10 enter the lamp al the top The
experiment Is said " be entirely satisfactory. and
the services Of q lamp tender are dispensed with.
Electric light IL also much safer against exunguish'
men, than the usual oil lamp. which is often put out
By the heavy vibration Of passing trains.
While lighting fixtures combining incandescent
electric lights and gas Jets, commonly known as
''electroiiers," are familiar devices. II Is believed that
until recently the combination Of an inclosed arc
lamp with gas Jets has not been attempted. The new
'arcolier, - as Il may perhaps be called. presents a
handsome appearance and Il OF tasteful design. There
NAV be instances where It Is an advantage 10 have
both gas and arc lights In the same fixture. not how.
ever, for use al The same time. The device Is certainly
a novelty.
One Of the incentives TO summer trannc adopted by
many electric railway throug hou,t The United States
Is The establishments OF amusement parks al a sub.
urban terminus Of their roads. In some Instances a
small charge for ADM .ssion Is made, but usually pas
sen gers on the the trolley ears are the only visitors
admitted. In these cases admission is charged 10
numerous side shows and theatres. Many Of these
railway parks are laid out with great taste and equip
ped with modern amusementso Of every sort, Several
Of them have aborste electric fountains which add
greatly To the beauty Of the place al night.
The great advance made in the use Of aluminium as
an electrical conductor In place Of copper Is Indicated
In the fact that a, the annual meeting Of the Amer
can institute Of Electrical Engineers last week a
PAPER was read on the Uses OF Aluminium, Line
Wire" by DR.. 7, A. G. Perrine. who has had a great
deal Of experience In long distance transmission An
electrical Journal published somr months ago . table
showing that when copper is a, certain prices and
aluminium at certain other prices the use Of aluml-
nun az an electrical conductor is 10 lie preferred
In the Spanish section Of the Paris Exposition II
was de sired 10 provide an electric Illuminated fountain
The plans called for ~spouting Jets about twenty feet
high. bu, when the fountain was about half finished
It was found that the water bills would be out OF all
proportion. The ingenuity OF a French cngIneert
n. CASTOR Trouse. solved the dinicuit problem of
making an Illuminated fountain without wa,et In
place OF a pump he Installed u blower driven. OF
course. by electricity and instead Of water used a
mixture Of grains OF rice. ground mica scales and glass
beads 1!is compound is blown through the MOBILES
Of the fountain by the blower, Illuminated In the usual
way BY powerful arc lights Of various colors, and as IL
falls back into the basin OF the fountain is used over
and over again. The enectis said W be pleasing and
remarkably Ike the ordinary electric fountain.
The City Council Of Milan. Italy. has Just granted
a concession 10 a local firm for the operation Of public
electric automobile cabs In the city. provided tina,
the rates OF fare shall no, be less than those charged
by the horse drawn cabs.
1t is expected tina, III. electric lighting Of the Pan.
American Exposition at Buffalo next year will sur
pass any achievement, OF the kind hitherto recorded.
ON the Court OF Fountains no fewer than 100. 600 in
randoscent lamps will be used. The other electrical
features VI the Exposition are on a similar scale. the
intention being that In brlliance and beauty Of elec.
,rical display this Exposition shall greatly exceed
that al Paris this year.
One OF the most beautifully ingenious Instruments
shown al the Paris Exposition is known as the tele'
%sraphone, and is the Invention OF a Danish telegraph
engineer, Nj. Valdemnr Poulsen. AS It's name ind.
Gates, 4, is a sort OF comblnsu lion OF telephone and
phonosraph. capable of being used either as a regis.
terIng telephone or as Il phonograph OF a much more
perfect type than any now in use. It's principle is
exceedingly simple. though entirely novel A steel
wire about one fftieth OF an inch in da me YER Is wound
In grooves On a non. mag neic reel, and arranged 10 be
wound up or unwound at a definite speed by clock work
or some other method OF driving, This wire runs be
tween the poles OF a small horseshoe electro magnet.
which approach i, very closely without actually touch
Ing H. The electro. magnet Is connected in circuit
with an ordinary telephone ransmitter and a battery.
II ,he trsnsmitter is spoken into and the wire simul
taneously r~eled pas, the electro met Il will pass
through the varying nsld Of ma force due 10 the
tslephonic current. and will be transysrsely mag
neuurd In accordance with the varying Impressions
!, receives. In other words, the telephone curren,
leaves its impress in the varying magnetic states OF
the steel wire. This wire. being OF steel. retains lis
magnetism irdelnirly, thus preserving a record Of
the current " sveS Of the telephone. All that is neces
sary 10 reproduce the orl ginal sounds is 10 run the wire
again past the poles Of the receiver The apparatus
then becomes a species Of dy namo, giving out currents
precisely similar TO those that originally magnetiled
the steel wire. Speech and sounds are reproduced
with marvellous ndrll,y and an entire absence Of the
cracking and scratching noises usual In the phone.
graph. As there IL no mecha meal connection between
the record and the ira nslating dcvicr. there Is no chance
for eAtraneous sounds 10 make themselves evident
III evident tina, III. apparatus may be used TO receive
telephone messages and preserve them until wanted.
and the magnetlzed wire may also he used as a medium
OF correspondence. as II may easily be sent by mail.
reproducing. when passed through the proper appa
ra'us, the sounds that caused It's magnetilation.
Calcium carbide. which is one OF the new materials
due 10 the electric furnace, Is famIliar TO most bicyclists
as the substance used In the bicycle gas lamp II Is
a dark colorcd solid substance, looking like a dis
colored lava. and rapidly crumbles into a white pow
der when exposed to the air. Its principal and more
useful property Is that when It is mois,ened with
water " gives OF ~acrtylene gas. The method Of It's
manufacture Is very simple. Ground coke and quick.
lime are mixed together and exposed to a powerful
electric arc in an appropriate furnace. The lime
seems 10 melt and dissolve the coke. or carbon. the
result being calcium carbide. Acetylene gas, which
is almost universally made from the carbide, In dis
unguished among gases by burning with an exceed.
lngly brilliant white fame. As an electric current IL
used In making the carbide. which aftrrward becomes
an Indirect source Of light Is is possible to consider
the substance as stored electric light II can BE- made
where electric power Is cheap. as for example at Mag
ara. and transported anywhere 10 BE- converted into
ace'ylene BY a simple wrtting. The light thus oh.
,alned. however. Is only abou, one half as much A.
would have been produced by the current used In
making The carbide II il had b~en used in lighting
incandescent lamps.
Some curious eApedirnts are necessary al times in
the medical applications OF electricity. Il Is not un.
common now for the electric cabs in New York " be-
pressed Into service as perambulaung sources OF cleo.
tric power BY physicians who are called upon suddenly
TO make X ray examinations Of patients who are In
localities where electricity from street circuits is not
on tap Recently. on q steamboat plying from New
York TO a ne.shborlng town, q passenger undertook
W COMM suicide By swallowing laudanum. Among
those on the vessel a physician was discovered, but
naturally he did not have with him the apparatus
for shocking the patient into senslbiliiy. II was.
for a while, an even chance whether or not the suicide
would be successful Finally the electric light man
on the boat b~thought himself OF his testing magnetic,