Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-08-30
What Are to Be Our Future Sources
of Mechanical Power?

Out at Pasadena, Cal, an effort has
been made during the last few months
to obtain mechanical power from solar
heat. An immense concave mirror,
moved by clockwork to compensate
for the change in the suns position,
concentrates the rays from that body
upon a steam boiler, and thus runs a
ten-horse power engine. As yet it
does not appear that the efficiency at
tanned by Ericsson 20 or 80 years ago
has been exceeded, although it has
been nearly equalled. The most i'm
pOrtant result of the experiment APP
parently is that it has inspired Pro
fessor r. II. ThuTston of Cornell Uni
versity to contribute an article to
Casters" on possible substitutes for
coal as sources of power. The value
of this paper lies not in any novel sug.
gestion which it contains, but in the
opinions expressed therein. The au-
thor of it is one of the highest Amer
lean authorities in mechanical engin-
eering.
1t has been predicted that the bulk
of the coal in the United States will
be consumed within a century. Eng
lands supply will not last nearly as
long And natural gas and fuel oil
will doubtless be exhausted even
sooner. Without other means of de-
veloping power, therefore. an appall-
ing industrial situation will be pre-
scented. At present wind and water
are doing much service. But the for
mer is exceedingly variable. And, in
asmuch as the power from it cannot
be stored economically, and as the out
put of a single big windmill is insig-
nificant, this agency is unsuited to
manufacturing operations on a large
scale. Waterfalls on the other hand,
are reasonably constant, and can be
employed to generate great amounts
of power at one place. Hence, in
Professor Thurston's judgment. water
is Of vastly more use to mankind than
any of the other resources under con
sideration. Tidal power is virtually
unlimited and fairly regular, but when
it is sought to devise a system of
utilizing it which shall be cheap and
practicable human ingenuity fails.
There seems to be no inherent me-
chanical difficulty in constructing and
running a solar engine. But in a TEN,
perate climate cloudiness is likely to
iLNtl AClN WIN It's NOlh III . vi
days at a time, and Professor Thurs
ton says that a cotton mill which is
obliged to wait for the sun to come
out before it can start would hardly
be expected to pay dividends. Nearer
to the equator more constant sunshine
would be found. Ericsson entertained
great hopes of Egypt as England's
successor in the manufacture of cot
ton goods. But even in the tropics
there is the interruption of the rainy
season as well as of night So here
again rises the necessity for storing
power. And no cheaper way exists
for the solar motor than for the wind
mill.
Professor Thurston is forced to con
clude that next after the coal mine.
which they will unquestionably sur
vive, waterfalls hold out the best
promise. Much has been done already
toward utilizing them, and this coun-
try has given the world the most
modern lessons in the art Neverthe
less, even in the United States there
are many streams whose possibilities
have not yet been recognized. And
the sooner they are harnessed, the
longer will be deferred the day when
they viii constitute almost the only
power generators of industry-[N. Y.
Tribune.