Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1907-09-18
SUNLIGHT
MADE TO
ORDER
(By Eugene Shade Bisbee In the
Technical World Magazine.)

Pure sunlight is now being made
by man! The incandescent lamp
which has been for twenty-five years
the standard of the worlds artificial
illumination must take a back seat
or retire from commercial activity.
The arc, the mercury vapor and ev-
cry form of illumination at present
holding sway in centers of industry
are relegated to the past. The
true, pure, commercially possible
light has come and after years OF ex-
perlmentation has been brought to
practical basis of manufacture.
II is not too much to say that
within a comparatively brief space
of time there will be in use in the
homes, Offices and workshops of the
civilized world millions of tiny arti-
fetal suns which will shed their pure
white rays In place of the yellow
glow-worms which for a quarter OF
century have stood for the high
est example OF Illuminating achieve
ment and have made Thomas A. Edi-
son the most marvellous of electrical
wizards, for Il was his invention, or,
rather, discovery, which gave to the
world the incandescent electric light
as It has been known for nearly a
generation and upon which 1t has
not until now been possible to i'm
prove.
The disoverers OF the new light
are Herschell C. Parker, professor
OF physics in Columbia university,
New York, and Walter G.. Clark also
OF New York, and the Phoenix lab
oratory at Columbia university was
the scene of the achievement.
For seven years, by day and by
night, these two men, still in their
youthful manhood, have labored over
their experiments endeavoring TO
produce q higher degree OF effective
electric light at a lower cost to the
consumer. After weeks and months
spent at the work they made the
discovery that n combination OF ele-
ments, of which slllcan was an i'm
portant factor. when made into the
form OF filament of about the size
and shape of the Edison carbonized
palm flbet in the lamps with which
the public is familiar, gave light
that was much more efficient thar
the Edison at far less cost. The fl
ament was made by introducing into
a chamber the several materials In
the form of vapors and deposlting
them upon a carbon fllament as a
base. When the new filament Is
thus made II is removed from the
chamber where II has had its birth
and anchored In an ordinary glass
bulb. The light generated by this
filament has been shown to be as
high as SO candle power, with
voltage of 80 while an Edison lamp
attached 10 the same current gave
but 16 candle power.
The light of the new lamp. also.
Is exactly that OF diffused sunlight
and has none of the common char
ncteristics of the ordinary incandes-
cent light. II shows, under the
spectrum. all the rays OF the sun.
while the Edison is a distinct yellow.
Using this fact as a basis, the dis
coverers named their new light
'Hellon," after the Greek helios,
sun.
The efficiency OF the ordinary in
lamp being about five
watts per candle power, a watt be-
Ing 1.746th of an electrical horse
power, experimentation by Professor
Parker and MIR, Clark has enabled
them greatly to improve this and
they are now confident that they
will soon be able to make a 2O-watt |
lamp give 20-oandle-power light
This will be all that can be expect
ed. for what the confirming public
wants Is more light at less cost and
what the manufacturer wants is TO
get more light for the energy he ex-
pends In producing current to gem
crate the lights. At present the best
hat can be done with the Edison
amp is TO produce a light where
Dnly per cent OF the power enters |
INTO illumination, the remainder be- |
ing lost in heat. In the HelIon
amp It has been found that light
representing 1000 candle power costs
about 20 cents an hour, while the
same degree of illumination In the
ordinary carbon filament incandes-
tent light would cost 20 cents an
lour. One remarkable Characters
ic OF the new filament is that the
sfficiency OF the Helion lamn in