The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-05-01
Seat Of Empire May go 10 the Desert of
Sahara.

Why should VIC burn costly, hard
delvea oca! ia power houses, when we
can hitch our trolley cars to the sun
and have them propelled FOR the ask
ing2 But how to hitch .hem--ahat
has been the pTobbiom with which
scientific men have wrestled for years.
Now it has been solved, and the prin-
ciple of the invention, like the prin-
eiple Of all great inventions, is
exceedingly simple. If you take
sun glass aud toy.eng;ns, and can
get sufficient heat at the focal point
Of the suns rays below the glass to
make the water bubble in the tiny
boiler you will have steam aud
presently power. This has now beon
done by the new solar motor
The motor is in successful opera
alton, working ffteen-horse- power
engine, at the Ostrich farm at Pasa-
dena, Cal, and it used TO pump water.
1t lifts fourteen hundred gallons q
minute.
The solar motor may be likened to
an enormous, open umbrella, with a
part Of the top cut of. aud set at on
angle to catch the sunshine on it's
mirrors and to reflect it upon the long,
slim boiler, set ia the centre like the
handle Of an umbrella.
From the boiler the steam is con-
Quoted in..pipes to compound engine
operating centrifugal pump. There
is little manual work to be. done in
connection with the machine. To tnrn
crank and to clean it now and then
is all that it requires. It is fifty-fve
feet from the uppermost part Of the
rim Of the umbrella to the ground,
which distance nesrly represents the
whole diameter Of the circle. There
are in reflector eighteen hundred glass
mirrors, each about three inches wide
and two feet long. Supporting the
upper part Of the umbrella, which is
heavily ribbed with steel, is tall iron
framework, like that set up for wind
mills, aud under the bottom is an
equatorial mounting, something like
that used with large telescopes. The
solar motor is automatically balanced,
the weight resting on roller bearings,
SO that only a few pounds of hand
pressure are required to turn it in any
way that may be desired. When the
operator wishes to get up steam, he
turns crank and swings tho reflector
into focus, guided by an indicator.
When the focus is once obtained, the
great umbrella, like sunAower, auto
matically keeps its shining face to-
wards the sun. Here, too, the. inven-
tors cave learned lesson from the
astronomers, for common clock is
made to do duty as a regulator.
At first the morning dew is seen
slowly to ascend in wreath of vanor
from.the gigantic mouth. Then tfe
bright glasses glitter in, sun, and the
heat-lines begin to culver inside the
circle, the greatest commotion being
about the long black boiler, which, as
the intensity Of the focused ray sin.
creases, begins to glisten, so that in
any photograph taken of the machine,
the boiler is shown almost as pure
white. Within an hour Of the time
of turning the crank and getting the
focus Gf no clouds intervene to throw
shadows into the reaector) there is
jet of steam from the escape valve.
The engineer moves the throttle, there.
is succession oe bisses from the um-
brella-handle, a"clauk- -clank. clankety-,
clank.'' and the .sun is drawing water
in a way Of which he little dreamed q
few months ago.
Once started the machine runs ell
day without any attention whatever.
The man in charge may hoe his gar
den, or read his novel, or eat oranges,
or go to sleep. The machine oils it.
self.
The supply Of water for the boiler
is regulated automatically, as is also
the steam pressue, and there can be
no explosion. The motor can be left
alona and will run untilth sun gets
80 low that there is no more heat.
Then it will stop, rest over night; and
all that is needed to start it when the
radiant energy again asserts itself is
the twist of couple Of handles.
The machinery was made in Boston,
and southern California, he land Of
almost perpetual sunshine, was selcc-
ted Ia the heat r,1aca ~ o;,,o tho ,no,o