The Savannah morning news., 1901-02-16
TEsLA's WIRELESS LIGHT.
Makes Scarcely Any Heat. and Close
~ Resembles Sunlight.
From the New York Sun.


Nikola Tesla gave 40 the Sun yesterday
an authorized statement in reference to
his new light, described the lamp which
diffuses the light and then, darkeniug
the windows of his laboratory in East
Houston street, turned on an electric cur
rent and in a moment the rooms were
flooded with what Tesla calls ARTIFICIAL
sunshine" The light was diffused
through a spiral or glass about eight
inches high and six inches wide. The
spiral is of glass tubing. about one-qunr-
ter of an inch in diameter, the ends be-
ing blown to about double the size of the
tube and closely resembling wax candles.
The general effect of the lamp is that of
a small box made of glass tubing with
two candles lying on their sides along the
top. The ends of the spiral which re-
sem5e candles are covered with a thin
coating OF metal and painted white. The
amp Eliminates whether II is connected
by wires with an electric current or not.
Mr. Tesla operates it with and without
wires. The wonderful thing about the
| wireless lamp is that it may be carried
| about from one part of room to another,
| picked up and set down at will, just as
| one would carry a kerosene lamp around,
| and all the time there is not so much as
l flicker of the light.
| But more than all this, Mr.. Tesla as
| erts that in discovering this process of
| illumination he has discovered a light
| which will be of incalcuable value in the
sick room and in the hospital ward. The
| tube OF the lamp before being closed at
| one end is partly filed with certain gases,
! The properties of which Mr.. Tesla is not
| quite ready to disclose, but which, he
ays will purify the air of a sick room
| when it might eudanger the life Of the
| patient to have the windows opened, SO
| that the rooms atmosphere will be as
| pure as if the room had been flooded with
| outer air. The inventor asserts that 50
| perfect is his invention that the "ozon-
! izing" OF room, as he cells it, may De
! continued long as desired and stopped
| at will. Tesla says that his artificial sun
shine, or his sanitary light" is intended
to be his first gift to the new century,
the practical result OF years of expert
ment in the old Here is Mr.. Tesla's
| statement:
This light is the result of continuous
! efforts since my early experimental DEM
! constructions before scientific societies here
| and abroad. In order to make it suitable
| for commercial use, l had to overcome
! great difficulties. One of these was 10
| produce from ordinary currents of supply
| electrical oscillations of enormous rapid
| lty in a simple and economical manner
omplished and the results show that with
| this new form of light higher economy
| Is practicable than with the present illum-
inants. The light offers. besides. many
| specific advantages, not the least of which
IS found in its hyglenic properties. 1t is,
| believe, the closest approach 10 daylight
which has yet been reached from any
artificial source.
The lamps are glass tubes which may
..
generally use a rectangular spiral. contain
| ing about twenty to twenty-five feet Of
| tubing making some twelve to fourteen
| convolutions. The ends OF the spiral tube,
ire covered with a metallic coating and
| provided with hooks for hanging the lamp
| N the terminals of the source of osci.la
| lions. The tube contains gases rarefled
! 20 = certain degree, determined in tire
| course of long experimentation as beirS
conductive to the best results.
The process of light production is, ac-
| cording to my views, follows: The
| street current is passed through ma
| chine which is an electrical oscillator
| OF peculiar construction and transforms
| the supply current, De it direct or alter
mating, into electrical oscillations of d
/ very high frequency. These oscillations.
! coming to the metallicaly coated ends OF
| the glass tube produce in the interior cor
responding electrical oscillations, which
| set the molecules and atoms OF the in
closed rarened gases into violent commo-
! ton. causing them to vibrate at enormous
! rates and emit those radiauons which We
I krow rs light. The gases are not rem
! dered incandescent in the ordinary sense.
ffor IL il were so, they would be hot. like
/ an incandescent flament. AS a matter
of fact, there is very little heat uoticea-
/ BE, which speaks well for the economy
! OF the light, since al heat would be loss.
This high economy results chiefly from
! three causes: First from the high rate OF
/ the electrical oscillations: second. from
! the fact that the center light-glviug body.
! being highly attenuated gas, is exposed
! and can throw out its radiations unim-
/ pended, and third. because of the small
/ ness OF the particles composing the light
/ giving body, in consequence Of which
| they can be quickly thrown into a high
rate OF vibration 40 that comparatively
! little energy Is lost In the lower or heat
vibrations I'm important practical adj
I vantage Is that the lamps need not be
/ renewed like the ordinary ones. as there
/ Is nothing ga them TO consume Some OF
! these lamps ] have had for years. and
/ they are now In just as good "a condition
as they ever were. The Illuminating pow
/ er Of each OF these lamps H.. measured
! by the photometric method. about hfty
candle power. but l can make them OF
any power desired, up 10 THAI Of several
arc lights n 81 remarkable feature
4 OF the light that during tho day Il can