The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-13
ELECTRIC MARvELs ON VIEW
Strange Inventions shown mt Coium
bia University. New York


: NEW YORK. April l2-Fully 1000 vis-
/ itors went to Columbia University tonight
to attend the Conversations of the Ameri-
can Institute OF Electrical Engineers.
Men and women crowded the engineering
! building to see the thirty-two new inven-
tions employing electricity which were
being exhibited and operated there.
/ Nicola Tesla was scheduled to perform
experiments with his electric osciilator
| and show. new aspects of electric wave
vibrations.
Thomas \. Edison. President Seth Low,
of the university and Baron Won Holleben,
the German Ambassador to Washington.
occupied front seats Tesla's entrance
was greeted with tremendous applause by
the Columbia students. Tesla explained
that lie was going to use an electric os-
cillator to produce wave vibrations, which
were to be discharged in various parts
of the room by means of large trans
mitting cable
Thirty Thousand volts We're employed.
Beautiful lelping sparks were thrown
from the positive and negative current
poles of his apparatus ana the Driliidncy
of the electric light employed was made
to decrease and diminish by Tesla s rub
bling his hand along an innocent-lookipg
table in a mysterious fashion
In the engineering building r. NJ. Hutch
which are promised to work wonders.
They are known as the akOnphone and
akonlalion, and are intended to make
the deaf hear w. Ii. Van Tassel. of
the New York Institute for the Deaf and
Dumb. brought eight of the deafest boys
in the institution for experimental pur-
poses. one lad was born deaf. dumb, and
blind lie was led to the apparatus and
the ear-pieces fixed over his head.
The boy jumped when words were
spoken, showing the novelty of all sound
to him. When the word Hello was re-
peated many times he made an effort to
repeat the sound, with only partial sue
cess. A phonograph was attached to the
receiver and band music was played. A
faint smile appeared on the boys face
and he spelled out the word music" with
his fingers to his precoptor. He began to
keep time with his hands and his face
was soon wreathed with smiles. The lad
resisted when the cap was removed from
his head.
From the top floor of the engineering
building ii. r. Palmer sent over the wires
a life size portrait of President William
r. Harper of the University of Chicago,
to Chicago, where il was Immediately re-
produced and the photograph of President
Seth Low was flashed simultaneously
from Chicago to this city.
The original pictures were somewhat
enlarged for the purpose of transmission,
and when received were photographically
reduced to their normal size, thus giving
an exact reproduction of The original. The
enlargement is for the purpose of obtain
ing a greater contact surface for the
transmitting stylus applied.
1t was explained that indentations were
made in the photograph on tin-foil outlin-
ing the principal features of expression.
The foil is run over recording instru-
ment which receives impressions after the
manner of photograph rolls. A tap key
is placed over each indentation in the i'm
preston scroll and currents passed
through 1t to different wires-one for each
indentation.
A similar impression roll is kept at the
receiving station and the portrait is re-
produced by photography. By this system
half tone pictures, sketches. handwriting
and the like can be transmitted over long
distances. employing ordinary telegraph
circuits