The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-27
COATS WITH GOLD VAPOR.
EdisOn's Latest Triumph Is Gliding
with the Precious Metals.

EdisOn's Latest Triumph Is Gliding
with the Precious Metals.
Thomas A. Edison has just achieved
another of his wonderful inventive tri-
umphs. After working necessarily for
eight years he has perfected his vacuum
depositing process" for vaporizing gold
and other metals.
The first effect Of the new invention has
been the revolutionizing- of photograph
cylinder manufacture. On the 1st Of Feb
ruary the big photograph works belong
ing to Edison at Lewellyn, N. j., began
making records by the new process.
1t may now be said that the perfect
Monograph is an assured fact.
But the new process does not confne it.
self to Photographic cylinder production.
1t enters into some of the widest fields
of commercial endeavor.
Edison will soon be MAKING mirrors
coated with gold and with silver and
gold plated window and lamp globes. It
will be possible before long to buy gold
lace apparently genuine) at five cents a
yard.
The new photograph cylinders are made
with Vapor of gold.
The photograph is now an almost per-
feet instrument Now records have none
of the Punch-and-Judy twang which
made the old ones so Objectionable
One record cylinder is as good as an
other, each reproduction being as perfect
as the ''master-record" which forms its
original.
Employing the old method, it was
necessary to get one good record-termed
the ''master"'-and then, from that.
others were made by process of dupli-
cation on double monographs
rms duplicating process consisted in
setting the master-record on a machine
IKE a photograph. and then placing
another cylinder (having a clean, I'M
marked record on iD beside it. A fine
point fitted into the master-record thu
other end of which cut into the receiv-
ing cylinder. Thus the master-record
was literally traced by mechanical means
upon the new record
This cutting Of one cylinder into an
G G,la was necessarily attended with
place, the little knives that did the cut
ting -nto the wax were always wearing
out, even though Edison made them
with blades Of sapphire
Under the most favorable conditions 1t
was difficult to obtain more than 80 per
cent of the sound which came from the
master record. Besides, the duplicates
were OF varying degree Of perfection,
same being fair representatives of the
master" other poor limitations.
These deficiencies We're caused by the
divergent conditions Of the work It
was almost impossible to obtain me
chanically correctprecord.
The duplication process was also, Of
course extremely slow. Working at full
capacity, the machines were seldom able
to turn out more than thirty records
taken from a master record in one day.
The making of a Photographic record
is not one Of the easiest things imagin-
able Hundreds of little things have to
be looked after.
In the first place, cylinder Is not
really wax, as is popularity supposed. 1t
is a species of soap, which, however,
unlike ordinary soap, IS not affected by
water.
The cylinders being ready for receiving
their SOUND Impressions records are
taken on them. Regular artists come to
|, the photograph works to sing, or play,
into the monographs.
The new Edison process is this: When
the master record has been made, 1t IS
placed in vacuum. 1t is held up in the
vacuum receptacle by a sort of core.
Into this vacuum two wires are intro
duced, one connected with the positive
the other with the negative pole Of a
battery. These wires are of gold and
gold strips in the vacuum in contact
with each wire
The record-cylinder is so placed that it
can be rapidly rotated by magnets placed
on the outside of the vacuum case
When the electricity is turned on, and
the wires charged. gold vapor is given
off from both wires and strips. This
Napor strikes against the rapidly turning
record cylinder, and very soon, on the
face of the cylinder, may be seen de-
post of gold in a very thin sheet
The cylinder looks as If 1t had been out