The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10


brought out his series system OF arc
lights, including special dynamos. lamps,
etc. and by the middle of 1879 had In
operation machines each capable of main
tanning sixteen are lamps one wire
This was indeed a great achievement for
that time. Weston. of Newark, had also
in operation circuits of arc lamps, and the
Thomson-Houston system had just started
In commercial work with eight arc lamps
In series from a single dynamo. Maxim
and Fuller. in New York. were working
arc lamps from their machines. and capt.
tai was being rapidly invested In new en-
terprises for electric lighting. Some of
the great electric manufacturing con-
Germs of today had their beginning at
that time. Central lighting stations be-
gan to be established in cities, and the
use Of are lights In street illumination
and in stores grew rapidly. More perfect
forms of arc lamps were invented, bet
ter generating dynamos and regulating
apparatus brought out. Factories for arc
light carbon making were built. The first
special electrical exhibition was held In
Paris in 1881. In the early eighties also
the business of arc lighting had become
firmly established, and soon the bulk OF
the work was done under two of the lead
ing systems. These were afterward
brought together under one control, thus
securing in the apparatus manufactured
a combination the coed features OF
both. Until about 1892 nearly all the arc
lamps in use were worked under the
series system, in which the lights are
connected one after another on cir
cult and traversed by the same current
This current has standard value, or is
constant current. Sometimes many as
a hundred lamps were on one wire AS
the mains for the supply of incandescent
lamps at constant pressure or potential
were extended attention was more strong
ly turned to the possibility Of working arc
lights therefrom.
Within a few years Of the close Of the
century this placing of arc lamps in
branches from the same mains which sup
ply incandescent lamps became common.
and the enclosure OF the arc in partially
alright globe. procedure advocated By
Static in 1871. was revived by Howard
Marks, and others for saving carbons and
attention TO the lamp. The enclosed arc
adapted to use in branches Of the mean
descent lamp circuits which had in cities
become greatly extended The increasing
employment of alternating currents in the
distribution of electric energy has led also
to the use of alternating current arc
lamps. and special current regulating ap
paratus Is now being applied on large
scale to extended circuits of these lamps.
II can be seen from these facts that the
art is still rapidly progressing and the
field ever widening. little over twenty
years ago practically no arc lamps were
used Now, at the close OF the century.
they are numbered by hundreds of thou
sands. The annual consumption of car
bons in this country has reached go go. 90.
Almost simultaneously with the Begin
ming of the commercial work of arc light
ing, Edison. in successful effort TO pro-
vide small electric lamp for general dis
tribution in place of gas. brought to pub
lie notice his carbon filainent incandescent
lamp.
a considerable amount OF progress had
previously been made by various workers
in attempting 10 reduce the volume OF
light In each lamp and increase the num-
Der of lights for given power expended.
Forms of incaadescent arc lamps or
semi-incandescent lamps were tried on a
considerable scale abroad, but none has
survived. SO. also. many attempts to pro-
duce a lamp giving light by pure incan-
deseence OF solid conductors proved for
the most part abortive. Edison himself
worked for nearlj two years on a lamp
based upon the OLD idea of incandescent
platinum strips or wires. but without sue
cess. The announcement of this lamp
caused a heavy drop in gas shares, long
before the problem was really solved by
a mastery stroke in his carbon dlament
lamp. Curiously, the nearest approach to
the carbon filament lamp had been made
In 1S45 by Starr. an American. who de-
scribed in British patent specification 4
lamp in which electric current passed
through a thin strip OF carbon kept it
heated while surrounded by Il glass bulb
In which vacuum was maintained. Starr
had exhibited his lamps to Faraday in
England and was preparing to construct
dynamos to furnish electric current for
them In place of batteries, but sudden
death put an end to his labors. The speci-
fication describing his lamp is perhaps the
earliest description of an Incaudescent
lamp of any promise. and the Subsequent
" recorded ideas of inventors up to the
work of Edison seem now to be almost In
the nature of retrOgrade movements.
None of them was successful commercial
~ Starr. who was only twenty-five years
of age, is reported to have died of over
work and worry In his efforts to perfect
his invention. His ideas were evidently far
In advance OF his time.
The Edison lamp differed from those
which preceded 1t in the extremely small
section of the carbon strip rendered hot
by the current and in the perfection OF
the vacuum in which it was mounted. The
hlameut was first made OF carbonized pa
per- and afterward of bamboo carbon The
modern incaudescent lamp has for years
past been provided with a fllament made
by a chemical process. The carbon formed
is exceedingly homogeneous and OF uni
form electric resistance. Edison first ex-
hibited his lamp in his laboratory at Men
10 Park, New York. in December, 1873; hut
before il could be properly utilized an
enormous amount of work had to be
done. His task was not merely the i'm
provement of an art already existing 1t
was the creation of new art Special
dynamo machines had to be invented and
constructed for working the lamps;
switches We're needed for connecting and
disconnecting lamps and groups of lamps
meters for measuring the consumption of
electric energy were wanted: safety fuses
and cut-offs had to be provided; cleo
troiiers or fixtures to support the lamp
1vnr.. rannIred and lastIu 4 cnn1nI.tl. So