The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-02


Solar Escrgy.
II Is reported that an attemp. is 10 be
made by Dr. Calver to secure power di-
rectly from the sun. His scheme is TO
arrange curved mirrors or lenses so as
TO concentrate the suns rays and produce
intense heat at given point. where it
may 5e utilized. 1t is exactly the same
device rs that of the scientist who lights
his pipe with a burning glass, only it is
on larger scale.
There is no reason why this could not
be done. given proper conditions, any more
than there is a reason why the flying ma
chine should not be invented and brought
into common use in course OF time. In
both cases il is a question largely Of eN-
pense and proper material. If a bird can
sail Though the air for an indefinite dis
tance. there is no reason TO suppose that
machine. constructed in the form of an
immense bird. and carrying human beings.
may not do so. always provided that energy
can be provided without adding too much
weight 10 the aerial vehicle. Until the
use Of electricity became common, this
seemed an insuperable obstacle, since stem
a motive power would involve the car
riage of great quantity of fuel But with
the improvements in electrical machines
and the discovery of aluminium. the flying
machine really began to loom UP as
possibility
In the utilization Of solar energy there
seems to be nothing to prevent the con-
tinuous production of intense heat by mir
rors and lenses arranged according TO the
principles of refraction. The question in
this case is one of expense. Such con-
trivance might be too costly TO be OF
much practical use TO the world. If built
on the : ale which would be required. II
the philosopher of Gulliver's story could
be materialized, and perfect his machine
for extracting sunlight from eucumbers.
it might very well happen that he would
require so much labor and many Gu
cumbers that the sunlight would be alto
gether too expensive for anybody except a
millionaire. There are always cloudy
days. on which DR.. Calver's machine would
be useless. Would the energy stored up
in fair weather be sufficient to tide over
the cloudy period?
The plan is one which. at all events. has
picturesque possibilities when viewed by
the unscientific yet speculative mind. 1t Is
curious when one comes TO think Of it,
how the homely art of cookery has caused
or profited by the invention of one thing
after another each improvement, in its
turn, being assailed by the protests of old
fashioned housekeepers and conservative
people who liked the old way best Our
remote ancestors. in the forests of Central
Europe, ate their food raw because they
did not know what FIRE was. Eventually
they learned that by rubbing two sticks
together they could make fire. and that
roast rabbit was better than the uneooked
article How did they discover that Was
it in some forest confiagration or by the act
of some mschievous youngster who tossed
his brothers only bit of luncheon into a
bed of hot Goals? Nobody knows. But one
thing is certain: While Che fSmiiy sat
around the fire, contentedly gnawing bones.
there was at least .one, old huntcr. who took
his raw bird off into cave and ate it
alone, because he did not believe hot things
were good for the health.
And so it has been ever since. The open
FIRE was superseded by the fireplace. and
IL at lasted for hundreds OF years. Then
c,me the brick oven, and the jack and the
bake kettle: and finally, in this century,
the stove There are people nov living
who insist that nothing tastes as good
cooked in stove as it did coming from the
open fire. But ia both cases something
probably depends upon individual taste and
the skill of the cook After the wood
stove came the coal range. and then ap-
peared gas stoves and oil stoves and chat
ing dishes. A few people now use cleo
tricity in their kitchens and prophecy that
within a generation this will become com
mon. If the housewife of 1900 had been
told that her descendants would cook by
means of chaiDed-nOt chair-lightning she
would probably have replied that her de- |
scendants were certainly to be given into
the power of the evil one for witchcraft. |
But it has happened. and we are not |
witches. VINO knows but in few years |
the cook will ascend the stairs to say to
her mistress: ''If you please, ma'am. we |
can't make connections with the sum"
The question of Montagu Whites diplo- |
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