The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-09-09
EDISON'S NEW SCHEME.
The Wizard Plans to Make
Electricity Direct From Coal
pYNAMos TO BE DONE AWAY WITH.


Hopes 10 Generate Current by
Heating Certain Metals with n
sfeve-Scheme, IL Successful, IL Ex-
pected to Revolutioni.e Electrical
World.
Thomas A Edison, the electrical wiz
I, ard of the century, is reported to be al
most ready to make public details OF
| his newest invention. 1t Is machine
| for the generation of electrical power
J without the use of engines and dyna-
mos.
This new invention is said to approx
Innate almost exactly the production Of
electricity directly from coal. If the
machine is q success, its effect upon
all methods of propulsion will be in
oalculable. Edison himself said six
years ago that such an invention would
be the greatest possible step in the ad-
vancement of electricity. In an inter-
view published Oct. %. 1894. he au-
thorized this statement:
THE discovery OF a way of convert
ing coal directly into electricity will
|
of propulsion. Steam will be entirely
superseded by the current There will
be no boilers or any of the necessary
externais which go with steam engines.
We are rapidly approaching the time
Of the steam engines end The large
} Atlantic liners are slowly reducing
their time on their trips. but that must
soon stop. Then we shall have to wait
until coal is turned directly into cleo
tricity believe 1t will come, and
then we will cross the Atlantic in four
days or less We can get 80 per cent
of the efficiency of a dynamo against
or 10 per cent of an engine"
: This was EdisoD's dream In 1894.
His vision seems to have become re-
ality. William Phillips Hall. president
of the Hall Signal company and for
years an experienced electrician, said
the other day:
"As ] understand il. Edison's new
scheme is the nearest approach yet to
? the generation of electricity directly
from coal. The invention will he of
vast Importance TO every field in which
electricity is now used"
. The new plan is expected to revolu
tionize the use of electricity in homes,
In offices and in self moving vehicles
; of all descriptions. 1t will make 1t
] possible for private electric lighting
plants to be maintained in houses with
but small expense. 1t will make 1t pos
4 sible to store current in batteries OF
r automobiles without the expensive ne
@ cessity of carrying them TO q city or
electrical plant.
In the new arrangement a simple,
g portable and inexpensive machine, it
is understood, will take the place OF
the commonly used dynamo. An oil
= stove is to supplant the steam engine.
The exact construction Of the new ma
chine is still kept secret, but the priE-
ciple of it's operation was recently
made known to the New York JsHFnal
@ by a man close to Edison and to whom
had been explained the method ef con-
struction and operation or the inxens
i ton.
The principle OF the machine is the
very simple one that cold contracts
and heat expands any substance. In
this machine a combination OF metal
a combination the result OF years OF
study and experimentation-ist to be
heated by a small stove. The metals
IS are said to be SO arranged and com
bined that the heating Of them starts
In motion an electrical current which
can be communicated i'm Immediately tC
1t a storage battery.
o. Ever since electricity began to bt
generally used the expense Of f.purchast
and operation of n steam engine and
20 dynamo has barred il from the use OF
;s any one not possessing considerable
money To build an electric lighting
IL plant in a small city has always beeI
4, the origin of a burdensOme debt. The
N Inconvenience of transporting storag,
batteries. sending them back and fOrtl
Id for charging. has practically deprive,
B rural sections of the world OF the us
of electricity. Photographs. automo
biles, electric launches, electric light
a ing plants, etc. could be used by onI,
10 the wealthy.
Edison's new scheme is expected &
revolutiOnize all OF this. Where auto
er mobiles are now used by tens they vii
probably soon be used by hundreds o
even thousands. The phonograph In
- dustry will probably take q tremendou
r bound. and elaborate electric Illum
n mating plants can be maintained ine1
/ pensively In the remotest rural dss
n tricts.
The problem that Mr.. Edison had {
face was this: How can the creates
amount Of electrical current he geA
~ Grated by the minimum amount G
ar coal? How can the enormous heat los
in heating a steam boiler, the steaI
~ lost in moving the engine propeller an
he the power lost by friction Of the engin
IN and dynamo wheels be conserved an
the current dispatched immediatel
into the storage battery?
No steam engine on land had eve
been able to get more than one hors
fnr Irrc Al,n., -